"Would you mind explaining what the hell I'm witnessing right now?" Alex said, dragging Liam into the sterile interrogation room. His voice was sharp with disbelief. "Predicting someone's death is wild enough. But suicide? You predicted a suicide?"
"Yes," Liam replied calmly. "I did."
Alex stared at him, incredulous. "Lydia's roommate confirmed it was a suicide—no signs of foul play. How could you possibly know that was going to happen?"
"Do you believe me now?" Liam asked, his tone as indifferent as ever.
Alex scowled, pacing around the table, his usual relaxed demeanor replaced with frustration. "The Would You Rather story?"
"Yes."
"You're saying, if someone dies in the game... they kill themselves in real life?"
"Exactly."
Alex stopped pacing and dropped into the chair opposite Liam. "I—" he began, but Liam cut him off.
"There's no other logical explanation for how I could predict a suicide, is there? Sure, I could claim to know her mental state and take an educated guess. Or maybe I could've threatened someone she cared about. But your investigation ruled all of that out, didn't it?"
It had. Lydia Ryder had no history of mental illness—no red flags at all. According to her roommate, she was cheerful, hopeful, full of life. Her family and friends were all safe and accounted for. Alex knew this because his partner, Felicia, had stayed behind to dig deeper.
He sighed, defeated by the facts. Logic had run out. All he had left was Liam's bizarre story.
"Alright then... Explain it to me."
"It started as a website," Liam said. "Every day, it posts a question. You pick an answer, and that night, something happens—something that knocks you out cold. When you wake up, you're in the game. And you can't escape. The question finds you, one way or another."
"My theory," he continued, "is that once players are unconscious—"
"Wait," Alex interrupted. "I've heard about that site, you already told me last time we met. I could never find it though."
"Because the game doesn't want the police involved," Liam said. "That's why the site vanished when I tried to show it to you."
"But civilians like you can still access it?"
"Yes."
Alex leaned back, rubbing his face. "What the hell am I even hearing?" he muttered, sighing deeply. Still, he gestured for Liam to go on.
"I think they use different methods to knock us out—whatever works. Then they abduct us and bring us to the game site."
"Fine. That might explain the suicides. But it doesn't explain how you specifically predicted Lydia Ryder's death," Alex pressed.
Liam paused, calculating his next words. He couldn't admit the full truth. "I guessed," he finally said.
"You guessed?"
"She was already in the game," Liam replied, carefully slipping some truth between lies. "Each game continues until half the players are eliminated. I figured if she was in it, she had a 50/50 chance of dying. So... I guessed."
"That accurately?"
"Call it a lucky guess. But that's why I knew ahead of time. I knew she was a player. I knew she might not make it. And she didn't."
Alex fell silent, the weight of the case pressing down on him. This was like nothing he'd encountered in his entire career.
"She didn't report anything yesterday."
"She probably tried," Liam said. "But it never reached you. Did anyone else report what I told you yesterday?"
"No," Alex admitted. "No one did. Which makes your story sound even more insane."
"I think the game has people on the inside. Cops, maybe. Someone making sure this story doesn't spread."
Alex slammed his hands on the table, leaning in with an intense glare. "Now you're crossing into paranoid conspiracy crap. You're just throwing out guesses with no proof."
"Then explain how I predicted Lydia's suicide," Liam countered calmly.
Alex pressed his fingers to his forehead, wiping away sweat. He was breaking—logic clashing with intuition. Liam's story was outrageous. But something about his eyes, cold and empty as they were, told the truth.
"I need credible proof, Mr. Dye. Right now, you've still given me nothing."
"I gave you a reason to believe me yesterday," Liam said flatly.
Alex stared at him. Liam didn't blink. There was no fear in his gaze, no tells. His expression was detached—but not deceptive.
"You expect me to believe that a random website dragged you into a deadly game, you join it once you pressed a button on the site. People die in it, and then commit suicide in real life. That's your claim?"
"Not exactly," Liam replied. "I didn't press any buttons on the website."
"What?"
"I didn't need to. The question will find you, maybe through another player or something else. If you answer, you're in. Just like that."
"You're saying someone, or something asked you?"
Liam hesitated. "Yeah. Tyler did. Not on purpose."
Alex sat back, stunned. Predicting a suicide was impossible—until now. Liam's story was absurd, unprovable, but it was the only explanation that fit.
"Ask me today's question," Alex said suddenly.
"What?"
"You heard me. Ask me today's question."
"The site doesn't work for cops. I doubt this will work."
"Try anyway."
"I don't even know today's question yet. I haven't checked."
"Then I'll leave the room. You check it."