“You don’t need to worry about the security footage. It’s been scrubbed.”
It takes me a minute to find my voice, and when I do, it comes out hoarse. “How did you know I was with them?”
“It’s my job to know,” he answers vaguely.
“But you weren’t there,” I argue. “So how could you know?”
For one horrifying moment, I wonder if he could be Eros. But then I remember how many times we had Discord conversations when Julian was right beside me.
It can’t be him, but he knows what I did last night and who I was with.
I also thought it was strange that he didn’t hear the elevator when we came back to the penthouse. Or that he chose not to come out of his room to greet me, even though he knew I was gone. The whole series of events doesn’t really make sense.
“We have more resources than you might imagine,” Julian says gruffly. “That’s all you need to know.”
“Does this mean you’re going to tell my stepfather?”
He shifts in his seat, voice dipping low as he replies. “I think it’s better we keep this to ourselves. Just don’t ever run off like that again.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me.
As the city streets pass us by, I can’t shake the feeling that what happened is too convenient. What are the chances all four men would go missing on the same night they tried to hurt me?
It’s possible they went out on the boat after they woke up, but it seems unlikely.
The fact that Julian knows I was with them makes me think he could have something to do with it. In our world, this is how things are handled. Punishments are swift and severe. I guess that could explain why he wasn’t there to greet me when I came home. But something about that doesn’t feel right either.
I know they’ll expect me to let it go, but I can’t. So I just go ahead and blurt it out.
“Did you make them disappear?”
Julian shakes his head, and I’m not sure why, but I believe him.
I sag against the seat and close my eyes, recalling the way Eros left my bed for hours that night and then came back.
He was there. He saw what they did, and he told me Nate would never hurt me again.
If Julian didn’t make them disappear, that only leaves one other possibility.
It was him.
I spendthe rest of the afternoon obsessively googling and reading every article on the missing students. Theories are rampant on the university Discord channel—everything from portals to UFOs to speculation that they faked their deaths and ran off to Mexico. However, one comment stands out among the rest.
Violet404: They got what they deserved.
I don’t recognize the username, but there are three reactions to it, all thumbs up. When I check who reacted, every account appears to belong to a woman. But it doesn’t end there. I also find another comment from a different user that reads: Let Imperium burn.
It takes me a minute to place the name before I remember it’s one of Laurelhaven’s secret societies. That would make sense, given they were referring to Nate as pledge. It must have been their sick and twisted idea of an initiation ritual.
The whole situation leaves me with an eerie feeling, and I can’t help wondering if other women have been dragged into their schemes. When I think about how prepared they were, and how Nate singled me out when I didn’t even know him, it seems like a strong possibility.
As I’m considering it, a notification on the sidebar alerts me to a new message from Eros.
Knowing what I know now, I hesitate to open it.
When I remember how much grief I gave Abella for not telling us about her stalker, I feel a little guilty. There’s no way I can spin this to my friends without it sounding deranged. But I’ll burst at the seams if I don’t tell someone.
I could use an outside perspective. I also have an idea, but it will require someone who can access things other people can’t. I only know one person who fits that description. Unfortunately, I’d rather walk over a bed of Legos than ask for his help.
