“Thanks,” I replied. I flipped it open. Two black credit cards stared out at me as well as a bank card.
“You’ll have to get a new driver’s license,” he said, leading me to the gate where I needed to be. “That’ll be handled while you’re at school. They’ll take your picture today for your school I.D. The secretary is a Legacy and she’ll be providing us with a copy of the photo.”
“Great,” I said. It genuinely was; Raymond was letting me know they would be using the photo to get me a driving license for this state, in River’s name. When I had the time, that is. I imagined I’d be pretty busy studying as it’s been more than half a century since I last went to school. “Um, how am I getting on the plane?”
“It’s your dad’s plane,” he said. “Okay, you’re here.” He turned and tipped the porter who handed my luggage over. I watched as it was whisked away, out onto the tarmac.
“I’m your pilot today, Mr. Montgomery,” a man in uniform said. “My name is Richard. If you follow me, we’ll get you settled. It’s an hour’s flight, so it won’t take long.”
Right. Billionaire’s kid, so a private plane.
“There’s a dossier on your phone,” Raymond said, pressing an iPhone into my hand. “Read it on the flight over. It explains your parents’ public background and anything you might need to know to fit in. Delete it afterward.”
Great. I hoped it was concise; an hour didn’t give me much time.
“Thanks,” I muttered, hurrying after Richard. I finished my now cold coffee while we sat on the tarmac, waiting for permission to take off. Twenty minutes later, I’d left Laurent DeGaul behind as River Montogomery flew towards his future.
I studied the document on my phone. Raymond had made a study guide for me that consisted of bullet points. The Montgomerys were old money; the fortune founded after Lionel Montgomery became a railroad baron. That would be River’s grandfather as he was Made after he’d amassed his fortune and secured connections. The public version was that he was a great-great-grandfather. River’s father was a property lawyer working for a property management and investment firm, the youngest of his grandfather’s children. He’d attended Hilliard around the time I was made, which made us peers age-wise. Interesting. He currently plays the role of the grandson to one of his older brothers. None of that mattered for now. I just needed to know the public story- fortune from a railroad baron, father a lawyer and full partner in a prestigious firm (all Legacies), mother a socialite who was involved in charity fundraisers that did things like provide toilets in third world countries and buy books and supplies for underfunded public schools in our own country.
River had listed his public service as reading to the elderly at local nursing homes during his school breaks and answering phones at his G.P.’s office. On his college application, his hobbies had been sailing and golf. I had no idea how to do either. Thankfully, I wasn’t there on a scholarship for either, so I could probably simply avoid either activity.
We landed at a smaller, regional airport just outside the town limits, and I found myself greeted by a driver sent by the school. He loaded my bags into the car and we drove off. Hilliard was a thirty-minute drive along the coastal communities from there. I studied the document right up until the moment we drove up to the gates, then deleted it as instructed. There was no sense disobeying a common-sense directive like that. It lowered the risk of someone getting hold of my phone and managing to see what was on it, in which case, that file would look very fishy to a non-legacy seeing it. I have enough on my plate without borrowing trouble.
It was obvious when we arrived. Massive stone pillars with wrought iron gates with Hilliard in brass lettering spelled out across them opened once the driver entered a code. While he did that, I double-checked that the document was completely deleted, not in the cloud attached to the account or anything. It wasn’t, thankfully. I’m not ashamed to admit I spent the rest of the ride up to the school gawking. The campus was huge.
“I had no idea it would be so big,” I said.
“You didn’t come for a campus visit then?” the driver asked in reply.
“No, I wasn’t able to.” If this guy didn’t know who I really was, he obviously either wasn’t high up enough in the Family to be in the know, or he was a local human they hired just to provide this service.
“It is big. The campus that is. It has its own pizza parlor, coffee shop, and burger joint, plus a bookstore like you’d expect, all along the beach frontage. The prep school is down the drive that way,” he pointed to a road that branched off from the main road, “and the college’s main buildings are further down this road. The college dorms are a bit further on.”
I knew about the prep school. It was another school for legacies, just like the one that River had attended in California. Many of the students who attended Hilliard’s prep school would attend Hilliard’s college as well, before going on to higher degree programs elsewhere along with mundanes.
The college came into view, the main building an imposing structure of gray stone, complete with a stone archway over the door. It looked more like a cathedral than a school, having an even more church-like vibe than the converted one I’d shared with Michael. A pang stabbed through my heart at the memory of our home and our life together there. I shoved it aside. Wallowing would do me no good. I had a long life ahead of me and the offer of a fresh start with a more important place within the Family. This was my ticket out of the deepest shadows. I wouldn’t have to skulk about looking for my meals. They’d be provided, and someone else would have to deal with the cleanup and any fallout if their role in a death or disappearance were uncovered. And once it was my turn to inherit the role of head of the Montgomery clan, I’d be virtually untouchable thanks to my extreme wealth and the connections my position would bring. I also had a real chance of meeting a Legacy to spend my life with, someone who was either already Made or who would be. This was my brass ring, and I was damned well grabbing it.
5
Awoman in a severe suit stood on the steps in front of the door, a young man on the level behind her. I climbed out of the car without waiting for my driver to open the door for me. The woman walked down the steps and addressed the driver. “He’s in B wing. Take his bags around; someone will be there to take them up to his room.”
“Okay, no problem,” the driver said.
The woman stepped away from the car so he could drive off. Turning to me, she gave a tight smile. “I’m so glad you made it, River. I’m Diana Hawthorn, the assistant dean. This is Shannon Lockwood. He’s in the year ahead of you, so he will be your student mentor. He’ll take you to get your schedule and show you around.” Without waiting for a reply, she went up the steps, leaving me with this Shannon fellow.
He was a handsome fellow. No, if I’m fair, he was stunning. Dark curly hair and warm brown skin set off his astoundingly blue eyes. They weren’t just one shade of blue. They were a brilliant shade of marine blue, with lighter specks of aquamarine within. High cheekbones and a lush, full mouth completed his model-worthy looks. He was so gorgeous; he looked unreal, a veritable angel to the demon I was. I wanted him as soon as I saw him, lust rushing over me.
He raked his eyes up and down me, those lovely lips already frowning, his eyes cold. “I hope this isn’t a pattern of self-entitled behavior,” he said.” Everyone else arrived yesterday.”
“Some Family stuff came up, and I couldn’t fly out until this morning,” I defended myself.
He flicked a hand at me dismissively. “Whatever. Just don’t make a habit of being late for things or thinking that because you’re rich and your Family has graduated from here for generations, yadda yadda yadda, that you’re special. I might be a scholarship kid, but I won’t take any more shit than I already have to. Understood?”
I nodded. “I’m just here to learn, just like you.”
His gaze softened a bit. “Okay. Sorry to sound so harsh, but some of the kids here act like their shit don’t stink. They act like they’re royalty and try to rule the school like we’re in some dire nineties teen drama.”
Ugh. That sounded horrible. “I don’t have time for that. My Family would be disappointed if I acted like that.”
