His sigh is more of a soft growl as he plucks an ID card from the tray, placing it on the table to push toward Aurora.
She lifts it and I lean in to inspect the information with her. It's a student ID card for the Appalachian State University in Boone. It has her legal name on it.
"I don't even get a fake identity?" she asks with a raised brow. "And I'm a college student?"
Atty clears his throat, assembling his expression into one of professional neutrality, back in the captain's seat.
"Your legitimate history sets this up perfectly. I called in a few favors, and prior to your mother leaving you at that fire station in Bellerose, there's no trace of you. If my guy couldn't find anything, it means Ambrose's contacts won't be able to, either."
"And the university?" Seven asks, and I wonder if he's thinking the same thing I am.
If her cover is being a student there, Atticus will want her to actuallybea student there. Which means she won't be here.
Irrational as I know it is, I can't help feeling he's trying to put distance between her and us.
"Aurora will be enrolled in a music production program. She'll need to attend classes and live in an apartment off campus."
She tenses next to me.
"But the term has already started, hasn't it? It's October."
Atticus nods. "You're starting in the second half of the term on Monday. I've made the arrangements and pushed through a late scholarship approval. You'll have a light class load, just three until the term ends in December. From there I have you registered for a full course load, but we'll see how things go leading up to then."
"Could this take that long?"
His eyes darken. "There's no way of knowing until we're in it. Could be weeks or months. Possibly longer."
I don't like the sound of that, but Atty and I have talked about this at length. Ambrose played the long game to gain access to my family's collection. If we want to pull one over on him and bring his empire to ruin, we'll need to get comfortable playing the long game, too.
"Aurora," Atticus continues, speaking to her directly. "You're also working online as an English tutor for a Spanish expat. That's how you afford the apartment. You'll need to log in to the video call server twice per week on this laptop to make it look legit."
He lifts a sleek black MacBook from the edge of the table and sets it in front of her.
"Didn't peg you for an Apple guy," she says with a scoff.
"I'm not," he retorts. "But I figured since you have an iPhone…"
She doesn't thank him.
"You've been tutoring this individual—Alfie—since you left Amherst. I've adjusted things to make it appear that way online."
He drops a file in front of her and opens the flap to reveal the information for her classes at the university. Aurora blinks at it, running her fingertip over the class name with the ghost of a smile on her lips. It's the one she lied about being accepted into when she left Jesse and needed to tell her adoptive dad where she was headed.
"Since I never sent you any payment for your cleaning services, your bank account remains untainted by connection to us. We want to keep it that way. You will receive payments via digital transfer from 'Alfie', and you will use the money to pay rent for the apartment and buy day-to-day items on campus."
"So you actually want her to live there?" Seven asks even though it's clear that's exactly what Atticus wants.
He gives Sev a sharp look. "Do you really think Ambrose isn't going to look into her? Verify her story? Especially when the tests come back with a positive match?"
Sev's face twists. "I'll stay with her, then."
"The fuck you will. We can't have any association with her and you know that, or else this whole thing goes to shit."
Atty picks up a new-looking iPhone and sets it atop the file in front of Aurora. "You'll keep your own phone for day-to-day things on campus once I've scrubbed it of anything connected to us. This one is to contact us, andonlyto contact us. It needs to stay hidden. No one can know you have it."
She nods.
"I don't expect things to move fast. You'll need to establish a pattern in Boone for at least a week before you contact him. Ambrose has been cautious with everyone who has claimed to be his missing daughter in the past. He'll want to set up an interview first, likely with his lawyer or assistant.
