“My father told me someone’s been contacting some of his friends—other Greystone alums—asking questions about that…incident.Pleasetell me it’s not you.” He hesitates. “You of all people aren’t going to want that to come out.”
I grow nervous as Liam searches his phone. What does he mean, me of all people? How much does he know about the investigation? Does he know Amy’s behind it?
Liam finds what he’s looking for and turns the screen toward me.
My heart misses a beat when I see it: a picture of my sister and her friends in ski gear, arms wrapped around each other. Daisy, Cecily, Kai, Maya…and…next to my sister stands another girl, one I’ve only seen in the black-and-white article about her—here, she’s striking with pale skin and long red hair.Lila.So DuPont had been telling the truth when he said Maya was there…and all of her friends too. I thought again about that whispered conversation I’d heard at Margaret’s so many years ago as I study Lila’s face in the picture. “It’s her.”
Liam nods. “This was taken that weekend. Your sister was involved.”
I look at him, chest tightening. “Where did you get this?”
“It doesn’t matter. Look, whatever happened, Greystone hid it for a reason. You need to stay out of it. And if you’re the one asking questions—stop. You have no idea what kind of shit you’re getting yourself into.”
I pull back from him, frowning.
“I’m serious,” he says, and in his eyes is a fear so pronounced it chills me to my core.
—
Shaken from Liam’swarning, I walk through the party in search of a quiet corner to call Amy when my phone vibrates. Several missed calls from Zee, and a voicemail.
Naomiiiii, where are you? Guess who texted me—just guess—Trey. Yup, he did, but I ignored him. And I found my new friend and we took shots and now I’m goooood. But I’m gonna leave okay? My feet hurt, and my phone’s about to die—
Shit. I scan the crowd for Zee, but all I see are unfamiliar faces. No sign of her anywhere.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Maya
February 2012
Over the past week, snowhad swept down over campus, covering the quad in deep blankets of white. Stepping out of my building, I ran my fingers along a wall of snow until they went numb.
DuPont had been using me. To tutor his friend’s son. To cheat Calum’s way in. To gain leverage over me. And he was bribing the dean of admissions to do this tens, hundreds of times. It was worse than I’d thought.
But we had to be smart about this. We couldn’t just turn him and Marsden in. We would be the first to get expelled.
I was about to call Nate when my phone rang. It was Aunt Ella.
“Aunt Ella. Is everything all right?”
“Maya?” My little sister’s voice on the other end of the line made my heart leap.
“Naomi? Hi! Are you okay?” I wondered if the social worker had come back.
“Yep,” she said, easing my anxiety. “I was just calling to see if you’re coming home soon?” Her words brought tears to my eyes.
“I want to,” I said, heart breaking. “But flights are expensive right now. And I’ve been saving up so that you can change schools.” I paused, tears pricking my eyes. “I’m going to get some money soon and everything will be better. You’ll be here in no time.”
“Really? I can live with you at Princeton?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. That’s not what I’d meant, but the hope in her voice meant I had to find a way to make thathappen. “You’d love it here. The library has six floors and is built like a castle.”
“A castle?”
“You’ll see. Anyway, how’s school?”
“Good.”
