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Claim your dues.So that’s what we’re calling it now. Ah, well. She isn’t wrong.
“I need to know that we're safe here. I cannot be overheard."
“We’re alone.”
My mind whirrs and clicks. I can’t help it.
There were two cars in the driveway, four pairs of shoes in the entryway when I entered, and two sets of keys on hooks by the door. Either she likes duplicates, or she's lying.
I know her well, and I think it's the latter.
I give her a look with a pierced eyebrow. "Really?"
"It's recent," she says, clearing her throat, and looking away before she drags her eyes back to me. “I kicked him out. That’s all you need to know, Aria. Spill.”
At one point Tatiana and I were best friends. Eventually, as our college days passed, we had less and less in common. No one really liked me — I was too honest, too direct. I didn’t play well with others. My clothes were never the right style, I didn't know how to drink, how to fit in, and my grades surpassed everyone else's. But we both know I’m the only reason Tatiana graduated from Suffolk Law.
She stares at me. "You’ve finally done it, haven't you?”
I wince and nod.
A slow grin spreads across her face. "I knew you’d do it someday. You're fucking amazing.”
She would know. Whereas others might ask for help with homework or essays, I was the one people came to when they needed hacking skills. She was the one that came to me, tearfully begging me to hack into the school grading system when she was at risk for failing. I did, with the promise that one day she’d pay back the favor.
“Tell me everything you can.”
“It’s huge,” I tell her in a whisper. "The more I tell you, the more danger you're in. You're in danger just being with me right now."
Her brow furrows, and her lips press together. She nods.
“Listen, Tatiana…The stuff that I found…if it ever got out to the press…it would destroy institutions across the world. You remember the Epstein scandal? Think bigger. Multiply it by a hundred, drag in every major institution you could think of, and you’ll be getting closer.”
“Holyshit.”
I nod, my belly churning.
“World,” she repeats, her eyes wide. I watch her swallow before she clarifies. “Not just the country?”
“World.”
"My God,” she mutters. "So if you're found…”
“I’m fucked.” One of the people implicated could have me killed with a simple command, hiding all evidence laughably easily given the lack of contacts and influence I have. I lick my lips and nod. "Even the good guys can't help me this time." Because even the “good guys” are on that list.
“Are you in danger right this very minute? Do you have a place to stay?”
“Yes, I am and no, I don’t.”
I pull out my phone and tap the article I saved. Wordlessly, I hand it to her.
Mysterious Campus Attack Unleashes Panic as Authorities Hunt for Missing Professor
In a chilling turn of events, the tranquil campus of West End Community College is reeling after a brutal attack last night, sending shock and horror through the community. The assault, which authorities suspect was aimed at locating a missing professor entrenched in a high-profile investigation, has left students and faculty in a state of fear and confusion.
At approximately midnight students and campus security reported masked assailants arriving on campus. Some believe the assailants suspected Professor Aria Cunningham was hiding on site.
The attackers managed to evade capture, disappearing into the night as swiftly as they had arrived.
