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“Did she?”
Another nod. “A couple of weeks later she came back to me, looking really freaked out. She said her idea wasn’t really a school paper project anymore. She said it was more of a ‘news of the world’ thing that needed to be exposed to everyone.” Addy paused and let out a heavy sigh, head shaking. “It was horrible stuff. She said her source told her that the Rosmerta Society is running some sort of baby trafficking scheme to sell newborns to rich and powerful people across the entire country. Apparently they do it in exchange for political access, and other stuff like that.”
Jensen and I exchanged glances. “What happened then?” he asked, looking back at Addy.
“I kept telling her she was being pranked. The guy was just playing with her, thinking it was funny to scare the little schoolgirl. At least that’s what I assumed,” she said. “Halfway through our conversation, she got a phone call from him.”
“Did you hear him?”
Addy shook her head. “I couldn’t hear who it was, because she went out into the hall, and I respect the concept of anonymous journalistic sources, even if I think it’s a stupid prank,” she said. “Rosie came back looking white as a ghost. She said the source had just told her that the Rosmerta Society had found out what he’d done. That he’d told an outsider their secrets. He said he probably didn’t have much time before they made him disappear. He didn’t give her up as the person he told, but he was worried it was only a matter of time before they figured out it was her. She was petrified. Saying they were going to track her down and kill her.”
Addy stopped and bit her lip, looking down at the floor.
“What happened after that?” I asked.
“I’m so ashamed of this,” Addy said, voice choked with emotion. “I… I laughed.”
“You still thought it was a prank?”
She nodded. “It was just so crazy. Also, why would this so-called source tell Rosie out of anyone else in the world? I mean, she was nice and a decent writer, but she wasn’t some mega-popular person in town. Not a major journalist either. Just this little school-based operation. So if all that stuff was really happening with the society, why tell her?”
“Maybe it was a guy she was seeing, and he told her because he loved her,” Jensen said.
“No. Rosie wasn’t seeing anyone,” Addy replied. She wiped her cheeks again. “Anyway, I told her she’d fallen for a hoax, and the guy was probably sitting there laughing at her with all of his friends. She clammed up after that and left. I finished the day, went home, and had dinner with my family.”
She stopped and looked at the floor again, and I leaned a little closer. “And then?”
“Over dinner, I told the whole story to my parents and older brother. I thought it was hilarious—how gullible Rosie was for falling for such a stupid prank, how outlandish the baby trafficking story was, and so on. They laughed with me. Told me how silly they thought it was.” Addy stopped and took a deep breath. “Rosie died the very next day.”
Jensen spoke up again. “It was an ac—”
Addy cut him off. “Please don’t say it was an accident,” she said, eyes flashing. “It wasn’t. Rosie was obviously right all along. She was in danger, and instead of believing her and helping her, I fed her to the fucking lions. I told my parents—who I knew were Rosmerta members—that she was the one the source had spoken to. Then she died the very next day in a so-called hiking accident, even though she was an experienced hiker. That’s not a coincidence. They were cleaning up the situation.”
“But there was a witness who saw her fall.”
“The witness was my older brother,” Addy muttered, lips turning down. “He was obviously told to make up that story by the other society members. He might’ve even been the one who pushed her off that cliff.”
“Oh my god,” I muttered, heart hammering. “They really did kill her.”
“Yes. And it’s all my fault.” Addy’s face crumpled, and she began to cry in earnest, shoulders heaving as tears streamed down her face. Her body shook with each sob, and she clutched at the front of her blazer as if that was the source of her pain.
“It’s not your fault,” I said soothingly, putting an arm around her shoulder.
“Yes, it is,” she choked out between sobs. “I laughed at her, and then I basically gave her identity straight to the society. They killed her to shut her up.”
“You couldn’t possibly have known that was going to happen,” Jensen said, shaking his head. “You genuinely thought she was being pranked, so you thought it was a funny story to share with your family.”
Addy’s cries became louder, almost guttural. Her breathing became labored, and she began to gasp for air, like there was a weight on her chest.
“Addy.” I took her hand and squeezed it. “I’ve been in a similar situation, so I understand the guilt.”
She stared at me, eyes red and puffy. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve been in your shoes. Someone close to me died, and I felt like it was my fault, even though it technically wasn’t. I still feel really guilty about it,” I said softly. “But someone recently told me something that helped.” I paused and looked at Jensen. “He said it’s the intention that really matters. You didn’t intend to hurt Rosie, did you?”
“No! We were friends.” Addy scrubbed a hand over her flushed face. “I know I didn’t push her off that cliff, but it’s still my fault in the end.”
“It’s really not.”
