Chapter 4
Violet
“Before I start, let me make one thing clear.” Jeremiah paused to take a small sip of his drink before he went on.
“There’s no Wiki page on these guys, for obvious reasons.
So whatever we know about them is mostly hearsay that we picked up on while growing up in this area.
So… take what we say with a grain of salt.
But take it seriously too. Just in case. ”
I nodded. “So you all grew up around here?”
The other four nodded and said ‘yes’ in unison.
Jeremiah gave me a tight smile. “Now that I’ve got my little disclaimer out of the way, here’s what I know. The Dionysus Club is the only secret society at BHU. It’s apparently been around as long as the university has—since 1742—and rumor has it that at least half the BHU founders were members.”
“If not all of the founders,” Cherry interjected, raising a brow.
“Yeah, that wouldn’t surprise me,” Jeremiah said, rubbing his chin. “Anyway, we don’t know for sure who any of the members are, or were, because they keep all of that hidden. But local legends say it’s males from the oldest families in Blackthorne Harbor. Old money. Old blood.”
“Although we’ve heard they recruit new members every few years,” Cherry added. “But only those who meet certain standards, apparently.”
“At the end of the day, all the men that are rumored to be Dionysus ‘old boys’ have one thing in common,” Ginny said. “Power.”
Dylan nodded. “If the rumors are true, a quarter of men in high-ranking U.S. government positions were Dionysus Club members back in their undergrad days. Senators, defense contractors, foreign policy advisors… you name it. Which is insane, considering it’s all traced back to one college.”
“Not just government officials, either,” Jeremiah said. “CEOs, media moguls, hedge fund kings, private defense tycoons. Any major position of power or obscene wealth held by a man in this country… there’s a decent chance he’s a BHU alumnus who once belonged to the Dionysus Club.”
“So what do they actually do in this club?” I asked, cocking my head. “More to the point, why do they scare you so much?”
“They aren’t a normal collegiate society, like Skull and Bones, or whatever,” Jeremiah said.
“Those societies are super-secret and elite, sure. But at the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of successful people helping their members get and stay successful themselves.
A glorified networking group, really.” He hesitated and went on.
“The Dionysus Club… they have a different reputation. A dangerous one.”
“People who mess with them tend to lose everything. Sometimes even their lives,” Ginny said softly. “Again, we can’t actually prove any of this. No one can. But it’s basically an open secret.”
“Do you remember hearing about a bank CEO who was murdered in Boston last year?” Dylan asked me, forehead wrinkling.
I nodded. “Wasn’t that a mugging gone wrong?”
“That’s what they want you to think. But all the nearby street and store surveillance cameras just happened to stop working when it happened, which is awfully convenient.
And when you look a little deeper into the case…
not long before he died, that CEO tried to screw over another bank CEO. One who went to BHU back in the day.”
“Ah.”
“Here’s another one for you,” Jeremiah said.
“There’s a guy in one of my classes called Ryker Sinclair.
The Sinclairs are one of the oldest families in Blackthorne Harbor, so it’s a safe bet that all the males are in the Dionysus Club.
Anyway, Ryker has a younger sister, and a couple of years ago she was dating a football player who was also a student here.
It turned out he was cheating on her the whole time, and of course, he didn’t have the balls to admit it to her.
She only found out because she caught an STI from him. ”
“Poor girl,” I said softly.
“Want to guess what happened to him?” Cherry asked.
“A mugging gone wrong, I presume?”
“Close. He was supposedly carjacked. The guy who did it dragged him out of the car, beat the living shit out of him, and shot him twice. A bullet in each kneecap.”
“Did he survive?”
“Yes. It seemed like they intentionally kept him alive to watch him suffer,” Jeremiah replied.
“And suffer he did. He was a D1 athlete, but with injuries like that… even after you’ve recovered, you’ll never be at the same level again.
So he lost everything. His scholarship, sponsorships, his whole future. ”
“Basically, if you cross anyone in the Dionysus Club in any way, things aren’t going to turn out well for you,” Ginny said. “We all grew up hearing that.”
“I’m actually really worried they’re going to recruit my brother,” Jeremiah said. “He’s a great kid. Just started his freshman year here. But if they get to him…” He shook his head. “God, I don’t even know what kind of monster he might turn into.”
“Is that why you were yelling at that Julian guy on Sunday?” I asked, brows rising.
His eyes widened. “You heard that?”
“Um… yeah. Sorry.”
Dylan’s eyes were even wider than Jeremiah’s now. “You yelled at Julian Valcourt?” he asked, staring at his boyfriend. “Do you have a death wish or something?”
Jeremiah sighed. “It wasn’t my finest moment, I’ll admit. But I was totally wired that day, and then I ran into him. Then I just snapped, I guess, because I’ve had all this Daniel stuff on my mind for a while now.” He grimaced. “But you’re right. I’ll probably wind up regretting it.”
“Why are you worried about your brother getting recruited?” I asked. “I thought you said they only go after guys from super-rich backgrounds.”
Jeremiah rubbed his neck and sighed. “Daniel’s actually my stepbrother,” he replied. “My parents and I are what most Dionysus Club members probably view as nobodies. But when I was ten, my dad left, and my mom remarried two years later.”
“And somehow, she managed to nab Cliff Northmont,” Cherry blurted out before Jeremiah could continue.
“I’m guessing the Northmonts are one of the old-money families around these parts?”
“Yup. Daniel is Cliff’s son from his previous marriage to Janine Vandenberg. That’s another old-money family. So yeah, I can only assume that he’s prime Dionysus Club material, given that double-barreled background.”
“And they never tried to recruit you when you started here?” I asked, tilting my chin. “Given your connection to the Northmont family?”
“No. Like I said, I’m a nobody to them. Doesn’t matter who my stepfather is,” he said, shrugging.
“Besides, I’ve never taken a dime from that man.
I love Daniel, and I really do consider him to be my brother.
But Cliff…” He exhaled through his nose.
“I just never got along with him. I really don’t know what my mother sees in him, aside from all the money. ”
“Money is enough of a draw for a lot of people,” Cherry said, arching a brow.
“True,” Jeremiah muttered.
“I still can’t believe you attacked Julian Valcourt,” Ginny said to him in an acid tone, shaking her head. “That was not a good idea.”
“I didn’t attack him. I just gave him a piece of my mind. And he barely seemed to care,” he replied. “But don’t worry, I won’t be risking it again.”
“I’m assuming the Valcourt family is also part of the secret society?” I cut in, brows rising.
Dylan let out a sardonic laugh. “Oh, honey, they aren’t just part of it.
They are the society, if all the stories are true,” he said.
“Supposedly, a bunch of men from the Valcourt family were the ones who came up with the idea for it in the first place. Then they convinced the other founders to join them. But they were always the ones in charge.”
“Like we said before, there’s no solid proof of this,” Ginny said.
“But a while ago, someone found the original property records for the Dionysus estate in the local library, and it showed that the land and house was owned by the Valcourt family way back in the day. And I sincerely doubt they ever gave it up. That’s proof enough for me. ”
“Is the Dionysus estate their headquarters?”
“Bingo.” Cherry arched a brow. “It’s actually really close to here. You know the woods bordering the west side of BHU?”
“Yup.”
“Those woods only stretch out for half a mile, and the Dionysus estate is right on the other side. Of course, it’s all fenced off, so you can’t go in. But you can still see part of it if you go on a quick hike through the woods.”
“Oh, wow.”
There was a pregnant pause, and then Jeremiah leaned forward again. “There’s one thing that we do know for sure about the society. And that’s the Selection.”
A prickle ran down my spine. “What is it?”
“Every year on October 31st, a list is posted at two o’clock on the eastern side of the Artemis building at BHU. No one’s ever seen who posts it, because campus security blocks off the area all day. But people who’ve gotten close enough have seen men in black robes and ceremonial masks doing it.”
I raised my brows, pulse ticking faster. “What’s on it?”
“Names,” he replied. “Fifteen to twenty female student names, to be more precise. All juniors or seniors.”
My stomach tightened. “What happens to them?”
“As soon as the List is up, anyone on it has twenty-four hours to run and hide while members of the Dionysus Club hunt them.”
I blinked. “Hunt them? Like… to kill them?”
“No, they’re just supposed to capture them,” Cherry replied.
“For what?”
“None of us have any idea, to be honest,” she said. “I used to think it was some sort of sex-related thing. A lot of people think that, actually. But I don’t anymore.”
“Well, getting away from them doesn’t sound too difficult,” I said, frowning. “I mean, it’s only one day.”