8. Ryan #5
“Yes.” Arthur lets that settle before continuing. “At the time, it was one name among many. And Ashbourne isn’t some underground organization. It’s a legitimate philanthropic foundation.”
Saoirse nods slowly. “I’ve seen them at donor events.”
“What do they do?” Penny asks.
“Everything wealthy foundations like to do,” Arthur says. “Education. Women’s initiatives. International programs. Arts. Medical philanthropy. Scholarships.”
“Meaning they touch thousands of people,” Callum says.
“Yes.”
“So seeing their name isn’t proof of anything.”
“No.” Arthur taps the screen. “But seeing it repeatedly is enough to make me start asking why.”
I look at Ally’s paperwork. “Sainte-Catherine.”
“Yes.” Arthur pulls up another document. “Roman’s initial inquiry was facilitated through an educational placement service with funding ties to Ashbourne." He pulls another folder toward himself. “I searched for other placement records connected to the same service.”
Theodore’s attention sharpens. “What did you find?”
Arthur looks at Becca. “Rebecca Carney.”
Theodore goes completely still. Arthur turns the page toward them. “Hartley initiated a placement inquiry for you.”
Theodore’s chair shifts back. Not violently. But enough. “I never authorized that.”
Katya’s hand finds his arm.
Arthur nods. “I don’t see your authorization anywhere.”
Becca doesn’t look away from Arthur. “When?”
He turns the document toward her.
OCTOBER 18, 2025.
For several seconds, Becca says nothing. Neither does anyone else. I look at Ally’s page again. October nineteenth. Then Becca’s. October eighteenth.
One fucking day.
Theodore looks like somebody hit him. “Was it completed?”
“No.” Arthur looks at the screen. “And then I found a third.”
Something about his expression makes Iz finally sit upright. “A third what?”
“Student.” Arthur pauses. “Isabella Whelan.”
Iz freezes. So do the rest of us boys. Because every one of us fucking knows Bella. We know Homecoming. We know Iz. We know the months of bullshit before it and every miserable fucking thing that came after it.
“What?”
Arthur looks at him. “Isabella Whelan.”
“I heard you. Why the fuck is she on there?”
Cat slowly turns toward him. “You care?”
“About Bella?” His face twists. “No. I care why Satan’s favorite debutante has her name buried in the same fucking paperwork as Ally and Becca.”
Penny blinks. “Satan’s favorite debutante?”
Iz points at her. “You’ve met her.”
Kaid looks at Iz. “You think about her a lot for someone you hate.”
“I think about tetanus too. Doesn’t mean I want to fuck it.”
Danny’s eyebrows shoot up. “Interesting choice of verb.”
Arthur looks back at the document. “Her inquiry was opened October eighteenth.”
Iz’s smile disappears. Not slowly. Gone. I look at him. So do Kaid, X, and Danny.
Arthur lays Bella’s page beside Becca’s. Then Ally’s. Three names.
REBECCA CARNEY — OCTOBER 18, 2025.
ISABELLA WHELAN — OCTOBER 18, 2025.
ALISON O’TOOLE — OCTOBER 19, 2025.
Three girls. Same school. Three families already brushing against the same fucking people. Three international-placement inquiries opened within roughly twenty-four hours of each other. While Cat and Penny were being kidnapped. While the Penningtons were going down. And—
“Homecoming,” X says.
Iz’s eyes cut toward him. “Don’t.”
Arthur looks between them. “What about Homecoming?”
Iz says nothing so Danny does. “That was when Bella changed.”
Arthur looks at Iz. “What happened with Bella?”
“She was being Bella.”
“No,” I say.
His head snaps toward me. “Harrington.”
“You’ve never believed that.”
“Not now.”
“You said her mouth and her eyes never matched.”
That shuts him up. Every one of us knows what he meant. Bella saying shit specifically designed to make him hate her. Bella making damn sure he saw her with Tyler. Bella looking fucking scared while she did it.
Arthur looks back down at the three records. “Bella’s application is different.”
Iz’s attention snaps to him. “How?”
“It wasn’t initiated by Calvin.” A beat. “Or Verlina.”
Now Iz doesn’t say anything.
Dad leans forward. “Who initiated it?”
Arthur rotates the laptop. The line is sitting there.
SPONSORING REFERRAL: ASHBOURNE FOUNDATION.
The room goes completely silent. Iz stares at it. Then at Bella’s name. And for once, there’s no joke waiting.
Callum reaches for the three pages. He lines them up more precisely. October eighteenth. October eighteenth. October nineteenth. “This changes the significance of Roman’s date.”
Arthur nods. “Substantially.”
Mom closes her laptop. The sound seems too loud. “Three girls from Edgewood.”
I stare at the names. Becca. Bella. Ally. Three girls who had nothing to do with Cat and Penny being kidnapped. At least, that’s what we thought.
My phone sits beside Ally’s application. For months we’ve been following men. Every time we find another connection, we add another man. Another company. Another account. Another fucking crime.
But those aren’t the names sitting in front of me now. They’re girls. I look at Cat. Then Penny. Then Becca. Bella’s name on the page. Ally’s beneath my hand. Five girls.
And suddenly the red string isn’t tightening around the men.
It’s tightening around them.