Page 74 of Honor Code

"Of course not. My parents are long dead. It's just me and Jasper."

"Jasper?"

"My son. He's ten."

"I didn't know?—"

"How could you?"

Ellie gawked at her, still unable to believe her roommate, a woman she thought was a friend, was capable of this. "How could you risk all those lives?"

"I tried to get everyone off," Suzi said. "I told Henderson to order two helicopters that morning instead of the usual one. It could have been much worse."

Ellie didn't know what to say.

"Plus, I got you off, didn't I?" Suzi added. "You were supposed to get rescued and go home. Instead, you stayed around to speak to the authorities."

"They came after me," Ellie hissed, finding her voice. "Whoever blew up the rig sent a team of mercenaries after me to finish the job."

Suzi sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry about that. It's not the way I wanted it to be, but I'm afraid I didn't have any say in the matter. You knew too much, so you had to be silenced."

"Who got to you?" Ellie asked after a beat. "Who made you do this?"

Suzi stood up, her hands trembling. "You don't know what it's like, Ellie. My son, he's sick. He needs constant medical care, and the bills just keep piling up. I've taken out loans, maxed out my credit cards, but it's never enough."

Ellie's heart sank. "Why didn't you say anything? I could have tried to help you."

Suzi gave a snort. "What could you have done? You weren't in any better situation than me. We both got the job because we were young and inexperienced. I could be manipulated into using forged survey reports, and you should have just done what you were supposed to and kept the operation going."

"Why?" Ellie asked again. "Why did they want to keep it going when there was no oil?"

"You're so naive. Henderson and his organization were making a killing on the markets. News of a potentially lucrative discovery in the eastern Gulf. Investors were falling over themselves to get a piece of that pie."

"They were going to sell before Xonex pulled the plug on the drilling operation?"

"Six months, and Xonex would announce there were no reserves. Mass panic. The share price would fall, but they'd be out by then."

"It's appalling," Ellie whispered.

"It's a game," Suzi said. "You wouldn't have been affected anyway. Not much. You'd get another job somewhere else. This would just be a blip on your resume. You don't have to worry about choosing between paying for your child's medication or keeping a roof over your head."

"They offered to help with the medical bills?" Ellie said, edging closer to the door. If she could just get past Suzi and make a run for it, she'd have a chance at calling for help.

Suzi couldn't prevent her eyes from welling up. "They said they'd take care of everything. All my debts, the medical bills, even set up a trust fund for my son's future care. All I had to do was help them with this one thing."

Ellie shook her head in disbelief. "But at what cost, Suzi? You've destroyed so many people's lives, their careers."

"I had no choice," she snapped. "It was either that or watch my son suffer. What would you have done, Ellie? If it was your child?"

Ellie fell silent, her mind reeling. She couldn't even begin to imagine the desperation Suzi must have felt. "I don't know," she whispered. "But there had to be another way."

Suzi laughed bitterly. "Easy for you to say. You've never been in my shoes. Never had to make the choices I've had to make." She reached into her handbag, her eyes hardening. "But none of that matters now. What's done is done."

Ellie's eyes widened as Suzi pulled out the syringe. "Suzi, what are you doing?"

"I have to finish what I started."

Panic surged through her veins, and Ellie felt herself go numb. Not again. Please, not again. "You don't have to do this."

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