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Christian hooks a thumb over his shoulder toward the elevators. “To the morgue. We have an appointment with—”

“Ms. Vera,” I answer for him, knowing damn well he doesn’t remember Everlee’s maiden name.

He sizes us up for longer than necessary before he nods and waves us on. That was actually kind of weird. You’d think people who were already permitted behind locked doors wouldn’t be stopped by security.

We nearly run to the elevators in hopes not to be stopped again, hitting the “B” button for the basement.

“What information do you think she’s going to have?” Billie asks.

“I don’t know, but it must be something weird if she’s coming to you first and not the authorities,” I reply.

The elevator doors ding and slide open as we step out of the box. It looks like the morgue’s office is straight ahead, and when we reach the door, Everlee’s mom smiles at us through the window. She waves us in as she finishes a phone call and hangs it up.

“I’m so glad you guys are here. Holden informed me of some things and—” She closes her lips and looks beyond us into the hallway. “Shut the door. Come on in. Have a seat.”

Christian and Billie take the two seats in front of her desk as I shut the door and stand behind them, crossing my arms over my chest. I don’t have a reason not to distrust Ms. Vera, but I also don’t know if I can trust her, either. Mr. Van tried to fuck her over, and she ended up with a high authority job upon his incarceration. She could be just as sketchy as the rest of these pricks.

She reaches into a drawer to her left and pulls out a manilla folder. “This is your mother’s autopsy, Billie, and I wanted you to come here and see it because I don’t want another repeat of what happened with Mrs. Van and Holden.”

Okay, she has my attention.

Pulling out the paperwork, she lays it down so Billie can read it when she leans forward. I tower over everyone and read from above, but I don’t understand what we’re looking at.

“This is the most generic autopsy any John or Jane Smith could ever have—textbook type autopsies. I may be new at this job, but I’m not an idiot. They claimed your mother was murdered in prison, yet this autopsy would signify that she died from a heart attack.”

“So, how is a heart attack a basic autopsy?” I ask.

She looks up into my eyes when she says, “Because the most common cause of death is heart disease. Nobody questions a heart attack.”

Billie snorts. “But you did…”

“Yes, I did, because when I looked back at the security footage, all I saw was a black body bag rolled through the hallways. The cameras in the actual examining room mysteriously cut out just as they rolled the body in. I’ve worked here long enough to know these cameras don’t justcut out.”

The three of us look between each other, not saying a word, before Billie turns back to Ms. Vera and asks, “So you don’t think my mother’s dead after all?”

“Well, I didn’t say that, but something is strange. Patrick Lucas was in here for roughly twenty minutes, hurrying to process along because the funeralhadto take place this morning.” She leans back in her chair and shrugs. “I don’t know how much kids your age know about this kind of thing, but it doesn’t take a brain scientist to understand he’s hiding her death—or fake death.”

Christian bolts out of his chair and turns to me with wild eyes, rushing out, “I think I know where she is!”

Chapter 43

CHRISTIAN VERADIN

“Speaktous,brother,”Zeke demands from the passenger seat as I shift gears like a wild man, flying through the mountain roads.

I look in all three mirrors, making sure we’re not being followed, though I don’t know why the fuck we would be right now, anyway. Fuck, I’m paranoid as shit right now.

“Think about it,” I shout, downshifting to take this sharp curve in a drift. “There is one person who keeps showing up in our lives—one fucking place we’dneverlook.”

They’re waiting for my big reveal, but I have to focus on the road for a second. This stretch is nothing but sharp ass curves as we descend into the valley. I didn’t want to think anything of it, but why else would the society assign me to fuck Mrs. Astor? She has to be part of the society, and then we see her at Billie’s mom’s funeral like she’s one of us?

“Mrs. Astor,” I say loudly, slamming my hand on the shift.

“Who?!” Billie shrieks from the backseat.

“Your little boyfriend’s mom,” I answer. “CJ!”

“Holy fucking shit,” Zeke rushes out.

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