Page 26 of Bad Boy Billionaire Protector

No one seemed to want to reject the proposal, so the professor carried on.

“As you all wish to accept the proposal we present you with your cloak, your mask and, last of all, your ring. Put these items on and you will become part of The Order, one of us."

I was handed a cloak which I put on, then a mask. I slipped it on over my face. Finally, I was given the ring and it slid on to my middle finger.

We stood in the row with our new cloaks and masks and waited in silence.

Professor Owens then took off his mask and opened his arms wide. “Welcome to The Order. You are part of the most elite society in the United States today. We are pleased you have accepted our offering. Come, enjoy a little time with us before we take you back to your homes. We don’t want to keep you out here too long in the cold.

Champagne was brought to us and we all took a glass. I headed towards Anastasia, who had taken off her mask.

“Congratulations,” she smiled.

“And to you.”

“Well, this went a little bit differently than expected. I thought American societies put their initiates through horrible ordeals.”

“Yes, I have to admit, I’m kind of relieved that we haven’t been put through that. I guess they really want us to join their club.” We both laughed.

Professor Owens came and stood in front of us. He kissed Anastasia’s hand then shook mine. “Welcome, welcome. I’m so glad you decided to join us,” he gushed, mostly to me.

I smiled graciously at him. “What a spectacle you all make in your cloaks and masks.”

“Ah, a little theatre to raise the excitement levels.”

“It worked on me,” Anastasia said.

“I’m glad,” Professor Owens replied. “I must go and speak to the other initiates. Welcome again to The Order. You won’t regret your decision.”

I highly doubted that but didn’t say anything, just smiled at the professor and waved as he walked away.

Anastasia drifted away and began to speak to other people so I took my chance and headed away from the group, into the trees, until I was sure no one could hear me. I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed Andrew’s number.

“What’s happening bro?” His voice sounded tired.

“I’ve just been abducted and initiated into The Order. I have the ring, the cloak, everything.”

“Congratulations. Was it rough?”

“Not too rough. I guess they didn’t want to piss off their wealthy initiates with crappy hazing.”

“I’m glad for you. I have some news for you too. It has to do with Professor Owens. It seems like the professor has been doing some financially dodgy dealings. We’ve unearthed some hidden bank accounts and they have a number of transactions that have been funneled in from individuals who don’t exist. They’re just made up names. We’re running a trace with the banks to track back to where the payments came from. But it’s looking very illegitimate and is definitely something that the professor will have to answer for.”

I ran my hand through my hair as I tried to digest the information. “Geez. So fake individuals have been paying into hidden bank accounts? There’s gotta be something there. Financial Crime will be able to unravel that for us.”

“There’s more.”

“More?”

“Mostly from the rumor mill but it’s worth checking out to see if we can connect the dots.”

“Go on.”

“There’s a rumor from his previous university that alluded to misconduct with young female students, who later disappeared and went missing. There was an investigation but they couldn’t find a connection to pin anything on the professor. Then he got the job at Stanford and the investigation trailed off into nothing.”

“Well, shit. That’s strange. It’s definitely worth us looking into it.”

“Yeah. I’ve asked my contact to send over their files so we can have a look and see if there’s anything they missed.”

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