Page 48 of Make Her Break

Veronica scrolls through her phone, her brow furrowing.

“There’s more,” I say. “And you’re not going to like any of it.”

“Nothing so far has been likable.” Her gaze lifts to mine.

“I don’t think they just want you as a member. I think they want you to be one of their leaders.”

Her eyebrows shoot up and she blinks at me. “What? No way.”

“It’s a guess, but it’s the only thing I’ve come up with that would explain everything.”

“So it was like an audition.” She shakes her head. “For something I’m not even interested in, and their way of trying to convince me was... well, shit.”

“Every circle has its own leaders, and they’re a step under Supreme, but they still give orders, and everyone below them does what they say. Since they can only be juniors and seniors, they constantly need new people.”

“And you think it’s supposed to be me.” She arches her eyebrows.

“I think it would explain why they haven’t stopped.”

She presses her lips into a tight line.

I tap Dinah’s photo. “They keep records on everyone who’s ever led the society, and on whoever comes along in the family after them, since legacy matters. So your name would’ve come up the second you applied here, maybe even before that. They didn’t pick you out of a pile of freshmen and get lucky.”

“Great, but they got lucky with me picking this exact college to go to.” Her jaw tightens. “So all the stuff they did...”

“They were probably testing you. I didn’t know it then either, if it helps, but yeah... They wanted to see how you’d react. And the challenges at the start were all staged, with society members. They only do stuff like that if they have a reason.”

“It doesn’t help, but you could be wrong about all of it, right?” She cocks her head at me.

“I could. I’ve been wrong about plenty lately.” I glance at the pile of books. “But nothing else explains why they’ve put so much effort into you and haven’t gotten bored of it yet.”

When the society came for me, I wanted in so badly it was hard to think about anything else, and I still turned down their first offer and made them come back and ask again, because sounding too eager could’ve exposed my whole plan.

But I never had a chance to go to the top. Even though I told Veronica my aunt and uncle were the reason I got an invitation, the truth is that no one in my family has ever heard of this place. The top of the top goes to people whose families have been in the society for generations. But getting high enough to reach the old files was all I needed, and I’d have been there in another year if I hadn’t blown it.

But I have no regrets. Not even now, with nothing to show for any of it. Whatever they do to me, they’re not getting Veronica, and old me would’ve laughed himself to death at that and asked why the fuck I was throwing everything away for a girl I was supposed to be using. But old me hadn’t met her.

The society can kick me out for good or release some fake video about me that would ruin my career, but I’d agree to all of that if it meant they never got Veronica. And maybe it’s a stupid choice, but what can I do?

The society’s finished with me, and Elsie’s file might as well be on the moon. Veronica isn’t mine and probably never will be. Maybe I should’ve told her the whole truth the first week. But she’d have probably called me a liar and left, or maybe she wouldn’t have, and now I’ll never find out, because I picked the other option and she found out everything on her own.

Telling her to leave was useless too. Even if she agreed to do it tomorrow, I doubt they’d let a legacy transfer out and start fresh somewhere without making her pay for it in some way, and I’ve got no idea what that would look like. She can’t run and she doesn’t want to, and I don’t know what to do about any of that.

“Who is Supreme?” she asks. “Like, really?”

“I don’t know.”

She frowns at me. “You’ve talked to him.”

“More than once, and every time he had a mask, robe, and gloves on. He could be in one of my lectures and I’d have no clue.”

“His voice, then. You must’ve heard it somewhere.”

“He doesn’t sound like anyone I’ve heard on campus, and he’s supposed to be a student here, so I suspect he’s changing his voice somehow. It wouldn’t be hard to do it if you practice and you’re super careful about it.”

“Someone has to know. Maybe he’s a voice actor.”

“Maybe the leaders know, or maybe not even them.” I run a hand through my hair. “Hiding who he is, is the whole point, since if everyone knew his real identity, he’d just be a student everyone knows, and no one would be scared of him after that.”