Chapter 2
Dad didn't move when I begged him to stop the recording.
He simply looked at Jordan.
"Play it."
My brother hesitated.
For one brief moment, I thought he might protect me.
We had spent our whole lives protecting each other.
When I broke Mom's favorite vase at eight, Jordan took the blame.
When he failed his driving permit test, I told our cousins he'd decided to wait.
When kids at school made fun of my braces, he walked beside me every morning until they stopped.
But this wasn't a broken vase.
And Jordan knew it.
He pressed play.
My voice filled the room again.
"If you tell Dad what I did, I'll say you threatened me. Mom will believe me."
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Mom stared at me.
Her mouth opened.
Then closed.
Jordan looked toward the floor.
Dad took a slow breath.
"Maya."
I began crying harder.
"I didn't mean it."
He stared at me.
"Which part?"
I couldn't answer.
"Did you mean to accuse your brother?"
I shook my head.
"Or did you mean to frighten him into keeping quiet?"
My knees felt weak.
Jordan put his phone down.
"I told her I wouldn't cover for her."
Mom looked at him.
"Cover for what?"
He hesitated.
Dad's voice sharpened.
"Jordan."
My brother swallowed.
"She took money from the school fundraiser."
I felt as though someone had punched me.
Mom stepped backward.
"What?"
Jordan looked at me.
"Tell them."
I covered my face.
"Maya, sweetheart," Mom whispered, "what money?"
I slowly lowered my hands.
The lie was over.
At least the first lie.
"Four thousand dollars."
Mom grabbed the back of a chair.
Dad stared at me.
"Four thousand?"
I nodded.
My school had been raising money for a summer leadership program.
Forty students had worked for months.
Bake sales.
Car washes.
Community dinners.
Online donations.
I was student treasurer.
Teachers trusted me with deposits because I had always been responsible.
Straight A's.
Student council.
Honor society.
The girl everyone called dependable.
And three days earlier, I had transferred four thousand dollars from the fundraiser's payment account into an account I controlled.
I knew exactly how terrible that sounded.
Because it was terrible.
Dad sat down.
"Where is the money?"
I stared at the carpet.
"Maya."
My voice trembled.
"I don't have it."
Mom made a small choking sound.
"What do you mean?"
"It's gone."
Jordan looked away.
Dad leaned forward.
"Who has it?"
I began shaking.
I had prepared answers to so many questions.
But not that one.
Because the answer was tied to something I was even more afraid to admit.
A message flashed through my memory.
PAY TONIGHT OR EVERYONE SEES IT.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Dad noticed.
"Look at me."
I forced myself to meet his eyes.
"Did someone force you to take that money?"
I hesitated.
Jordan stepped forward.
"That's what I was trying to ask her."
I looked at my brother.
His expression was full of pain.
"She wouldn't tell me anything," he continued. "She just wanted me to help replace the money before the audit."
Mom stared at him.
"What audit?"
"The school finance office is checking the fundraiser account tomorrow."
Dad leaned back.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Mom knelt in front of me.
"Maya, I need you to tell me what happened."
I wanted to.
I really did.
But every time I tried, I saw the photograph.
The one that shouldn't have existed.
The one somebody had been threatening to send to everyone at school.
I started crying so hard that my chest hurt.
Dad's expression softened.
"Baby, are you in danger?"
I nodded before I could stop myself.
Mom grabbed my hands.
"From who?"
I looked at Jordan.
Then at Dad.
Finally, I whispered a name.
"Tyler Brooks."
Jordan went completely still.
"Tyler?"
I nodded.
He looked confused.
"From school?"
"Yes."
Dad frowned.
"Who's Tyler?"
Jordan answered.
"A senior. He's eighteen. He runs the school's media club."
Mom looked at me.
"What did he do?"
I pressed my hands over my face.
"He has something."
Dad leaned forward.
"What?"
"A picture."
Mom's expression changed.
"What kind of picture?"
My throat tightened.
I couldn't say it.
Jordan crouched beside me.
For the first time since our fight, his voice was gentle.
"Maya, whatever it is, we'll figure it out."
I shook my head.
"You don't understand."
"Then tell us."
I looked at him.
"He said he'd destroy me."
Jordan's face hardened.
"How?"
"He said he'd send it to everyone."
Mom began crying.
Dad stood.
"Nobody is going to threaten my daughter in this house without us doing something about it."
I wanted to believe him.
But I had already made things worse.
Much worse.
Because Tyler hadn't stopped after receiving the money.
He wanted something else.
Something that had nothing to do with photographs.
My phone vibrated.
I looked down.
A new message appeared.
I recognized the number.
Tyler.
My stomach dropped.
Jordan noticed my expression.
"What is it?"
I tried to hide the screen.
But Dad saw.
"Maya, give me the phone."
I shook my head.
"Please."
He held out his hand.
I slowly passed it to him.
He read the message.
His expression changed.
Mom stood.
"Marcus?"
Dad read the words aloud.
"Tomorrow. Bring your father's office key. No more excuses."
Jordan looked at me.
"His office key?"
I started shaking again.
Dad stared at the screen.
Then at me.
"Why does this boy want access to my office?"
I couldn't answer.
Because I had finally realized that Tyler wasn't only trying to hurt me.
May you like
He was trying to get to my father.
And the four thousand dollars had only been the beginning.
