Chapter 2

The suspicion took root in me.

I called my mother. "Mom, don't send me any more money, either of you. Something's wrong with my card."

She sounded anxious. "Can't the bank trace it? Should we call the police?"

The police? The bank records showed I'd made the transfers myself.

And even if it was a scam, where were the scammer's call logs? The chat history?

I had nothing.

If anything, Virginia was the one real lead I had, and I couldn't tip her off.

So I reassured her. "I've got a thread to follow. Leave it to me for now."

Back in the dorm, another Coach bag had appeared on Virginia's bed.

Our roommate Lily was looking at her, worried. "You're spending this much—what are you going to do when you can't afford to eat?"

Virginia glanced up, saw me, and gave a smug little smile.

"I'll be fine. My family's got money now. I won't need financial aid anymore."

"Evelyn's the one to worry about. You're down to fifty dollars on your card. How come your parents won't wire you anything more?"

"Don't tell me they found out you were spending it all on male escorts and cut you off?"

I gave her a cold look.

"How do you know whether my parents have sent me more money or not?"

"And why are you more eager for my mom to transfer money than I am?"

Virginia flew into a temper.

"I was just being nice, worried you'd go hungry! Why are you being so snide?"

Lily frowned at me too. "Evelyn, what's got you throwing a fit?"

"Are you just sore that Virginia's family came into money? Can't stand to see someone else do well?"

I was about to answer when my phone chimed with a text.

My scholarship had landed.

I quickly opened my banking app.

Balance: ten thousand and fifty dollars.

The instant I read the number, the balance refreshed and dropped right back to fifty.

Almost at the same moment, Virginia's phone chimed.

I was standing right beside her bed, and I caught it at a glance: "A deposit has been made to your card ending in 3003."

Guilt flashed across her face and she moved to lock the screen. I clamped my hand over hers.

"Let me see it."

She jabbed the lock button on the side.

"Are you sick, Evelyn? Why on earth would I let you see my phone?"

"This is snooping through my private stuff!"

My voice went cold. "My scholarship vanishes the second it lands, and at the exact same moment your phone gets a deposit alert."

"The scholarship's ten thousand. How much just came into your account? Why won't you let me look?"

Virginia's eyes reddened at once.

"You blew through your own money and now you want to pin it on me?"

"Yes, that was a deposit alert on my phone just now. It's allowance from my parents. Why should I have to show you?"

"So the amounts matching means I stole from you? Go on, tell me—how exactly did I steal it?"