“Mm,” is all I reply, terrified that my voice will break and give me away if I try to speak. What could I possibly say? Yes, I, too, am so glad she found the right tutor. Her final score was definitely because of that, and not because she received the literal answers to memorize days in advance. For sure.

Then my phone buzzes, the vibration almost violent against the thin fabric of my skirt, and all thoughts of Mr. Chen and Evie and the raised school fees are driven away as I read the new message on Beijing Ghost.

“Repeat what you just said.”

Henry is staring at me from the other end of his dorm room, his expression the closest thing to shock I’ve ever witnessed on him. He runs an agitated hand through his hair, shakes his head. Sits down on the edge of his bed, which is perfectly made, as usual. Sometimes I wonder if he even sleeps on it.

“Which part?” I ask.

He doesn’t reply, but his eyes dart to the door. He’s been doing this a lot—ever since I ran in here and shut the door firmly behind me, afraid that people in the hall might overhear our conversation and call the police on us. He’d flinched as if I were trapping us inside a prison, looking almost...nervous. Tense. His back too straight, his fingers restless. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was more upset about the closed door than what I just said.

“Which part?” I say again, when it becomes clear he hasn’t heard me.

“All of it.”

“Are you serious?”

“It’s a fair lot to take in, don’t you think?”

I roll my eyes, but he’s right. It is a lot to handle; I wouldn’t have come here straight after school otherwise.

So I repeat it all. Everything from the latest Beijing Ghost message.

I tell him about Andrew She and Peter Oh, how their parents’ rivalry at the same company has been escalating in recent weeks, how one of them is meant to be promoted soon, but the company hasn’t reached a decision yet on who is the best pick. All Andrew knows is that whoever gets promoted will be the marketing director for every branch in Eurasia and receive a seven-figure salary each year, and it’s everything his father has been working for since his early twenties, but his father isn’t so confident about his chances at winning.

In fact, his father is so uncertain about his chances that he’s willing to use other methods. Simpler, crueler methods that are sure to produce results.

Like kidnapping the other guy’s son.

The Experiencing China trip will be the perfect opportunity, Andrew She had written. He hadn’t mentioned his own name, only Peter’s, but I’d known about them and their parents’ feud long enough to guess just from the context. We’ll all be staying at the Autumn Dragon Hotel for four nights in a row, and you know how these trips go—the teachers will have trouble supervising us all at night. The whole process should be smooth. Easy for someone like you. My father will send some of his men over, keep them hidden in a room on a separate floor. All you have to do is ensure Peter makes his way to them, and take his phone. It’s essential, however, that you create no disturbance whatsoever, so that by the time anyone even notices he’s gone, it’ll be too late.