Chapters (51)
- Cover
- Praise for Sara Shepard
- Also by Sara Shepard
- Dedication
- PART ONE
- —
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- PART TWO
- Piper
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Piper
- Eighteen
- Piper
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Piper
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Piper
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Piper
- Thirty-Four
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- What’s next onyour reading list?
Andrea could barely breathe. A huge part of her wanted to turn and bolt. But instead, she said quietly, “What you did to the parents isn’t right.”
Carson tipped back in his chair. His blink was as slow as a turtle’s, and that strange smile was still on his face. “What did I do?”
She flashed the list Ronnie swiped. “How many of these parents had little increments removed from their bank accounts? Ten? Twenty? Everyone?” This was a tiny bit of a bluff: she wasn’t 100 percent sure that second account was Silver Swans’. Jane had read out the account number on her illicit transactions, though, and they’d matched Andrea’s exactly. What else could it be?
A bloom of red was creeping up Carson’s neck. “Where did you get that?”
“Did Piper know? Or was this your little endeavor?”
Now Carson was getting up and walking around his desk. “That’s property of the school. I could have you arrested.”
As if on cue, a police siren rang out down the street, and Carson froze. Andrea straightened. “I called them. You can’t steal, Carson. A lot of these people lost their jobs this past year. A lot of people are making serious sacrifices to send their kids to this place. Do you realize how up in arms the parents are going to be when they find out?”
Carson burst out laughing. “Oh, come on. You didn’t even know that money was missing.” Andrea looked away. “And for the record, we didn’t take from people who were hurting. Only those who could afford it.”
“And you think that gives you the right?” Andrea said carefully. “You don’t know people’s financial situations. It might seem like they’re doing okay, but maybe they aren’t.”
Carson sighed. “Do you know what we do for your kids? Do you know how hard we work?”
“Everyone struggled.” She pushed the list of account numbers into her back pocket and listened. The sirens didn’t sound much closer. “So, did Piper find out about what you were doing? And, what, she asked you to stop it? But you didn’t want it to end, did you? I’ve seen your Facebook posts—your fancy car, your messenger bag, your dinners out. It’s nice to have money, isn’t it, when you grew up with nothing?”
Carson crossed his arms. “You don’t know me.”
“So you had to take matters into your own hands? But then we come along, and it’s so convenient! But what’s going to happen when Piper wakes up?”
Carson’s eyes popped wide. “You think I hurt her?” He let out an incredulous laugh. “You sound like you’re on fucking Law & Order. Piper was in on the scam. She approved the idea.”