“That’d be really invasive if we went there, huh? We should definitely not go there, right?” Luna asked, looking like that’s precisely what she wanted to do.

“She doesn’t care about us, so why should we care about her privacy?” Harlow asked. “Anyways, we don’t have flashlights. I’m against the darkness right now. Extremely so.”

“Green sounds good to me,” Stella said.

They never got the chance.

All five tablets began vibrating and beeping.

Emergency Announcement

11:00 A.M.

There has been an incident.

All guests please proceed to the White Drawing Room immediately.

All staff please proceed to bunker two for briefing.

Thank you for your swift compliance and cooperation.

NOBODY KNOWS

SATURDAY, 11:13 A.M.

“Thank you all for coming so quickly.” Olive had begun to pace back and forth in a small line. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but we decided it would be best to tell you. Jewel is missing. We don’t know where she is.”

“Normally we wouldn’t worry except she’s not answering her phone and things aren’t adding up,” Ethan said. A man in a blue trench coat with silver hems and cuffs stood next to him. The name tag read SIMON G.—JVH SECURITY.

“What kind of things?” Stella asked.

“We can’t—” Olive’s voice broke, and Ethan had to finish for her, “Things that required us to call the police.”

Olive burst into tears, covering her face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said as she fled the room, Ethan helplessly watching her go.

Simon spoke next. “Last night, there was a breach. We think they got in when you all did. Usually they’re harmless. They take pictures and leave. We change key codes, have safety meetings, contact the police, and then we move on. Unfortunately, we don’t think this person was here to just take pictures.”

Luna said, “Um—”

“No,” Francis snapped. “Let him finish.”

“I understand you may have questions, and I’m sorry but we’re not at liberty to discuss them at the moment. For now, we’ve decided it’s safest for you all to stay here to keep up appearances. In the meantime, the police would like to ask you some questions individually.”

Ethan said, “We were able to verify where everyone was around the time we think she went missing. They’re just trying to get a more accurate picture of what happened yesterday, so anything you could tell them would be extremely helpful.”

“We’ve also added a panic function to your tablet home screen,” Simon said. “You may have seen it previously as the ABORT button. If you see anyone or anything suspicious, please don’t hesitate to push it. We’d appreciate it if you all stayed in your rooms. Lunch will be brought up shortly, and after the police have everything they need, we’ll begin to think about travel arrangements to get you home.”

INTERROGATIONS