“What’s going on?” asked Edie, following him down the stone steps into the garden entry. They passed through the dark entry hall and into the living area. Edie had been here about two years before for Ben’s graduation party. That night, the cavernous space was strung with lights and stuffed with people. Claudia had pointed to the interior balcony and giggled. We had sex up there like two hours ago. Empty and unlit, the room now felt like a mausoleum.

“Why was Ridley here?” she asked. “Have you seen Claudia?”

Ben stared at her, his eyes glazed. Was he stoned? “What do you want me to answer first?”

Before she could say, Edie’s phone pinged. She pulled it from her pocket fast: Please be Claudia.

“Is that her?” asked Ben.

It was a text from Nathan: are you ok? she needs to eat. should I give her a bottle of what you pumped? Edie silenced the phone.

“No,” she said. “When was the last time you saw her?”

“Last weekend.”

“Why were you at her dorm?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to lie to me?” It was like talking to a child.

“I’m not lying, I’m just…” Ben gnashed his teeth and groaned. The sound was low, like a moan, and it surprised Edie. Ben was in pain. “I don’t know what to do. Last Sunday, the night after I saw Claudia, Chad Drake sent me a video. But he sent it to my old number and I didn’t see it until a couple days ago.”

“What’s the video?”

Ben hesitated.

“Let me see it.”

Ben handed over the phone, then turned away. Edie watched all fifty-eight seconds without breathing. Her sister’s face, the bodies, the laughter. She began to shiver. Her heart itched in her chest, flaring like a rash. Chad Drake and some other guy raped Claudia. And filmed it.

“Why didn’t you do something?” Edie said finally. Her voice was low and she spoke through her teeth, her tongue and lips weighted with what she’d seen.

“I did do something! I tried to find Claudia. I tried to find Chad.” Ben dropped onto the sofa behind him. “Why would he send me a sex tape of him and Claudia?”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Ben? Does she even look conscious to you?”

“What?”

“You think that’s a sex tape?”

“Stop yelling at me!”

Edie stopped. Ben was scared, too. Maybe he’d actually loved Claudia. She was never sure from the outside.

“Is that why Ridley was here?” she asked.

“I went to their building after I got this and the doormen wouldn’t let me up. Then, like an hour ago, Ridley showed up.”

“Does he know where she is?”

“He said he doesn’t.”

“What about the video? Does he know about that?”