Arun nodded but didn’t meet our eyes, instead staring at his black workman boots, hands clenched together in front of him.

“So Jin is onto us?” Lingyi said. “That’s why you want to abort?”

“Da Ge knows me now. He’s sharp and spends much of his time near Jin,” Victor said. “There’s no way I could go in as the you. He’d recognize me and dig deeper into my background than we want. I gave him the false name I used when I checked in remotely. I had no choice.”

Rockaroke prided itself on the privacy of its clients. As long as you were able to gain access to the elevators with a code, you were a valued guest. Victor had checked in online without ever talking to a Rockaroke attendant in person, remaining anonymous. It didn’t matter as long as you could afford the suite.

“But I didn’t expect a face-to-face interrogation,” Victor continued. “If I’m a rich you, Jin’s people would have known about me already.”

Arun cursed. “And no one else can take your place. I’m too well known at the university—”

“And you’re Dr. Nataraj’s son,” Lingyi finished. “Everyone knows me as the daughter of the infamous hacker, never mind my dad’s wide network when he headed Fortune Securities. And Iris—well, Iris would just as likely kill everyone first.”

Iris stretched her arms languidly overhead. “It always does seem to be the easier option.”

I thought she was joking—with Iris, you never knew—but none of us laughed. Vic was right: His cover was blown before it even started. And no one else could go in. . . .

“What about me?” I said.

Lingyi gave me a look so sharp it’d cut if she could will it. “No.”

“Why not?” I looked her square in the eyes, challenging. We’d known each other since I was thirteen—Lingyi had befriended me in a used-book store soon after my mom had died. She was the oldest one in our group at nineteen. Lingyi was the boss. Didn’t mean I never disagreed with her or always did what she told me, though.

“They were going around with an image of you, Zhou,” she said.

“A very bad image—”

“I recognized you well enough.”

“It’s because you know me,” I replied. “You love this face too much.”

Iris and Victor snorted at the same time, then stared at each other suspiciously.

“Victor said that Da Ge is no fool,” Lingyi said. “He’d make the connection—”

“So we’re just going to give up?” I jumped up from my chair and paced in front of my friends. “After I risked my life kidnapping that you girl? What are we going to do with all that money? Return it?” I spat.

“Maybe we could donate it anonymously—”