“Yes,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” Kenzie said.

“You don’t even know what crime or incident you’re apologizing for,” Chris said. “Do we know what it is?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. What am I sorry for?” Kenzie asked.

“I’m still figuring that out,” Tristan said. He’d just dialed a number on his phone and was holding it to his ear. “But your parents are in on it.”

“Oh,” she said. She looked at me.

“How many things does that narrow it down to?” Chris asked.

“A few,” Kenzie answered, before giving a short laugh and smiling. “I’m kind of caught off guard. Um. The most obvious one is the… parental blackmail? Is that the right word?”

“Extortion,” I said.

“Oh, a crime they might go after you for,” Chris said.

Kenzie looked at me. “Is it?”

I winced. “Harder to dismiss than the breaches, depending.”

“I’ve noticed how Kenzie asks Victoria for input on it being a problem instead of trusting me,” Chris was quiet.

“Feeling left out?” Kenzie asked, the smile dropping from her face as she took on a more serious, somber expression. “I trust you, and I’m touched that you want to help.”

“Uh huh. Regretting I said anything now.” Much like how Tristan was on the phone, having retreated to the far corner of the room, blocking out our conversation with one hand on his other ear, Chris was turning to his laptop.

“I could go to jail,” Kenzie said it as if it was just dawning on her. She sat back in her chair, the adjustable metal parts shaking audibly with the force of the movement. Her eyes widened, and she turned to look at Ashley’s projection.

“No,” Ashley said, preemptively.

Kenzie’s eyes widened. “I could go to your jail.”

“Oh geez,” Rain said.

“No,” Ashley repeated. “It’s not worth it.”

“Silver linings, though.”

“You’d be put in another area, on another schedule. You’d be close but probably wouldn’t ever interact. And that’s if they put someone as young as you in that prison,” I said. “I think they put most minors in the Wardens HQ, like Bonesaw.”

“Aww. But it’s not there anymore, so maybe—”

“We’ll do everything we can to keep you out of jail,” Ashley said. To the rest of the group, she said, “Victoria and I talked about this being something the Martins might do.”

I shook my head. “It seemed like something that would come up as part of the tribunal. It’s pretty easy to dodge being put away if you can come up with any excuses or reasonable doubt. But they went with it. When they didn’t, I figured they wouldn’t.”