Page 155 of Wicked Brutal

“I don’t know.” Becca keeps scrolling. “But your dad didn’t wake up this morning, get pissed off at your friends, and call some school in Switzerland.”

Yesterday didn’t cause this. Yesterday might have changed something. But Roman had already been planning to send her away.

Ally’s voice is quiet. “So he knew.”

“Knew what?” I ask.

“That he was sending me when he sat across from me yesterday. He knew when he talked about graduation. He knew when Victor talked about the wedding.”

“We don’t know when he made the decision.”

“But it was before yesterday.” Becca answers that one.

“Yes.” No bullshit. No trying to make it softer.

Ally nods slowly. Then she looks at the paperwork again. “Is all of it in French?”

“Some. Most of what Ryan photographed is English because it’s the paperwork Edgewood and your father needed. The school documents are mixed.”

She goes back to the paperwork. A few seconds later, her expression changes again.

“What?”

“There’s an intake date.”

Everything in me tightens. Ally goes still. “When?”

Becca turns the phone so we can both see.

Monday, April 6, 2026.

Not tomorrow. Not this week. Not even next week. Weeks away. Enough time that my lungs actually work again. Not enough time that I feel anything close to relief.

Ally calculates it faster than I do. Her hand presses more firmly against her stomach. “That’s not very long.”

No. For anyone else, it might be. For us? For the baby she’s trying to hide? For the warrants Arthur still can’t promise? For Tobias? It’s fucking nothing.

I take her hand. “It’s more than today.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“No.” I squeeze. “It’s supposed to keep us from pretending this is happening tomorrow when it isn’t.”

Becca keeps reading. “There’s private travel coordination too.”

“Private plane?” Ally asks.

“Looks like it. There’s an aviation service authorization and ground transportation on the other end.”

“Of course there is.” Ally sounds exhausted now. Not shocked. Just fucking tired.

Becca scrolls again. “Residential policies. Campus access. Visitor approval…” She stops. Her mouth tightens.

“What now?”

“Personal devices are restricted during initial intake.”

Ally looks at her. “They take my phone?”