Prologue

" W hat are the police doing here?" I tried not to look too obvious as I stared down the hall toward the headmaster's office where one officer was casually leaning against the doorframe. It wasn't every day…or any day really, that the police came all the way out to Montgomery Prep.

"Just routine procedure." Jolene didn't even bother to glance up from her data entry. Blonde frizzy hair pulled into a bun at the top of her head, and her lime green chunky sweater made her cherubic cheeks look pinker in contrast.

I set down the two containers of food, with our lunch, on her desk, hazarding another curious glance at the officer. I could hear murmuring coming from Headmaster Winston's office, indicating another officer was inside. But whatever they were discussing didn't seem important enough for any of them to have decided to close the door and conduct the conversation in private.

"What routine procedure?" I questioned, my gaze still on the officer, who was oblivious to my attention.

"When students run off." She continued to type away on the keyboard.

"Run off?" I turned my wide eyes to Jolene. "Who ran off?"

Finally, she glanced up at me, sighing, perhaps annoyed with my questioning. I knew she was inundated with work at the end of the school year, trying to get grades updated, and helping students submit last-minute transcripts to finalize their college admissions. "I think his name was Daniel Grant."

I blanched. If he was who I was thinking of, that wasn't possible.

"You mean Daniel Graham, the junior, on scholarship?" I tried to clarify.

Jolene nodded, eyes fixed on the spreadsheet in front of her.

"There must be a mistake. He wouldn't run away."

"Well, that's what the police and headmaster said." Jolene shrugged, her fingers continuing to glide across her keyboard.

"But he's—" I paused. It didn't make any sense. "He wouldn't have. He just took my Classics final yesterday."

To be fair, I didn't know him that well. I didn't know any of my students very well. They liked it that way, and so did the school. But he was a good kid and smart as a whip. He knew how lucky he was to be at Montgomery Prep and took advantage as much as he could to set himself up for what would come next.

I could sense the same drive in Daniel as I saw in myself. He came from nothing and would do anything to find his own path to success, despite a low-income upbringing. I couldn't see any reason he'd leave without telling a single person, and certainly not two days before the semester ended.

"There must be a mistake," I whispered, repeating myself.

The voices grew louder as the headmaster escorted both police officers back into the lobby of the administration offices. "Sorry to make you drive all the way out," Winston apologized half-heartedly.

"It's no bother." The one who had been in the office, taller than the other, waved him off.

I felt my pulse spike.

I had to say something.

They were wrong.

But I was nervous to speak up in front of the headmaster. So instead, I waited until he shook both their hands and retreated into his office.

Following the officers up the stairs, I called out to them just before they made it back into the main entrance hall, where there were likely students milling about. "Excuse me."

The officers spun around.

"Did I hear you're investigating a missing student?" I could feel my cheeks burning.

"A runaway —not missing," the officer who had listened from the doorway replied.

"Daniel Graham?" I questioned, hoping they wouldn't ask me how I knew. But then again, at a school as small as Montgomery, nothing stayed secret for long.

The taller officer narrowed his gaze on me.

"He's in one of my classes," I added hastily, hoping that would suffice for how I'd known, and tell them that I was familiar with Daniel. "He wouldn't have run away. He's very bright. If he's really gone, then he's missing. Should I file a missing person report? He's very responsible. He would have told someone he was leaving."

"No need to file anything," the shorter officer replied. "We'll handle the investigation from here."

"He didn't run away," I repeated more firmly, sensing they disagreed. He didn't have the money, resources, or family clout that the rest of the students at the school had. If they considered him a runaway, I was certain nobody would look for him.

"Thank you, Miss…"

"Violet Price," I told them. "I teach history. I'll be staying on campus over the summer. I can answer any questions you have about him. But I'm telling you, he didn't run away."

The taller officer gave me a dismissive smile that came off as more of a sneer than I assumed he had intended. "Thank you, Miss Price. We'll let you know if we need anything."

Without another word, they both continued up the stairs.

I knew I wouldn't be hearing from them.

And I never did.