“Keep this with you,” she said. “Do not leave it in your dorm.”

My phone vibrated violently in my coat pocket, the sudden buzz making both of us jump.

I pulled it out, expecting a threatening text from my father or a panicked call from my mother.

Instead, the screen showed an unknown number.

I slid my thumb across the screen to unlock it, my eyes scanning the text.

*Ava, it’s Sean,* the message read.

My breath caught in my throat.

Sean was Brandon’s former business partner, the man my brother had betrayed and left with millions in debt.

*I know what your parents did to your grandmother’s estate,* the next text read.

*They think they burned everything, but they didn’t.*

I stared at the glowing screen, my thumb hovering over the glass.

*What do you mean?* I typed back, my hands trembling.

Dean Vance watched me, her eyebrows drawing together in concern.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, my eyes still glued to the screen.

A three-dot typing bubble appeared on my phone, bouncing up and down.