The world outside Lisa's Honda Civic shifts from manicured perfection to something more honest as they leave Riverside behind. Hannah watches the transition through the passenger window—how the carefully planned landscapes give way to natural growth, how the houses become more modest but somehow more real. The air feels colder with each passing mile, and the faint hum of the car heater is a comfort against the creeping chill of early winter. The late afternoon sun catches on her thrift store cardigan, warming her through the glass, but only just.

"Five more minutes," Lisa says, her hands steady on the wheel despite the slight tremor in her voice. "Just past that ridge."

Hannah realizes she hasn't been to Brookswood in years - not since those Sunday drives with her parents when money was less tight and gas wasn't a luxury. She remembers ice cream at Jerry's Diner, the taste of real vanilla mixing with her father's laughter before insurance claims and medical bills turned him quiet.

"Do you know Brookswood well?" she asks, watching Lisa's profile for any reaction.

"Not really." Lisa navigates around a pothole with practiced ease. "Dad and I come here sometimes for restaurant supplies - they have this amazing Asian market that's way cheaper than anything in Riverside. And there's the mall, which is probably our best bet since it's Saturday. Most kids end up there when there's nothing else to do."

Hannah unlocks her phone, pulling up the screenshots they'd managed to find. Megan Carter and Victoria Reynolds smile back at her from carefully curated Instagram profiles that haven't been updated in months. Both beautiful in that particular way that seems bred into Riverside girls, all perfect teeth and expensive highlights.

"You must have known them," Hannah says softly, the words escaping before she can stop them. "At Hampton Beach. They were there, right?"

Lisa's hands tighten on the steering wheel, her knuckles going white. "There were a lot of people there," she says after a long pause. "We all got pretty drunk. I remember meeting them - basic introductions, you know? They were seniors, so it was like..." She swallows hard. "It was an honor just to be invited into their circle. And then..."

"And then?"

“We popped X,” Lisa blurts out, like the words are burning her tongue. “Everyone was on it, and I just... I wanted in, you know? Wanted to feel like I mattered to them.”

"Pills?" Hannah can't keep the surprise from her voice. Because this is Lisa Chen - straight-A student, future valedictorian, the girl who once lectured her for twenty minutes about the dangers of caffeine.

"Yeah." Lisa's laugh holds no humor. "Turns out perfect grades don't make you immune to peer pressure. Jake had this... this way of making you feel special when he offered you things. Like you were being chosen for something exclusive."

Hannah hesitates, then asks the question that's been haunting her: "What happened after? After Susan... after she stopped Jake?"

Lisa flinches slightly, and Hannah immediately regrets asking. "I'm sorry," she says quickly. "You don't have to—"

"No, it's okay." Lisa's voice is steady but distant. "Susan took me down to the beach. We talked for a while - or she talked, mostly. About how I'd had too much to drink, how these things happen, how I should just forget about it. I was still pretty messed up from everything, so eventually I passed out on one of those fancy beach chairs. When I woke up the next morning..."

She trails off, and Hannah knows she's holding something back. "But how did you know?" she presses gently. "About what happened to Megan, Emily and Victoria?"

"That's just it - I don't. Not really." Lisa takes a sharp turn onto the main road leading into Brookswood. "When I got back to the house, everything felt... wrong. Like walking into a crime scene after it's been cleaned up. Megan, Emily and Victoria were gone, and everyone was acting weird. Susan and Amber kept saying everything was fine, but their smiles were too bright, you know? Like they were trying too hard to prove nothing had happened."

"And two weeks later, they just... disappeared?"

"Transferred schools. No warning, no goodbye posts, nothing. Just gone." Lisa's voice drops to barely a whisper. "And everyone pretended like they'd never existed. Like that whole weekend had never happened."

Hannah stares out at the Brookswood city limit sign as they pass it, thinking about carefully maintained lies and the price of silence. Because something about this doesn't add up - the missing pieces in Lisa's story, the way certain names never get mentioned, the careful dance everyone does around the truth.

"We're going to find them," she says with more confidence than she feels. "And we're going to get answers."

Lisa nods, but Hannah notices she doesn't respond. They drive in silence for a while, both lost in thoughts about parties that end in tragedy and girls who disappear like smoke in the night.

The Brookswood Mall feels almost comically modest after years of Riverside's carefully curated shopping experiences. The linoleum floors have seen better days, and the fountain in the center court sprays with more enthusiasm than precision. But there's something honest about it that makes Hannah's shoulders relax.

"God, I forgot what normal looks like," Lisa says, gesturing at a rack of non-designer jeans in a store window. "No one here's trying to convince me I need a thousand-dollar purse to be worthy of oxygen."

They wander past stores that don't require appointments to enter, past teenagers who wear whatever they want instead of whatever Amber Rosenberg deemed acceptable this season. The normality of it all feels like taking off too-tight shoes after a long day.

"Coffee?" Hannah suggests, spotting a local cafe that definitely isn't Starbucks. "My treat."

The cafe smells like actual coffee rather than whatever caramel-unicorn-frappuccino concoction is trending on TikTok. Hannah orders for both of them - she still remembers how Lisa takes her coffee from their pre-social-hierarchy days. Two lattes, one with an extra shot because some things never change.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"So," Lisa says once they're settled at a slightly wobbly table. "Has anyone asked you? To the ball?"

Hannah can't help but laugh. "Who exactly would ask Hannah Marshall to Winter Ball? The girl who babysits their siblings? The charity case who helps with history homework?" She stirs her coffee with unnecessary vigor. "I'm pretty sure I'd need a fairy godmother for that kind of miracle."

"What about you?" she asks, trying to keep her voice light.

Lisa's cheeks flush slightly. "Actually... someone did ask. And I... I said yes."

Something heavy settles in Hannah's stomach. She'd been counting on their pact - two outcasts taking on Riverside's elite together. But she forces a smile, because that's what friends do. "That's great! Who's the lucky guy?"

"Matthias," Lisa says, then quickly adds, "I know it sounds weird, but—"

"Matthy?" Hannah's eyebrows shoot up. "YouTube Matthy?"

"He prefers Matthias now," Lisa says, but she's smiling.

Hannah remembers Matthias from before he started his channel - all gangly limbs and nervous energy, the kind of guy Jake Woodland and his crew used to torment for sport. Now his gaming videos get thousands of views, and his face has filled out in ways that make freshman girls giggle in hallways.

"He is kind of handsome," Hannah admits, remembering how he'd looked in his latest video about Minecraft redstone mechanics. The braces are gone, replaced by a smile that belongs on movie posters. "In a nerdy-hot way."

"It's not just that," Lisa says, tracing patterns in the coffee foam. "He's... kind. And funny. And he doesn't care about any of the Riverside drama. Did you know he turned down a sponsorship from Jake's dad's company? Said he didn't want to be associated with them."

Hannah watches her friend's face soften as she talks about Matthias, sees the way her eyes light up describing his latest video series. It makes her chest ache in a way that has nothing to do with disappointment about their broken pact.

Because this is what normal teenage girls should be talking about - cute boys and school dances and YouTube channels. Not carefully buried assault allegations and missing girls and the weight of secrets that threaten to drown them all.

"I'm happy for you," Hannah says, meaning it despite the lingering disappointment. "Really."

Lisa reaches across the table, squeezing her hand. "We'll find you someone," she says. "Someone who sees how amazing you are."

Hannah thinks about fruit roll-ups shared in third grade, about the way Nate Brooks still sometimes looks at her like he remembers. But those are dangerous thoughts, the kind that led to Halloween night and Jake Woodland's hands and carefully maintained lies.

"Yeah," she says, forcing a smile. "Maybe my fairy godmother's just running late."

Around them, the mall buzzes with normal Saturday activity.

Lisa chokes suddenly on her coffee, her eyes going wide as she stares past Hannah's shoulder. Before Hannah can ask what's wrong, Lisa's pointing frantically toward the mall exit, still coughing.

"Megan!" she manages between coughs.

Hannah whips around, her heart stopping as she recognizes the girl from their screenshots. But the Megan Carter walking through the mall is different from the polished Riverside princess in their research. Her once-perfect blonde highlights have grown out, showing darker roots. She's traded designer clothes for simple jeans and an oversized hoodie that looks like it came from Target. But it's her eyes that catch Hannah's attention - they're harder now, more watchful, constantly scanning her surroundings like she's expecting danger from any direction.

"Come on," Hannah whispers, grabbing Lisa's arm. They abandon their coffee, hurrying after Megan as she pushes through the mall's main doors. The afternoon sun momentarily blinds them, and Hannah's heart races as she fears they've lost her.

"There!" Lisa points to a figure turning down the side of the building.

"Go talk to her," Hannah urges, giving Lisa a gentle push.

"I can't," Lisa's voice shakes. "What if she—"

"She's getting away!" Hannah gives her friend another push. "Now!"

"Megan!" Lisa's voice cracks slightly as she calls out. "Megan Carter?"

The effect is immediate. Megan freezes mid-step, her whole body tensing like a deer catching a hunter's scent. When she turns, her face is a masterpiece of careful neutrality, but Hannah sees the fear flickering behind her eyes.

"Lisa Chen," Megan's smile is sharp as broken glass. "What an... unexpected surprise."

"Hi," Lisa's voice is smaller than Hannah's ever heard it. "I... this is my friend Hannah. Hannah Marshall."

Hannah steps forward, offering her hand. Megan's grip is ice-cold and too tight, her carefully manicured nails digging slightly into Hannah's skin.

"Do you live here now?" Lisa asks, clearly struggling to maintain casual conversation. "In Brookswood?"

"Yes," Megan's response comes too quickly. Her eyes keep darting between them and the parking lot, like she's calculating escape routes. "But actually, I need to catch my train, so—"

"There aren't any trains in Brookswood," Hannah says quietly, keeping her voice gentle despite the accusation.

The words land like physical blows. Megan's careful mask cracks slightly, real fear bleeding through. Her hands begin to shake as she clutches her purse closer.

"Megan," Lisa steps forward, her voice barely above a whisper. "We need to ask you about Hampton Beach."

All the color drains from Megan's face. "No," she says, backing away. "No, no, no. I can't— I don't talk about that. I don't even think about that. You need to leave. Now."

"Please," Hannah moves closer, keeping her hands visible like she's approaching a frightened animal. "We know something happened that night. Something they covered up. Something that made you and Victoria leave—"

"Stop!" Megan's voice rises to almost a shriek. "You don't understand. You can't understand. Do you know what they'll do if they find out I talked to you? Do you have any idea what kind of power—" She cuts herself off, pressing her hand to her mouth like she can physically stop the words.

"Please," Hannah moves closer, but Megan backs away like a cornered animal. "We just want to understand what happened at Hampton Beach—"

"NO!" Megan's scream echoes off the mall's brick exterior, making both Hannah and Lisa jump. "You need to leave me alone! All of you!" Her voice cracks with hysteria, tears streaming down her face. "I got out! I finally got out and you—you can't just come here and—"

"Megan, please," Lisa reaches for her arm, but Megan violently jerks away.

"Don't touch me!" Her eyes are wild now, darting between them like a trapped thing. "You have no idea what they'll do! No idea what they're capable of! Just let it go, for God's sake, let it go before—"

She chokes on the words, her whole body trembling. Then something seems to snap inside her. With another strangled cry, she turns and runs, her boots slapping against the pavement as she flees across the parking lot.

Hannah starts to follow, but Lisa grabs her arm. "Don't," she says quietly. "Look at her. Really look."

And Hannah does. She watches Megan Carter - former Riverside royalty, once-perfect princess - sprint away from them like she's being chased by demons. Her purse bounces against her hip, her hair comes loose, and her terror is so palpable it makes Hannah's chest ache.

"What did they do to her?" Hannah whispers, more to herself than Lisa. "What could be so terrible that she'd rather run than even talk about it?"

They stand there long after Megan disappears from view, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the parking lot. Because sometimes the most terrifying answers are the ones people run from, and sometimes silence speaks louder than any confession.

"Come on," Lisa says finally, her voice shaking slightly. "We should go."

But as they walk back to Lisa's car, Hannah can't shake the image of Megan's face - the raw fear in her eyes, the way she'd practically clawed at her own skin trying to get away from their questions. Whatever happened at Hampton Beach, whatever sent Megan Carter running to Brookswood and Victoria Reynolds into hiding, was worse than anything they'd imagined.

And for the first time since they started this investigation, Hannah wonders if some secrets are better left buried.