Perfect Mistake (Privilege 3)

He placed two bronze keys on the desk in front of her with a clang. "You can place your items inside, and when you're finished, use that phone to signal me," he said, pointing at an old--fashioned white phone on the wall. "We'll go in and replace the box and lock it together."

"Understood," Ariana said with a nod.

"Take your time."

Bernard smiled and left her alone. Ariana took a deep breath and removed the items she needed from her bag. One piece of thick parchment paper, one Cross pen, one envelope. Glancing over her shoulder to ensure she was completely alone, Ariana got to work. In her own hand, she wrote out a brief version of her story. How she'd broken out of the Brenda T. How she'd murdered Briana Leigh Covington to assume her identity and to provide the authorities with a body to cremate in her place. How Kaitlynn had been released at her bidding as well. And how, if someone was reading this, it meant she was dead. And if she was dead, Kaitlynn had murdered her. She provided details of Kaitlynn's whereabouts, of her new name, of the one other fake name she had used since escaping. She then slipped a photo from her purse, one she had taken with her phone and printed out that morning. A photo of Kaitlynn sleeping in her bed so that anyone who read this note would know what Kaitlynn looked like today. Different hair, different name, different style--same sociopath. She signed the letter with a name she hadn't used in months.

Sincerely:

Ariana Osgood

130

She folded the letter, placed it in the envelope along with the photo, and sealed it. Then she summoned Bernard. Together they replaced the box among the hundreds of others inside the cold, airy vault. Ariana used her key to lock her lock, then Bernard used the bank's key to lock the second.

There it was. Her life's secret. Hidden in a nondescript row of nondescript boxes in the middle of one of thousands of banks in the Washington, D.C., area. Safe. Until she was dead.

"No one will be able to open this box without both keys," Bernard explained. "Is

there anything else I can do for you, Miss Covington?"

"No, thank you," Ariana replied, slipping her two copies of her key into her bag. She was surprised to find her fingers were trembling and took a breath to steady herself. "I appreciate all your help."

"Of course," he said as he led her out of the room and secured the vault door behind them. "Have a nice day, Miss Covington."

Oh, I will, Ariana thought as she traipsed out of the bank and hailed another cab, this time bound for the nearest upscale salon. Why not indulge in a new haircut? It was time to celebrate. She had just bought her life insurance plan. If Kaitlynn hurt her, she wouldn't get away with it. Now all she had to do was send the extra key to Briana Leigh's trusted personal maid in Texas, with the instructions to go and open the box and read the letter if anything should happen to Briana Leigh. And tell Kaitlynn what she'd done, of course. That was the point of all this--to let Kaitlynn know that if Ariana died, Kaitlynn was sure to be arrested.

It was the perfect plan. Nothing could harm her now.

131

UP IN SMOKE

Kaitlynn hummed Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as she got ready for bed that evening, spreading moisturizer over her arms and legs, filing her nails, combing her hair. Ariana sat on her bed with her phone, tossed her now perfectly shaped, chin--length hair, and texted Conrad.Borrow ur English notes?

The reply was instant.

sure meet tmrw?

Ariana grinned and texted back.

After bkfst @ pond?

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Conrad replied with one word.

Done

Ariana slipped her phone back into her bag and got up to turn down her bed, feeling satisfied. It was all about taking one thing at a time, planning, plotting, staying positive.

"What are you so happy about, A?" Kaitlynn asked.

Just the sound of the girl's voice put a damper on Ariana's triumph. Suddenly all she could think about was what Kaitlynn was planning for that night. Was she going to double--pierce Ariana's ears? Pull out all her eyelashes? Every muscle in her body tensed at the thought of someone else trying to control her emotions, her life, her fate.

"Well, Lillian," Ariana began, turning to face her nemesis. It was time to regain control. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you.

"Oh, yeah?" Kaitlynn asked, perching on the edge of her bed.