Chapter 13 - Peyton’s HouseThree days after Evelyn’s removal, Peyton appeared at the Mercer residence.
Alone except for the driver Charles had sent.
Lila met her in the library.
Elliot stayed nearby but did not interfere.
Peyton held a paper bag.
“What’s that?” Lila asked.
“Lunch.”
Lila’s face hardened.
Peyton quickly added:
“Not leftovers.”
A tiny almost-smile appeared on Lila’s face and disappeared.
They sat.
Peyton looked around at Anna’s books.
“My mom says your dad is trying to destroy us.”
“Is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why are you here?”
Peyton twisted the bag.
“Because everyone at school hates me now.”
Lila stared.
“You want me to feel sorry for you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Peyton swallowed.
“I think I came because I finally understand something.”
“What?”
“When I dropped that sandwich, I thought you were nobody.”
The bluntness startled both girls.
Peyton continued.
“I mean—I knew you were a student. But not somebody who could do anything back.”
Lila’s voice stayed quiet.
“And then my dad came?”
“Your dad.”
“Yes.”
“And everybody got scared.”
Lila leaned forward.
“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell people who he was.”
Peyton looked ashamed.
“My mom talks about scholarship students like they should be thankful for everything.”
“Are you thankful every morning your parents pay tuition?”
“No.”
“Then why should I be thankful for being treated normally?”
“I don’t know.”
Lila opened the bag.
Two sandwiches.
Fruit.
Cookies.
She took one sandwich and pushed the other toward Peyton.
“You can eat.”
Peyton looked surprised.
“This doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
“I know.”
They ate silently.
Then Peyton said:
“I heard my mom talking to Headmaster Vance last year.”
Lila stopped chewing.
“About red students?”
“Maybe.”
“What did she say?”
Peyton thought.
“She said ‘Reed is becoming another Anna problem.’”
Lila froze.
“When?”
“Before your lunch got taken.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know who Anna was.”
“Anything else?”
Peyton hesitated.
“She said your mother almost ruined Ashbury before.”
Lila stood.
Elliot entered.
“What happened?”
Peyton repeated it.
Marcus was called.
Within an hour, they reviewed Evelyn’s communications.
One deleted text between Evelyn and Martin matched the timeframe.
Reed asking archive questions. Confirm lineage before escalation.
Martin replied:
Likely unrelated. Mercer connection unlisted. Proceed.
They had not known Lila was Elliot Mercer’s daughter.
That confirmed something devastating.
If she had been identified as wealthy, RED LEVEL likely would never have touched her.
It existed for children whose families lacked power.
That night Elliot sat with Lila.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Want to talk?”
She leaned against him.
“I keep thinking about what Peyton said.”
“What part?”
“That she thought I was nobody.”
Elliot’s throat tightened.
“You are never nobody.”
“I know that to you.”
He closed his eyes.
Children had a way of finding the sentence adults could not answer.
Lila continued:
“Mom knew what it felt like.”
“Yes.”
“And she still wanted me to go there.”
“She also loved parts of Ashbury.”
“That’s confusing.”
“Most true things are.”
Then Marcus called.
Martin Vance had resigned.
But before leaving, he had transferred a large file archive to an external server.
Forensic teams recovered the destination.
Vance Advisory Services.
The related company that had received $640,000 from Access Fund contracts.
And hidden inside those files was a category nobody had seen yet:
DONOR CONVERSION EVENTS
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Marcus said:
“I think we finally found how they turned red students into money.”
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