“Here.” I tapped the notebook for emphasis. “Write down every possible name combination you can think of, and Cam can try them one at a time. Cross them off once you’ve tried it, otherwise, you’ll just repeat your efforts.” And I knew from personal experience how frustrating that could be. “Use Elle’s family names—her own, her mom’s, et cetera—and her friends’ names. Try everything you can think of.”

“What are you going to do?” Cam called, as I made my way toward the bedroom.

“I’m going to try Kori again.” Maybe if she knew what we’d just found out…

That was wishful thinking, and I knew it. We all knew it. But I dialed anyway. And just as I’d expected, I got her anonymous voice-mail message.

“Hey, Kori, it’s Liv,” I said, sinking onto the king-size bed I’d never slept in. “To be honest, I’m kind of banking on the assumption that you were following orders when you took Hadley, and that if you could have found a way around following that particular order, you would have. If that’s not the case, then…well, I guess more has changed over the last few years than I thought. But in case I’m right, there’s something you should know.” I inhaled deeply…and the machine cut my message off. The dial tone buzzed in my ear.

Damn. So much for a heartfelt message—short and sweet it is.

I called back, and again I got her voice mail. “Okay, I’m gonna keep this short.” Because I had no choice. “Hadley isn’t really Anne’s daughter. She’s Elle’s. She’s Noelle’s baby, Korinne. Elle knew she was going to die, so she left her baby with Anne and made her promise to keep it a secret. If any of us have ever meant anything to you—hell, if Elle ever meant anything to you—find a way to bring her back. Please, Kori. I’m leaving the bathroom dark for you. Will you please bring her back?”

That time when the machine cut me off, I was ready. I’d said what I had to say, including a direct request for her help, and beneath the mountain of my cynicism, there was a tiny blossom of hope, dying from lack of light, but deeply rooted. Within our four-sided friendship, Elle and Kori had always been best friends, like Anne and I were. Closer friendships within the whole. Even if Kori wasn’t willing to risk her job—not to mention her life—for me or Anne, or even for Hadley, she might be willing to do it for Elle.

For Elle’s memory.

Assuming she heard the message. But if she were listening to her messages, she would already have brought Hadley back, compelled by Anne’s request.

Anne looked up from the notepad when I sank into the chair next to her at the table. “Well?” she said, and the naked longing in her voice nearly killed me. Her hope was raw and obvious. It was her first line of defense, not merely a backup parachute cord, like the one I clung to privately. And when I shook my head in reply, her heartbreak and disappointment were just as raw and obvious.

“I left a message and told her about Elle,” I said, glancing at the first page of potential names, crossed off, ripped from the pad and dismissed once they’d been eliminated.

Anne looked up, still clutching the pen. “Try texting her. She’ll probably have the text read before it occurs to her that she shouldn’t finish it. You can compel her before she even realizes what she’s read.”

“Anne, that’s brilliant!” I said, pulling my phone from my pocket.

She shrugged. “That’s how Elle got me in the first place. In writing.” She held up the notepad full of names for emphasis.

I was halfway through a short, to-the-point text when Cam suddenly snatched my cell from my hand. “Wait!”

“What?”

“Don’t compel her in a text.” He backspaced over everything I’d typed. “That’ll only compete with her orders from Tower and make her self-destruct.”

Anne frowned. “You said her binding to us would supersede her marks from Tower.”

“I was wrong.” He handed my phone back. “I can’t believe I didn’t see this before, and I can’t elaborate, but her binding to him is just as strong as her binding to you two. That’s why she’s not listening to her messages. It has to be.”

“You said Tower probably told her not to listen to them,” I said, flipping my phone open again.

“I was wrong about that, too. He doesn’t know about her binding to you guys, remember? Why would he order her not to listen to a request from Anne when he doesn’t know Anne can compel her? She’s ignoring the messages on her own, because if she hears you make a request in conflict with her current orders, her body will tear itself apart, trying to do both at once. It’s a miserable way to die. I’ve seen it.”

“Tower?” I asked, staring at my phone.

He nodded. “Standard sentence for divided loyalty.”

My stomach churned in horror. “So what can we do?”

Cam shrugged. “Ask her for help without compelling her to go against Tower’s orders.”

“Okay…” But that was much easier said than done, considering that I didn’t know what orders he’d given her.

I started typing again, and when I was done, I showed Cam.

Hadley isn’t Anne’s daughter—she’s Elle’s. Know u can’t return her, but we need help. Can’t track her w/no real name or blood.

Cam read it and nodded, so I hit Send. “Now it’s up to her.” I set my phone on the table and glanced around at the scattered notepad pages. “What’d you guys come up with?”