If You Ever Find Me
I came to Sterling Academy with a simple plan. Keep my scholarship. Graduate. And make sure no one discovers that I’m the anonymous creator of the webcomic 'The Horizon Line'
Easy, right?
Until I accidentally sat in the one seat on campus I was never supposed to touch. Now, the most feared student in school, Damien Sterling, won’t leave me alone.
Everyone says he’s cold, ruthless, and impossible to approach. Honestly? I agree. Every conversation with him feels like an interrogation, and every glance feels like a warning. Yet, for some reason, he keeps pulling me closer, quietly protecting me from dangers I didn't even know existed.
So I do what any sane person would do. I stay as far away from him as possible...
...only to fall straight into the orbit of his brother instead.
Sebastian Sterling is everything Damien isn’t—warm, charming, and effortless. With him, the cold walls of the academy finally start to feel like a home. Until I realize that some smiles hide incredibly dangerous intentions.
Ignoring my mother's frantic warnings about the Sterling name, I let myself get pulled into their glittering world. But the closer I get to them, the faster my life begins to unravel.
My anonymous webcomic is suddenly colliding with my real life. My mother's deep-rooted fear of their family is starting to make less and less sense. And the deeper I get dragged into their secrets, the more I realize this was never about a stolen seat.
Some people have been searching for me long before I ever walked through those academy gates. And when the truth finally catches up to me. Someone I love will have to die.
My name is Leo Vance.
If you ever find me... I hope it's before the secrets do.
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Chapter: What's Happening!Leo's povIf I thought yesterday was brutal, today was a whole new level of psychological torture. By third period AP Calculus, I was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, trying to block out the low hum of the air conditioner and focus on the derivatives the teacher was scribbling across the white board.But it was impossible to concentrate when I could literally feel the eyes boring into the back of my neck, like I was the answer to the equation on the board.‘Fwump’ A tightly folded piece of notebook paper landed directly on top of my table, tossed from somewhere three rows back. I stiffened, trying to understand what just happened. A muffled burst of giggles erupted from the rows behind me. Keeping my face completely blank, I pulled the note down under my table so the teacher wouldn't see it.I unfolded the paper just to see a crude, mocking drawing of a stick figure wearing a t-shirt with a massive 'S' for scholarship stamped on it, bowing flat on its face in front of a sti
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Chapter: Mama's WarningLeo's PovThe second I unlocked our apartment door, I practically threw myself inside. I slammed my heavy canvas backpack onto the kitchen table, collapsed into a chair, and yanked out my phone. My heart was still pounding from everything that had happened, and my hands were literally shaking because I was just so incredibly pissed off. I couldn’t hold it in for another second.I hit call, and Maya picked up on the very first dial."Leo! Oh my god, finally," her voice blasted through the speaker. "I’ve been checking my phone like every five seconds. Are you alive? Did you survive the rich wolves? Tell me you didn't punch a billionaire.""Worse," I groaned, running a hand through my messy hair. "I got a job.""A job? On day one?" Maya paused, sounding completely thrown off. "Wait, I thought the whole plan was to be an invisible ghost this year? Did you accidentally join the library squad or something?""No, I didn't join anything," I said, my voice dropping into a bitter hiss. "I got
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Chapter: A Job!?Leo's PovBy the time fifth period rolled around, I'd realized that trying to be a ‘normal boy’ at Sterling Academy was like trying to blend in while wearing a neon sign. The morning classes had been an exercise in psychological warfare. I sat at the back of AP Art History, staring at the slide presentation of Renaissance sculptures, but i couldn't focus. All I could see was Damien Sterling's frozen grey eyes staring down at me. Eveytime a student whispered in the hallway, I was convinced they were counting down the minutes until my scholarship got revoked. “Don't let them get to you,” I muttered to myself, aggressively stabbing a fork into my homemade chicken salad. Mom had promised me she would make them for me today, not for showoff but I just really loved to have them. The other students sat at pristine white tables under the shade of manicured willow trees, laughing over catered meals. I kept my head down, pulling out my phone to check the only one place where I actually felt
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Chapter: Found HimDamien's POV The heavy oak doors of the auditorium always felt like a trap. I stood in the back hallway, my hand gripping the leather handle of my briefcase so tight the metal corners dig painfully into my palm. My chest feels crushed under a heavy weight, forcing me to take shallow and careful breaths through my nose. A Sterling controls the room, Damien. You do not let the room control you.” My grandfather's voice continued ringing in my ears, stiff and demanding. I remember the way his grey eyes tracked the slight shake in my fingers at breakfast this morning while I lifted my teacup. One slip up, one crack in my face, and everything falls apart. I force my shoulders back and locked my jaws until it ached. It's a mask I've practiced in the mirror for years, with no sign of weakness.“Are you going to stare at the door all morning, or are we actually going inside?” Sebastian's voice cuts through my thought. I looked over at him, he was leaning casually against the wood, hands s
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Chapter: First Day At School“Scrhhh! Scrhh!” The alarm starts screaming at exactly 5:00 AM, I groan, stretching my hands so far I nearly rolled off the bed. Oh come on, I was having such a good dream. For a moment, I just lie there staring at the ceiling, following the water stains on my ceiling and convincing myself that today is just a day, just another building, just another set of people who will look at my scuffed shoes before they look at my face. I laid there a moment longer, listening to the apartment wake up around me. The pipes groaning in the walls, my mom's slippers shuffling against the cracked kitchen tile. Then comes the smell of burnt toast—she always sets the dial too high when she's distracted.And I know without looking that she's distracted today, she's been that way all week, ever since the acceptance letter arrived in that thick, heavy cream envelope, which had the gold Sterling crest stamped on the front like a death wish. “Leo.” two soft knocks landed against my bedroom door “You're g
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
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