CHAPTER 3: The First Order

Scarlett's POV

It's been five days now, and I still haven't gotten an instruction yet. My mum and I had packed my bags days ago while I waited for the burner phone to finally give me a direction.

I stayed in my room most of the time, just sitting on my bed and staring at the small, dark screen, waiting for the instruction on what to do next. I had originally planned to leave yesterday, but I didn't. I wanted to have the instructions and the details first before I left for campus. I needed to have a clear picture of what I was getting into before diving headfirst into it, so I waited. I wasn't going to walk into a new city completely blind.

Then it finally came. Tuesday morning, the burner phone buzzed against my mattress. I opened it almost immediately. The screen lit up, and I saw a blurry picture attached to a block of text.

"Target Information

Name: Adrian Whitlock

Location 1: Ravenwood University campus

14 Westbridge Lane, Ravenwood University

Location 2: Target's Residence

8 Hawthorne Row, North Campus District.

Warning: Target is dangerous. Do not approach carelessly and finish off quietly."

I read the text over again, and then it occurred to me why they had offered the Ravenwood scholarship in the first place.

My target goes there.

It wasn't a coincidence; it was a perfectly arranged setup.

I looked at the last sentence again. "Finish off quietly."

That seemed easy enough. My dad had trained me with knives and blades for years. He taught me how to be fast, how to be silent, and how to strike where it hurts. The warning said the target was dangerous, but I was sure they didn't know what I was capable of when I had a blade in my hand. Doing this quietly was exactly what I was trained for.

"Just this once, I promise," I whispered to my dad's picture frame on my desk, before picking it up and tucking it safely into my bag.

"Scarlett!" My mum called out from downstairs, her voice echoing up the hallway.

"I'm coming!" I responded. I quickly tucked the burner phone deeper into the bottom of my bag, making sure it was completely hidden, before heading downstairs.

When I reached the bottom of the steps, I stopped. "We are finally free!" my mum said, a bright, massive smile on her face as she danced around the living room.

"What happened?" I asked, completely taken aback as I noticed Evan coming down the stairs right behind me.

"My children, we can live now," she said again, her voice full of a kind of joy I hadn't heard in two long years.

"Mom," I called firmly, cause I was already getting impatient and needed to know what was going on.

She paused her dancing and looked at us, her eyes shining. "Daniel called. He said someone cleared our debts," she said.

"That's great news. Did you ask who did?" I said, keeping my face as neutral as possible so she wouldn't suspect a thing.

"I asked, but he didn't say. But I sent my gratitude through him. The bottom line is we are free now," she said, starting to dance again.

Evan ran down the remaining steps and joined her this time, dancing and smiling wholeheartedly. Seeing the heavy burden completely lifted off my brother's shoulders, and seeing my mother finally smiling like her old self, something settled inside me. For the first time since I took that phone, I felt like I had made the right decision.

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning," I said, letting them know it was time for me to go.

"Oh my baby," my mum said, rushing over and pulling me into a tight hug. "I am going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Mom," I said, hugging her back.

"I'll wake up early and make beef tacos tomorrow so you can take it along with you," she offered quickly.

"No mom, save it for you and Evan. You've given me almost everything in the house already to pack, my bags are heavy already."

"I don't want you—"

"Thank you mom, you've done enough," I interrupted gently. I didn't want her stressing over me anymore. It was my turn to handle things.

I woke up early the next morning, even though I slept late cause I had struggled to sleep. My mind just kept racing about the task ahead. But by 9 AM, I was fully dressed and ready. I headed downstairs with my bags. Evan helped with the big suitcase while I carried the heavy backpack on my shoulders.

They both saw me off to the bus station. The morning air was cool, but the reality of leaving was finally setting in. I could see my mum was really fighting her tears as we waited for the bus to arrive. When it finally pulled up, I gave them both one last tight hug. I got on the bus, found a window seat, and I kept looking at my mum and brother. They stood on the pavement and kept waving at me until the bus turned the corner and I couldn't see them again.

After about five long hours on the road, we finally arrived at the city. I made my way straight to Ravenwood. I went to the admission office first, stood in the lines, and did all the necessary documentation before going out to find the dorm.

It wasn't a walk in the park. The campus was massive, and I spent about thirty minutes dragging my heavy bags across the paved walkways in the scorching sun before I could get a clear direction to the dormitory buildings. I was sweating and exhausted by the time I finally arrived.

I found the room number and pushed the door open. It was completely empty. The other person hasn't arrived yet, and that's perfect cause I get to choose. I immediately chose the bunk closest to the window. I love window views, and I needed to be able to see outside.

I stood there for a minute, enjoying the window view and catching my breath in the cool air of the room. I spent a little time arranging a few of my stuffs into the small closet and making the bed, and then I headed out.

I need to know what these locations are like before proceeding with the task, so I went to see them while it was still daytime.

I went to the first location first, cause it was closer to the main campus. 14 Westbridge Lane. When I arrived, it looked like a massive sports building. I walked around the perimeter and immediately noticed the surveillance was heavy. There were cameras at every entrance, security personnel walking the grounds, and too many students moving in and out. It was too open. I pulled out my notepad and ruled it out. I can't carry out the task here quietly.

Then I went to the second location. 8 Hawthorne Row. It was not far from campus, but it was in a kind of secluded area in the North Campus District. The houses here were spaced far apart, surrounded by trees and tall fences.

I moved round the apartment quietly, keeping my footsteps light on the grass. It was very quiet. I peeped through almost every opening, checking to see who was inside. Then, as I moved toward the back of the building, I saw a window opened.

I approached it quietly, making sure I wasn't stepping on any dry leaves, and I peeped inside.

I saw a guy standing in the room. He was wearing grey joggers and he was shirtless. He was aggressively drying his wet hair with a towel, completely unaware that anyone was watching him.

Then, he dropped his towel from his head, and my breath hiked.

He was tall and incredibly fit, with broad shoulders and toned muscles. His wet hair fell slightly over his forehead, and his jawline was sharp. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the burner phone, and looked down at the blurry picture on the screen, then back up at him.

It was him. Adrian Whitlock.

The guy I was supposed to finish off quietly. I stared at him for another second. He looks way more cute in person than he did in the grainy photo they sent me.

"So sad tonight is going to be your last, handsome prince," I thought to myself, feeling confident that I could easily slip in later and do exactly what I came here to do.

"Hey. Who are you?"

A sudden voice from a distance jerks me out of my thoughts.