Change 4: The Bait

The following evening, Ethan arrived at his father's house carrying a black backpack over one shoulder. His expression was calm, but every step he took was part of a carefully planned performance. In his previous life, he had always walked into this house hoping to earn his father's approval. Tonight, he expected nothing. That freedom made him stronger than he had ever been.

Richard Blake looked up from the dining table. "You're late."

"I stopped by the music store," Ethan replied as he placed his backpack beside his chair.

Jason glanced casually at the bag before smiling. "Still buying music books?"

Just a few notebooks.

Dinner began in uncomfortable silence. Richard spent most of the meal praising Jason's recent performances at local events, barely acknowledging Ethan except to criticize his habit of spending too much time alone. Ethan listened quietly, no longer bothered by words that once broke his heart. He had already accepted a painful truth—his father loved the successful image Jason presented more than the quiet son sitting across from him.

Halfway through dinner, Richard's phone rang.

I need to take this," he said, leaving the dining room.

Jason immediately seized the opportunity.

So, he said, taking a sip of water, "have you written anything new?"

Ethan shrugged. "Maybe."

I knew it.Jason laughed. "You've always been full of surprises."

"It's nothing special."

"Can I see it?"

Ethan hesitated just long enough to make it believable. Finally, he sighed and unzipped his backpack, revealing the fake notebook among a few loose sheets of music.

"I haven't finished it."

Jason leaned forward with obvious interest before forcing himself to look away. "Don't worry. I was only curious."

Ethan zipped the bag again.

"I'll show you when it's ready."

Richard returned a moment later, ending the conversation.

After dinner, Ethan excused himself to use the restroom. Instead of taking his backpack with him, he deliberately left it on the living room sofa.

Exactly where Jason could see it.

As Ethan washed his hands upstairs, he smiled to himself.

Three...

Two...

One...

Soft footsteps echoed downstairs.

He quietly opened the bathroom door just enough to hear movement in the living room.

The zipper.

A page turning.

Another page.

Then silence.

Jason was taking the bait.

Several seconds later, Ethan deliberately made noise by flushing the toilet and walking back toward the stairs.

When he entered the living room, Jason was already sitting comfortably on the sofa, casually scrolling through his phone as though he had never moved.

"Ready to go?" Jason asked with a friendly smile.

Ethan picked up his backpack.

Yeah.

He noticed the zipper had been closed differently from the way he always left it.

Perfect.

Back home, Ethan didn't open the notebook immediately. Instead, he switched on the hidden camera installed in his room and reviewed the tiny tracking strip he had secretly attached inside the notebook's back cover before leaving home.

The signal had disappeared for exactly three minutes.

Long enough for someone to photograph every page.

Ethan smiled.

You couldn't help yourself.

The next morning, he arrived at school earlier than usual and headed toward the music practice rooms. As expected, Jason was already there, sitting alone at a piano.

Ethan stopped outside the half-open door.

Jason slowly played the melody from the fake notebook.

Wrong note.

Wrong chord.

Another mistake.

The unfinished progression collapsed into complete musical chaos.

Jason frowned and tried again.

It sounded even worse.

"What is this?" Jason muttered in frustration.

Ethan quietly walked away before he could be seen.

By lunchtime, rumors had already begun spreading around campus.

Jason's new song doesn't sound like him."

"I heard Professor Morris asked why the melody felt incomplete."

"Maybe he's under pressure."

Ethan couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on his face.

For years, Jason had relied on stealing finished masterpieces.

Now he was trying to polish something that had never been meant to work.

For the first time, Jason was failing because of his own greed.

But Ethan knew better than to celebrate too early.

A wounded wolf was always more dangerous than a confident one.

As classes ended, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from an unknown number.

Watch your back. Some things are better left buried.

Ethan stared at the words for several seconds.

Only two people knew he had stopped trusting Jason.

One was Jason himself.

The other...

Was someone Ethan hadn't even begun to suspect.

He slowly locked his phone, his smile fading.

Perhaps Jason wasn't acting alone after all.