Eliza’s POV I sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window as the trees blurred by. The engine hummed beneath us, and Thane’s grip on the wheel was firm. I knew the others were behind us in their cars, heading to the same place. It was strange. I hadn’t expected them to come. Honestly, I thought they’d finally given up on her. I thought they’d chosen to believe the worst. But I guess the bond between them and Aria still ran deeper than anger. Maybe deeper than betrayal. I glanced at Thane. “How did you convince the others?” He didn’t look at me. Just kept driving. “I didn’t,” he said simply. “They were already thinking the same thing. Just… no one wanted to say it out loud.” “Oh…” I leaned back in my seat, that word sitting heavy in my chest. My phone started buzzing on my lap, the screen lighting up with Quin’s name. I blinked, then quickly picked it up. “Quin?” “She’s awake,” Quin said. Her voice was sharp, clipped. “Tyla’s awake.” Relief spread through me in a wav
Thane’s POV I looked at Eliza and all I could see was unwavering belief. It was etched into every line of her face, sitting in her eyes like a fire that wouldn’t go out, no matter how many storms tried to drown it. She believed Aria was innocent. There was no hesitation in her voice, no faltering in her stance. And the painful truth was…I believed it too. Even when the evidence stacked up like a wall we couldn’t break through. Even when every lead led nowhere. Even when our bond ached and twisted inside me like a dying thread. I still believed. But we had stopped. We’d all slowed to a crawl. Because our hearts—our hearts were bleeding. The more we chased answers and found none, the heavier the weight grew. Hope kept slipping through our fingers. And at some point, though none of us dared say it aloud, we thought… maybe we were wrong about her. Maybe— No. I gritted my teeth at the memory. No. Aria didn’t do this. Still, we stopped because if we hadn’t, we might have shattere
Eliza’s POV I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe. “I just…” I steadied my voice, keeping my gaze low so he wouldn’t see the fear rising in my chest. “I just believe that something happened to Aria. That’s all.” He hummed, like he was already bored. “If that’s the only thing you came to say, Miss Eliza… you may leave.” I nodded quickly. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.” I turned on my heel and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind me with hands that trembled slightly. The second I stepped into the hallway, my lungs finally expanded. My heart was hammering like it was trying to tear out of my chest. That was the Skulls Syndicate symbol. I knew it too well. I’d seen it multiple times. On things Priscilla made me carry. On a ring one of her “business friends” wore when they thought I wasn’t paying attention. Why would Headmaster Alistair have a book with that symbol? What possible connection could he have to something so dark? Maybe… maybe it was just a coin
Eliza’s POV I sat in the hospital’s waiting area, elbows on my knees, hands clenched so tightly my knuckles ached. The sterile scent of antiseptic made my stomach twist. I stared at the double doors that led to the emergency wing, hoping they’d open with good news, but they never did. Tyla had whispered something before she passed out. “Traitor…” That one word kept echoing in my head. What had she meant? Who was the traitor? What had happened in that bathroom? I didn’t understand. None of it made sense. Quin’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Eliza,” she said quietly. I looked at her. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the floor, but her voice was steady. “I need to stay here. I’ll wait until Tyla wakes up.” “But the doctor said they don’t even know when she’ll wake up,” I said, my voice sharp. “Her injuries were—” My throat closed up. “She looked like they wanted to kill her.” Quin finally met my eyes. “I know. And I hate this too. But you have to go. Keep looking for Aria.
Aria’s POV I felt weak. Every breath I took felt like dragging broken glass through my lungs. I shifted slightly on the cold, hard floor, my limbs trembling with the effort. My wrists ached from the tight restraints that had long since bruised my skin. My stomach growled angrily, but it was a hollow, futile sound. I hadn’t been fed since I was thrown into this place. I don’t know how long I have been in here. Three days? What will happen if it’s longer?? Time blurred in the dark. The only thing I could feel with any certainty was that whatever they injected into my system that day... it was still there. Still crawling through my veins like poison. I could feel it eating at my strength, fogging my mind. Sometimes, I’d open my eyes and forget where I was. Or worse, I’d remember everything all at once. the accusations, the heartbreak. I swallowed hard, but even that burned. I pressed my head weakly against the wall, trying to slow my breathing. The room was silent except for the
Eliza’s POV I was in the academy’s computer room, the place that had practically become my second home. The whir of servers and faint hum of cooling fans filled the silence as I sat hunched in front of three monitors, eyes scanning every pixel on the screen. Quin and Tyla were behind me and they were just as on edge as I was. Sheila had sent the video, and I’d wasted no time uploading it into every video verification tool I had at my disposal. If there was something off, I was going to find it. I had to. Quin leaned over my shoulder, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at the paused frame of the video on my monitor. “It’s just too realistic,” she muttered. “If it’s fake, it doesn’t have a single flaw. The way she moves, the lighting, even the reflections all lines up. Are we sure it’s not real?” I didn’t look at her. “That’s what we’re still trying to find out.” I’d already run the video through half a dozen detection programs. Tools built for spotting deepfakes, inconsistencies in audi