ログイン“Thirty minutes.”The words didn’t feel real.They hit too fast.Too hard.Too final.Lila stared at the phone.Then up at Vanessa.Then at Ethan.Then Lucas.“They’re rushing it,” Lucas said.“Of course they are,” Vanessa replied calmly.“Less time means less defense.”Ethan’s jaw tightened.“This isn’t legal.”Vanessa gave him a look.“You still think this is about rules?”Silence.Lila inhaled slowly.Then exhaled.Thirty minutes.That was all she had.“Okay,” she said.All three of them turned to her.Her voice was steady now.Focused.“We don’t panic.”Vanessa smirked slightly.“Good start.”Lila ignored her.“We use what we have,” she continued.Ethan stepped closer.“What do we have?”Lila looked at him.“Proof,” she said.Lucas frowned.“Of what?”“Of manipulation,” she replied.“Of Carter. Of the investigation.”Vanessa raised an eyebrow.“You think they’ll listen?”Lila’s eyes sharpened.“No,” she said.Silence.“Then what’s the point?” Ethan asked.She stepped forward.“The
The word echoed in Lila’s mind.Suspension.It didn’t feel real.Not after everything.Not after what she had already been through.“This is insane,” Lucas said, grabbing the phone from the table. “They can’t just”“They can,” Vanessa cut in calmly.All eyes turned to her.“And they will,” she added.Ethan’s jaw tightened.“This is because of Carter.”Vanessa gave a small shrug.“Partly.”Lila’s chest tightened.“What do you mean partly?”Vanessa stepped closer.Her voice lowered.“Once something becomes public,” she said, “people don’t care about the truth anymore.”A pause.“They care about control.”Silence.Lila swallowed hard.“So they’re going to blame me,” she said.Vanessa didn’t answer.She didn’t need to.Ethan stepped forward.“No. That’s not happening.”Lila let out a soft breath.Tired.Overwhelmed.“You don’t get to say that like you can fix it,” she said.Ethan’s expression shifted.“I can help,” he said.“How?” she asked.Silence.Because that was the problem.Lucas st
The silence wasn’t real.It just felt like it.Lila sat still, her fingers curled tightly in her lap, her breathing uneven.The room around her was no longer dark or mechanical.Just… a small office.Plain.Cold.Too normal after everything.The door opened.Her head snapped up.Ethan walked in.For a secondNeither of them spoke.The air between them felt heavier than anything that had happened before.Not fear.Not confusion.Something worse.Truth.“You’re okay,” he said finally.His voice was low.Careful.Lila let out a soft, humorless laugh.“Is that what you’re worried about?”Ethan stepped closer.“I thought something happened to you.”“Something did,” she said.Her eyes locked onto his.“You lied to me.”The words hit harder now.No crowd.No noise.No distractions.Just them.Ethan exhaled slowly.“I didn’t lie about everything.”Lila shook her head.“That’s not how this works.”Silence stretched between them.“You were assigned to me,” she said.“You investigated me.”“You
The moment their hands slippedEverything broke.Lila felt the ground shift beneath her.A sharp mechanical pull.A sudden force dragging her backward.“ETHAN—!”Her voice tore through the airBut it was too late.“LILA!”Ethan’s hand reached for hersMissed by inches.“Wait—!”Lucas tried to grab herBut the floor split completely.And thenDarkness.Silence.Impact.Lila hit the ground hard, air knocked from her lungs.Pain shot through her side.For a secondShe couldn’t breathe.I couldn't think.Couldn’t move.ThenLight.Dim.Cold.Flickering.She forced herself up slowly.Her head was spinning.Her heart was racing.“Ethan?” she called.Nothing.“Lucas?”Silence.Her chest tightened.They were gone.No.Not gone.Separated.“This is part of it,” she whispered to herself.Her voice was shaky.But her mindTrying to catch up.She looked around.A room.Small.Enclosed.Concrete walls.One door.One screen.Of course.Her stomach dropped.The screen flickered.Then turned on.Prof
Darkness swallowed the sound of the rink.ThenSilence.Not the chaotic kind.Not the panicked kind.But something colder.Controlled.The door behind them sealed with a heavy, final click.Lila’s heart pounded.Too loud in the quiet.A soft hum filled the corridor.Lights flickeredThen stabilized.Cold white.Clinical.“Okay…” Lucas muttered, looking around. “This is definitely planned.”Ethan stepped slightly in front of Lila again.Instinct.Protection.But this timeShe noticed.And she didn’t pull away.The corridor stretched ahead of them.Too clean.Too empty.Too intentional.At the far endThe screen glowed.Waiting.“Don’t move yet,” Lila said.Both of them paused.“You think it’s another trap?” Ethan asked.“Yes.”Lucas let out a quiet breath.“Of course it is.”Lila’s eyes scanned everything.Walls.Floor.Ceiling.No visible cameras.But that didn’t mean anything.“He’s watching,” she said.Ethan nodded.“Then let him.”They started forward.Slow.Careful.Every step ech
“They’re locked!” The scream tore through the rink like a blade. Panic exploded. Students rushed the doors again harder this time, desperate, shoving, pounding against metal that refused to move. The sound was deafening. Fists. Shouts. Fear. 00:03:58 Lila’s heart slammed against her ribs. This was no longer a test. This was a trap. “Back up!” Ethan shouted, pushing forward, trying to stop the crush at the exits. “You’re going to hurt each other!” No one listened. Panic didn’t listen. Lucas grabbed Lila’s arm. “This is bad,” he said. “We need another way out.” Lila forced herself to breathe. Think. Focus. “He locked the obvious exits,” she said quickly. “That means there has to be another one.” Ethan turned to her. “You’re guessing.” “No,” she said. Her eyes scanned the rink again. Sharp. Calculating. “I’m thinking like him.” 00:03:21 The red glow from the timer painted everything in tension. Time wasn’t just running out It was tightening. “Carter doesn’t
The rink went silent.Not quite silent.Like the entire campus had just stopped breathing.Lila couldn’t move.Her eyes were locked on the screen.On that moment.Ethan’s hand on her wrist.Pulling her closer.Not accidental.Not misunderstood.Intentional.And then his voice echoed again through t
Lila dropped her phone.It hit the floor with a sharp crack.Her heart was racing too fast.Too loud.Too impossible to ignore.“No…” she whispered.But the image was already burned into her mind.Lucas.Editing the video.Calm. Focused. Precise.Like he had done it before.Like this wasn’t his fir
By morning, everything was worse.Lila hadn’t slept.Not even a minute.The words kept replaying in her head.I don’t know if I can trust you.She had said it.To Ethan.And the worst part?A small, painful part of her meant it.Her phone buzzed again.She almost didn’t check it.Almost.But when s
The video had over 10,000 views by morning.Lila stared at her screen, her chest tight, her fingers frozen on the keyboard.Comments flooded in faster than she could read:“She literally threw herself at him.”“Vanessa was right.”“Pick-me girl exposed.”“Ethan downgraded so bad.”Her vision blurre







