Mag-log inARIA'S POV.I watched my sister fall apart with three days of restraining order and Sage barely eating or sleeping. She had given up completely. I tried everything possible to encourage her but it was futile.She just sat in her room and stared at nothing."Victoria won," she kept saying. "There's nothing left to do."But I disagreed because while Sage was fighting Victoria head-on, I watched from the sidelines and learnt. And I saw something Sage didn't see.Victoria moved faster and bolder. Either she was completely confident that she won or she was scared of something.I sat at breakfast with Sage. She pushed scrambled eggs around her plate and didn't eat.Dark circles under her eyes, her hair unbrushed and the same sweater she had worn for three days.Mom set down her coffee cup. "Honey, should we see a doctor? You don't look well.""I'm fine." Sage turned away.After breakfast, Sage went back to her room and I followed."You can't give up. Julian is still in danger."She didn't
SAGE'S POV I didn't tell Madison and Aria that I was going to the coffee shop. The place was mostly empty with only a few college students and an elderly couple. I ordered coffee that I couldn't drink. I just held it and watched the door. What if he doesn't show? What if Victoria walks through that door instead? I thought. At exactly 10:00 AM, a man entered. He looked like he was in his late fifties with gray hair, an expensive suit and tired eyes. He scanned the room looking for me than he finally saw me, walked over and sat without asking. "Thank you for coming. We don't have much time. Victoria thinks I'm at a business meeting in Chicago." He slid a manila folder across the table. "Everything you need is in here. But you won't like what you find." Thomas ordered coffee while still watching the door. "I'm Thomas Ashford. Victoria's uncle. I've watched her destroy people since she was twelve." "When did it start?" I looked up. "In middle school. A girl named S
SAGE'S POV The email from the name 'Thomas Ashford' arrived at 3:47 AM.I didn't know the content of the message but I saw a little part where he said that he was Victoria's uncle. But at 6:45 PM, I was sitting in the back row of the Ashford auditorium with Madison, waiting to destroy my last chance with Julian."You can still back out," Madison whispered. "We can leave right now."I shook my head. The auditorium was filling up with students, parents and teachers. Everyone was excited for performances they thought will be normal.I scanned the crowd and found Julian near the front with his performance group with Victoria beside him, touching his arm.They hadn't seen me yet and didn't know I was there."Let's do this," I said.Madison nodded and opened her laptop. The video was queued and ready but we just had to wait.Madison had the technical setup ready. She spent days hacking into the auditorium's AV system and could override the projector at any moment.The plan was to play E
SAGE'S POV At exactly 6:45AM, I met Madison in the parking lot. Her hair was in a messy ponytail with dark circles under her eyes like she didn't sleep at all."Get in my car. We need to talk where no one can hear us."I got in the passenger seat and she immediately locked the doors."I spent all night researching and looking into Victoria's claim about your bracelet." She pulled out her laptop from the backseat. "And I found something...eerrr...but you're not going to like it."She opened the laptop and showed me an old photo of a party from Lincoln's high dated two years ago and in the background was a younger me with different hair and a silver bracelet on my wrist. I gasped."You were there, at that party. The night Cameron Morrison got his lead and you were wearing the bracelet she claims to have."I stared at the photo and tried to remember."It's not a bluff," Madison said quietly. "Victoria's telling the truth.""Do you remember this party?" Madison asked.I thought hard. "
SAGE'S POV 2:55pm. I was in the taxi across the street from the Morrison house with the gift I had spent an hour in wrapping for Julian. Madison's car was down the block. She texted: I'm here. Me: Alright. I was dressed in a blue dress with curled hair and little make up to cover up the dark circles under my eyes. I grabbed the gift and walked towards the house. Music and laughter drifted from inside, I could see balloons and people then my eyes drifted to Victoria standing next to Julian with her hand on his arm and laughing. I took a breath and walked up the steps through the open front door, into my worst nightmare. "Sage! You came!" Susan Morrison appeared immediately and pulled me into a warm hug. "I'm so glad you're here. Here, let me take your coat." She helped me out of it and took the gift. "Julian will be so happy you came. He's in the living room. Come on." She led me through the house. The living room was full of Julian's relatives, cousin, a few friends from s
SAGE'S POV "Your teachers are worried, Sage. You failed a quiz in AP History. You've never failed anything. You even fell asleep in English class.....twice and you didn't turn in your art project. Ms. Lopez said that's the first." I didn't respond. I couldn't sleep at night so I passed out during the day, I couldn't focus on homework when my brain won't stop replaying the park conversation. That art felt pointless when the person who made me love it doesn't want me anymore. Mrs. Palmer slid a paper across her desk. "This is a referral for counseling. I think talking to someone might help." I stared at the paper and ignored it. Mrs. Palmer leaned forward. "Is everything okay at home with your family?" "Everything's fine." "Sometimes breakups can affect our academic performance more than we realize. I heard you and Julian...." "I said I'm fine.....urrgh" I rolled my eyes. She didn't believe me and could see it in her face. But she couldn't force me to talk. "The refe
ARIA'S POV I knew that voice. The flashlight lowered slightly for me to see the face behind it. I gasped in shock. My mother stood in the corridor of Lincoln High School. Margaret Chen. The corporate lawyer and perfect mother. She was still in her work suit and her hair was still perfect desp
ARIA'S POV Terror gripped me as I tried hard to believe. "Then we have him....." "No. Because Richard Webb disappeared the night Cameron died with new identity and to a new country. For two years, nobody has known where he is." She looked past me into the darkness. "Until tonight. Because the
SAGE'S POV My mother's silence was surprising. I watched Aria's face as she tried to process what she had heard from the officer in shock. The moment the perfect, composed and always-prepared Aria Chen simply didn't know what to do. I'd never seen that look on her face before. "Mom." Aria said
SAGE'S POV The emergency lights had stopped strobing. Somewhere outside, journalists were shouting questions at officers who aren't answering and somewhere in the building, our father was in a locker room with officers, waiting. Aria wiped her face with the back of her hand, took a deep breath a







