chapter 18 " Trapped "

The next morning felt different.

Even the sun filtering through Greg’s dorm window couldn’t shake the weight in Helena’s chest. The events of last night—being locked in that surveillance room, the photo, the recording—clung to her skin like smoke.

She sat on the edge of Greg’s bed, staring at her phone.

The voice message Sophia left had only one line:

“If you find this… it means I didn’t make it out.”

Those words haunted her.

But before she could replay it again, her phone vibrated.

Theo: I got your email. I’m in the computer lab now. You need to see this. Bring the recorder.

Helena grabbed her bag.

“I have to go,” she said to Greg.

He rubbed his eyes, still half-awake. “Want me to come?”

She hesitated. “Not yet. I need to do this with Theo first.”

Greg nodded, quietly watching her leave.

At the Computer Lab

Theo’s fingers flew over the keyboard as Helena walked in.

“I ran the audio through four different filters,” he said without looking up. “There’s more than just her voice on that recording.”

He tapped the spacebar.

The file played again—Sophia’s whisper. But this time, beneath it, something else came through.

Faint breathing.

A click.

And then—a male voice, barely audible:

“You shouldn’t have opened that.”

Helena’s blood went cold.

Theo stopped the audio. “That’s not all. The metadata on the file? It wasn’t just left behind in the locker room like we thought. It was uploaded remotely from an encrypted system inside the Brentford mainframe. Which means…”

Helena blinked. “It came from the school?”

“Worse,” Theo said. “Someone with admin-level access sent it to your phone. After watching you in the room.”

Helena sat down hard. “Who has that kind of access?”

Theo leaned in. “I checked the list. Aside from the principal and head IT staff… only two students do.”

Helena’s heart raced. “Who?”

Theo stared at her. “Bianca and Greg.”

Meanwhile, in the Girls’ Dorm

Bianca lounged on her plush bed, sipping coffee, legs crossed neatly.

She watched the video she’d leaked two weeks ago—again. Greg and Helena. The kiss. The intimacy.

It still made her jaw clench.

But the next phase of her plan was already in motion.

She opened a chat on her burner phone.

Bianca: Phase Two starts tonight. Are the files ready?

Unknown Contact: They’ll be uploaded during the Winter Gala.

Bianca smiled.

Helena thinks she’s the player now.

But she’s just another piece.

Later That Day – Back in the Library

Helena sat across from Theo, hands folded tightly.

“I don’t believe Greg did this,” she said softly. “Not this.”

Theo raised a brow. “You sure?”

She nodded. “There’s something darker here. Deeper. And I think Greg’s been a pawn, just like me.”

She reached into her bag, pulled out the recorder she found in her locker, and placed it on the table.

“I want to know who else Sophia was warning.”

Theo nodded. “I’ll clean up the full audio. Maybe there’s more buried under the surface.”

But before he could continue, Helena’s phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number:

You should’ve stopped digging, Helena.

Now let’s see how fast you run when the walls start closing in. 🕯

She looked up.

The library door creaked open.

In walked the headmistress, eyes scanning the room.

Behind her—two security guards.

And they were walking straight toward Helena.

Cliffhanger Ending – Chapter Eighteen

“Helena James?” the headmistress said coldly. “You’re coming with us.”

“On what grounds?” Theo demanded, standing.

“A report’s been filed. Unauthorized access to restricted school servers. Violation of code 92B. Hacking.”

Helena’s pulse thundered.

“But I didn’t—”

“Save it,” one of the guards said. “Let’s go.”

They took her phone. The recorder.

And marched her out of the library in front of half the student body.

As she was led out, her eyes locked on the last thing she saw:

Bianca, standing across the hall, smiling sweetly.

Like she’d already won.

The headmistress’s heels clicked sharply down the corridor as Helena was escorted through the marble-floored hallway. Students parted like water around her, whispering behind hands and phones.

No one dared to speak directly to her.

Except one.

“Wait!” Greg’s voice rang out, breathless. He shoved his way through the crowd and reached for her arm—only for one of the security guards to shove him back.

“Step aside,” the guard barked.

“She didn’t do anything,” Greg growled. “This is a setup. You know it is.”

The headmistress didn’t blink. “You’re already on thin ice, Mr. Carter. I suggest you choose your next words carefully.”

Greg looked to Helena, pain and helplessness flashing in his eyes.

But she shook her head slowly, lips pressing into a faint, determined smile.

“Don’t fight them. Not yet.”

They locked eyes as the guards pulled her away. Greg stood there, fists clenched, as the girl who had unraveled everything was led into the lion’s mouth.

The Holding Room – Brentford Admin Wing

The room was small, windowless. One desk. One chair. One blinking surveillance camera in the corner.

Helena sat alone.

Until the headmistress returned with a man in a gray suit — the school’s legal advisor.

They dropped a folder in front of her. Inside, grainy stills from a security feed. Her and Theo, in the lab. Her, holding the voice recorder. And a screenshot of Theo’s IP address logged into a protected system.

“You’ve been busy,” the legal advisor said.

“I didn’t hack anything,” Helena replied. “I found a recorder. It belonged to someone who disappeared three years ago. Her name was Sophia Makinde.”

The headmistress stiffened. “That name is not to be spoken on this campus.”

“Why?” Helena shot back. “Because she knew something? Because someone made her disappear?”

The legal advisor closed the folder. “That’s enough. Until further notice, Helena James, your scholarship is suspended pending investigation.”

Helena stood slowly, fire building in her chest.

“Then investigate me. I have nothing to hide. But when you find out who really did this, I want an apology. And my future back.”

Meanwhile – Student Lounge

Theo paced, phone in hand. “She’s gone. They took her. I don’t know what files they have, but someone’s rewriting the story.”

Greg sat across from him, staring at nothing. “Bianca.”

“She’s the only one who would’ve leaked that data and left breadcrumbs behind to frame Helena. She’s smart enough. Mean enough.”

Greg stood. “Then it’s time we hit back.”

“How?”

Greg’s eyes hardened. “We don’t play their game. We burn their playbook.”

Back in the Detention Wing

Helena was escorted not to her dorm… but to the old detention wing, a space usually reserved for expelled or high-risk students. It reeked of bleach and rust.

The door shut behind her.

No phone.

No Theo.

No Greg.

No light—except for a flickering bulb above.

She dropped onto the cot and stared at the ceiling.

A scrape.

She turned.

Something was wedged in the vent above her bed. She reached up and pulled it free — a folded slip of paper.

Block handwriting. Faded. Old.

Sophia was warned too.

She didn’t listen either.

There’s one place left where the truth still lives.

The chapel. Midnight. Come alone.

Helena's hands trembled.

Even here. Even locked away.

The past was still speaking.

Cliffhanger Ending – Chapter Eighteen (Final Moments)

Outside, rain fell hard against the rooftop.

Greg stood under the archway of the courtyard, watching the detention wing light flicker in the distance.

Theo appeared beside him. “You really care about her, don’t you?”

Greg didn’t answer at first.

Then: “She’s the first person who ever looked at me… and saw the mess. And didn’t run.”

He turned.

“I’m done being a part of Bianca’s story. It’s time she became part of ours.”

And somewhere beneath them, in the chapel basement’s shadows—

a figure waited.

Watching the clock tick toward midnight.