All Chapters of Dirty Little Secrets : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

SUMMER'S POVI didn’t go home.After Kingsley stormed out of the club, leaving me shaking in that dim hallway, I couldn’t face George’s questions or Clyde’s worried eyes. I texted Amanda instead. She didn’t ask me for details, she just opened her tiny apartment door, handed me a blanket, and let me crash on her couch. I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kingsley’s hurt face, heard his harsh words echoing in my head; You’re gullible, Summer. Dangerously gullible. Or maybe you just enjoy destroying yourself. Which is it?”Morning came too soon, earlier than I expected, which I didn't want. I borrowed one of Amanda’s hoodies and dragged myself to school, hoping the chaos from yesterday had died down.But it hadn't. Instead, it increased.Whispers followed me across campus like shadows. Phones beeped constantly, making me uncomfortable. Heads turned, wherever I went to, like I was some live comic. A group of girls near the fountain didn’t even bother lowering their voices.

SUMMER'S POVThe walk back to the apartment felt like trudging through quicksand. Every step echoed with the Dean’s cold words. My phone stayed silent after that last menacing text, but its ghost lingered like a blade at my throat: Come to the club tonight, alone. As if I had any choice.I pushed open the creaky door to our apartment. The silence hit harder than usual. Clyde was still at George’s—thank God. I didn’t want him seeing me like this: eyes swollen from unshed tears, hoodie reeking of club smoke and failure. I locked the door, slid the chain into place, and collapsed onto the worn couch.Just a few minutes. That’s all I needed. I closed my eyes, breathe, then get ready for whatever fresh hell Mr. Robert—or whoever was pulling this strings—had planned for me tonight.Sleep claimed me before I could fight it.---A sharp knock shattered the darkness.I jolted upright, heart slamming against my ribs. The room was dim, the evening light filtering weakly through the curtains. My

SUMMER'S POVThe club’s neon sign buzzed like an angry wasp above the staff entrance. Every step toward it sent fresh fire through my ribs and down my swollen leg. I limped badly, favoring my right side, the bruises from the beating pulsing with my heartbeat. My hoodie hid most of the damage, but nothing could mask the way I moved—like a broken doll held together by sheer stubbornness.Mr. Noel was waiting just inside, arms crossed, face carved from stone. There was no greeting nor sympathy at all. His eyes flicked over me once. It was cold and calculating, like one who sees everything as an instrument of money.“You’re late,” he said flatly. “And you look like shit. Clean yourself up. There’s a private meeting in VIP Room 7. Mr. Robert’s orders. Don’t keep him waiting.”I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “I’m not in any condition to—”“Condition?” He stepped closer, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “You signed the contract, Dark Bird. You don’t get to have conditions an

CLYDE'S POVThe streetlights flickered like they were running out of battery. I walked beside Gabrielle, our steps slow after the long group study session. Her house was just two blocks away, but I always made sure she got home safe. She’d saved my life during that asthma attack. The least I could do was walk her back.“You sure you’re okay?” Gabrielle asked, glancing at me sideways. “You’ve been quiet since we left the library.”I forced a smile, shoving my hands deeper into my pockets. “Yeah. Just thinking about the project. And… other stuff.”The truth was, I’d been on edge for days. Summer hadn’t come home. George said she was “staying with a friend,” but his voice had that tight edge it gets when he’s lying to protect me. My sister was hiding something big. She always did. After our parents died, she became this unbreakable wall between me and the world. But walls crack eventually.A shadow moved behind us. I caught it in the corner of my eye—someone keeping pace, staying just fa

KINGSLEY’S POVI was sick and tired of Summer pushing me away. Every single time I tried to help, it felt like she just laid down another brick in the wall keeping me out.Since she refused to open up to anyone about who was threatening her, I took matters into my own hands and teamed up with Felix and George. Right now, we were crammed into George’s bedroom, using the digital breadcrumbs we’d managed to lift from the ICT lab. Felix was hunched over his laptop, typing furiously."How long is this going to take?" I demanded, pacing the length of the room like a caged animal."Chill, bro. I’m almost through," Felix mumbled, not looking up from the screen."Oh, I almost forgot," George said, turning from the window to look at me. "Clyde met up with someone earlier. Apparently, the guy is friends with Summer, and he gave Clyde a message to pass along to her."I froze in my tracks. "What kind of message?""He said, 'You can't keep running. Just embrace it.'""Did he give a name?" I pressed