Lahat ng Kabanata ng Off Camera : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 43

Daniel's POVThe thing about people was that most of them thought they were harder to read than they actually were.They weren't.I sat in the corner of the common room, one leg stretched over the arm of a chair, lazily spinning a marker between my fingers while pretending to watch the giant television mounted on the wall.In reality, I was watching everyone else.It was a habit I'd developed young. Sitting still, going quiet, reading a room before I decided how to move through it.Most people never bothered. They walked into spaces already talking, already performing, already desperate for someone to notice them.That desperation was the first thing I clocked.Mira and Cole were arguing again near the window — not a real argument. One of those couple arguments where both parties were secretly enjoying the attention it generated. Mira kept glancing toward the camera crew lingering near the doorway while Cole kept raising his voice just enough to make sure everyone heard him.Neither o

Connie’s POVThe brass knob was still cold when my hand froze against it, but the air on the other side was thick and stifling.The room didn't just feel crowded, it felt very weird. The heavy scent of sweat hung in the air. Sasha was scrambling, her face a mask of pure panic as she reached for a discarded blanket, her eyes wide and glassy.Daniel didn’t move. He didn’t even look startled.He leaned back against the headboard with a slow, predatory ease, his lips curling into a sharp, knowing grin that didn't reach his eyes. He looked at me with an arrogance that made my blood run cold. “Well, well,” Daniel drawled, his voice low and scraping against the silence. He made no effort to look decent. “Come to join the party, Reid? Or just checking up on your friends?”A cold spike drove through my chest. The heat that rushed to my face was a violent, suffocating memory. It was the same vertigo that had swallowed me whole two years ago—the feeling of a trap snapping shut.“You’re pathetic