All Chapters of Living With the Boy Who Hated Me: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The beam of Callum's flashlight cut through the darkness, sweeping across the dense trees where the mysterious signal had disappeared.Nothing.Only swaying branches and the distant chorus of insects answered them.Beside him, Aya wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady the pounding of her heart."They're gone," she whispered.Callum didn't lower the flashlight."No."His voice remained calm, but the tightness in his jaw told another story."They're hiding."Silence settled between them.The woods suddenly felt much larger than they had only minutes earlier.Every shadow seemed capable of hiding another pair of watching eyes.Richard stepped closer."We're going back."Callum didn't argue this time.Whoever had been out there wanted them to follow.Walking blindly into the forest would only play into their hands.The group returned to the mansion under the escort of Detective Elena Cruz and two officers.Behind them, the trees swallowed the darkness once more.No one noticed

Branches whipped against Aya's face as she chased Callum through the forest.The figure ahead never slowed.They darted between towering pines with surprising speed, disappearing and reappearing through the morning mist."Callum!" Aya shouted."Don't fall behind!"He leaped over a fallen log without looking back.Aya followed, her boots slipping slightly on the damp ground before she caught her balance.Behind them, Detective Cruz's voice echoed through the woods."Callum! Stop chasing alone!"He ignored her.The stranger was too close.He wasn't losing them again.The figure glanced over one shoulder.For the briefest moment, Aya caught a glimpse beneath the hood.Not a face.Just a strand of dark hair escaping the hood.A woman?Before Aya could be certain, the stranger disappeared behind a cluster of thick trees."She's heading toward the lake!" Callum yelled.—The forest suddenly opened into a narrow clearing.Hawthorne Lake stretched before them, its normally calm surface rippli

Every flashlight died at the same time.The underground chamber vanished into absolute darkness.Aya instinctively reached for Callum.His hand found hers before she could call his name."I'm here," he whispered.His voice sounded calm, but she could hear the tension beneath it.Somewhere behind them, Tina gasped.Richard muttered a curse under his breath.Then—Bang!The heavy hatch above them slammed shut.The sound echoed through the stone tunnel.Everyone froze.Detective Elena Cruz's voice cut through the darkness."Nobody move!"An officer immediately answered."The entrance's been sealed!"Callum looked upward even though he couldn't see a thing."They're trying to trap us.""No," Claire said quietly."They're buying time."Aya frowned."For what?"Claire's answer came almost immediately."For someone to take the evidence."One of the officers switched on an emergency flashlight.A weak beam flickered to life.It wasn't bright enough to illuminate the entire chamber, but it was

Aya’s POV“You should have left your mother’s secrets buried.”The woman’s voice slipped through the crack like cold air.No one moved.Detective Cruz raised her gun toward the shifting wall while the two officers spread out beside her. Callum remained in front of me, his body tense, one arm stretched back as though he could shield me without looking.“Identify yourself,” Cruz ordered.Silence answered.Then came another scrape.A loose stone dropped from the wall and shattered across the floor.Callum glanced over his shoulder.“Stay behind me.”Normally, I would have argued.This time, I didn’t.There was something in that woman’s voice that made my skin crawl.She knew my name.She knew about my mother.And she had been close enough to hear everything we had just discovered.Cruz moved toward the opening.“Hands where I can see them.”A soft laugh came through the crack.Not nervous.Not frightened.Amused.“You still think you’re in control, Detective.”Cruz’s expression hardened.

Aya's POV"No!"The scream ripped from my throat as Callum vanished beneath the black water.For one impossible second, all I could see was his hand disappearing beneath the violent current before darkness swallowed him whole.Everything inside me stopped.The journal slipped from beneath my arm and splashed into the water.I didn't think.I jumped."Aya!" Detective Cruz shouted.The freezing water hit me like a wall.It stole every breath from my lungs as the current dragged me forward. My shoulder screamed where Helena's knife had cut me, but the pain meant nothing.There was only one thought.Find him.The underground tunnel was almost completely dark. Mud and debris rushed past me, scratching my arms and face. I opened my eyes despite the burning and searched desperately through the murky water.Nothing.The current pulled harder.I kicked against it."Callum!"Only bubbles answered.I refused to believe he was gone.Not after everything.Not when we had finally begun trusting eac