Jaxon sat on the edge of Zara's bed, elbows on his knees, the paper dangling from his fingers like it was soaked in poison.
"This system," he muttered, "it's bigger than I thought."
Zara paced in front of him, arms wrapped around herself. "Your father. The school. The missing girls. It's all connected, isn't it?"
He looked up at her. "I used to think my family just had secrets. But this is a network. A machine. And it's been running long before I was ever born."
Zara shook her head. "So what now? We just wait for them to 'escalate' again? See how long I last before I become the next girl who 'transferred'?"
"No," he said firmly. "We go after them first."
She blinked. "How?"
He stood and stepped closer, voice low. "I know where the original files are kept. Not the ones Theo found, the real ones. Hard copies. Archives. My father used to take me there when I was younger called it 'the vault.' I didn't realize what it really was until now."
"Where is it?"
"Blackthorne Hall," he said. "Our estate. Off campus. Private. Guarded."
Zara stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "You want to break into your family mansion?"
"I don't want to," he said. "I have to."
By the next day, plans were in motion.
Zara kept her head down, eyes on the ground, pretending everything was normal. She even forced a smile when her roommate asked if she wanted to go out for pizza.
Inside, she was counting the hours until dark.
Jaxon had arranged a way off campus an old delivery route that circled behind the science labs. A van with tinted windows. Paid off driver. One hour window.
Zara texted Theo just before they left.
Zara:
Going to Blackthorne Hall. If I don't make it back, burn the whole system down.
He replied immediately.
Theo:
Be careful. And don't trust anyone even him.
She stared at the message for a second too long before shoving the phone in her pocket.
Jaxon was waiting at the edge of campus, hoodie up, eyes locked on the gate like a soldier going to war.
"You ready?" he asked.
Zara hesitated. Then: "Let's go find the truth."
The van ride was silent.
Zara sat with her arms folded, watching the world blur past. The further they drove from the lights of the city, the darker it became tall trees rising on either side of the road like guards, swallowing sound.
Blackthorne Hall emerged like a ghost from the woods three stories tall, wrapped in ivy and silence. Iron gates. Stone lions at the entrance. And secrets behind every window.
Jaxon leaned toward her.
"We don't have long. Once we're inside, you follow my lead. No wandering. No hesitation. And if you see my father run."
Zara's pulse quickened, but she nodded.
This was it.
No more running.
No more waiting.
They were stepping into the lion's den now and lions always smelled fear.