A small metallic object dropped to the ground with a faint clink.
Neither of them noticed at first.
But Chloe did.
The object rolled across the dirt until it caught the light.
A ring.
Simple silver.
With tiny engraved letters on the inside.
Z.C.
Chloe’s breath stopped.
Zoe Collins.
The name exploded through her mind like lightning.
Zoe Collins had died one year ago.
Officially, it had been ruled a suicide.
She’d fallen from the roof of Westview’s old science building.
But rumors had spread through the school like wildfire.
People whispered that Zoe had been involved with someone popular.
Someone powerful.
Someone who didn’t want their secrets exposed.
Luna noticed the ring next.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Careful, Tristan,” she said softly, bending to pick it up.
She slipped it into her pocket.
“You don’t want to drop things like this.”
Tristan looked pale.
“Give it back.”
“Relax. I’m holding onto it for you.”
“Luna—”
“Just remember,” she interrupted quietly. “If you stop cooperating…”
She tapped the photograph.
“…people might start asking questions about what really happened to Zoe.”
The night air felt suddenly freezing.
Chloe’s mind raced.
Zoe.
The ring.
The photograph.
Her boyfriend and her best friend standing together in the dark, bound by some terrifying secret.
This wasn’t just cheating.
This was something else entirely.
Something dangerous.
Her foot shifted slightly against the leaves.
A twig snapped.
The sound was small.
But in the silence, it might as well have been a gunshot.
Tristan’s head snapped toward the trees.
“Who’s there?”
Chloe’s heart nearly stopped.
Luna’s gaze followed his.
For a split second, her eyes met Chloe’s through the shadows.
And Chloe saw it.
Recognition.
Followed by something chilling.
Luna smiled.
Not her usual sweet smile.
This one was slow.
Mocking.
Chloe’s brain kicked into survival mode.
She stepped out from behind the tree as if she’d just arrived, blinking in surprise.
“Oh—there you are!” she said, forcing a laugh.
Tristan looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“Chloe?”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she continued brightly. “The party’s getting boring without you.”
Her eyes flicked briefly to Luna.
“Oh. Hi, Luna. I didn’t realize you were out here too.”
Luna’s smile remained in place.
“Just getting some air.”
Chloe tilted her head, pretending confusion.
“Did I interrupt something?”
“No,” Tristan said too quickly.
“Not at all,” Luna added smoothly.
Chloe nodded slowly.
“Good.”
Inside, her heart felt like it was being shredded.
But her face stayed calm.
“Well, the DJ just started a new set,” she said lightly. “Everyone’s heading back inside.”
She stepped closer to Tristan, brushing her hand against his arm like nothing was wrong.
“You coming?”
Tristan hesitated.
Then he nodded.
“Yeah. In a minute.”
“Okay.”
Chloe turned and began walking back toward the gym.
Each step felt unreal.
Her chest ached.
Her throat burned.
But she didn’t look back.
Not until she reached the edge of the trees.
Then she stopped.
Because someone was standing there.
A tall boy leaning casually against the chain-link fence that separated the campus from the parking lot.
Jasper Voss.
The quiet transfer student who had arrived at Westview two months ago.
He rarely spoke in class.
Rarely socialized.
Most people barely noticed him.
But right now, his sharp gray eyes were fixed on Chloe.
In his hand was a small black device.
A recorder.
Their gazes locked.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Jasper pushed off the fence and walked toward her.
Close enough that she could see the faint scar along his jaw.
“Rough night?” he said quietly.
Chloe stiffened.
“You heard that?”
“Enough.”
He glanced briefly toward the trees where Tristan and Luna still stood arguing.
Then he looked back at her.
His voice dropped even lower.
“You should be careful around them.”
Chloe’s pulse pounded.
“What do you mean?”
Jasper studied her for a long moment.
Like he was weighing something.
Then he slipped the recorder into his jacket pocket.
“Let’s just say,” he murmured, “that Zoe Collins didn’t fall off that roof by accident.”
Chloe’s stomach twisted.
“And you think Tristan and Luna had something to do with it?” she whispered.
Jasper’s gaze hardened.
“I think,” he said slowly, “you just stepped into something a lot bigger than a high school love triangle.”
He turned and started walking toward the parking lot.
Then paused.
Without looking back, he added quietly—
“If you want the truth… stop trusting the people closest to you.”
And with that, he disappeared into the darkness.
Chloe stood there alone, the distant music from the party echoing behind her.
Her heart felt broken.
Her world felt shattered.
But beneath the pain, something colder was beginning to form.
Determination.
Because whatever secret Tristan and Luna were hiding…
Whatever really happened to Zoe Collins…
Chloe Bennett was going to find out.
No matter what it cost.