Ashley frowned at Chloe.
“Were you… collecting pictures of her or something?”
Luna’s voice turned soft with concern.
“We found it in the locker room this morning.”
Her eyes flicked toward Chloe.
“And Chloe was the last one here last night.”
The accusation hung heavy in the air.
Chloe felt twenty pairs of eyes staring at her.
Judging.
Whispering.
So that was Luna’s game.
Frame her as unstable.
Obsessed.
Jealous.
Chloe’s mind worked quickly.
Then her shoulders began to tremble.
She stared down at the photo with wide eyes.
“I… I didn’t bring this,” she whispered.
Ashley looked uncertain.
“Then how did it get here?”
Chloe’s breathing grew uneven.
“I don’t know,” she said weakly. “I swear.”
Her hands began shaking.
The room shifted from suspicion to discomfort.
“Hey,” Ashley said quickly. “It’s okay—”
Tears suddenly filled Chloe’s eyes.
“I’ve just been having these dreams,” she whispered.
“About Zoe.”
Luna’s expression flickered.
Just slightly.
“What kind of dreams?” someone asked nervously.
Chloe swallowed hard.
“She keeps falling,” she said quietly.
“Over and over.”
A chill spread through the room.
“I wake up feeling like she’s trying to warn me about something.”
Silence.
Then someone whispered,
“That’s creepy.”
Ashley quickly picked up the photo.
“Okay, let’s just focus on practice,” she said firmly.
“Everyone stretch.”
The tension slowly broke.
Girls moved back into position.
But Chloe could feel Luna’s gaze burning into her.
Testing.
Suspicious.
Good.
Let her wonder.
After practice ended, Chloe slipped out the back entrance of the gym.
The sky had turned orange with sunset.
Students were leaving campus, their voices fading as they headed toward cars and buses.
Chloe leaned against the brick wall, exhaling slowly.
“That was impressive.”
She looked up sharply.
Jasper Voss stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets.
His gray eyes held a trace of amusement.
“You should join drama club,” he added.
Chloe straightened.
“How long were you standing there?”
“Long enough.”
He glanced toward the gym doors.
“Your friend Luna is dangerous.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Jasper studied her for a moment.
“You handled that well.”
Chloe folded her arms.
“I didn’t have much choice.”
He reached into his jacket pocket.
Then he pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“This might help.”
Chloe hesitated before taking it.
Inside was a short note written in neat handwriting.
The night Zoe died—
Tristan Hale and Luna Garcia were both on the roof.
Below the message was a web address.
“A security camera archive,” Jasper explained quietly.
“Hidden system used by the school maintenance team.”
Chloe’s pulse quickened.
“You hacked the school cameras?”
“I prefer the term investigated.”
She looked back at the note.
“If this footage exists… why haven’t you gone to the police?”
Jasper’s expression darkened.
“Because the video cuts off right before Zoe falls.”
Chloe felt a chill.
“So it doesn’t prove anything.”
“Not yet.”
He leaned slightly closer.
“But it proves they were there.”
The weight of that truth settled heavily between them.
Chloe folded the note carefully.
“Why are you helping me?”
Jasper’s gaze drifted toward the empty campus.
For a moment he didn’t answer.
Then he said quietly,
“Because Zoe Collins deserves the truth.”
Chloe studied him.
There was something deeper behind his calm voice.
Something personal.
“Were you close to her?” she asked.
Jasper didn’t reply.
Instead he stepped back.
“You should go home,” he said.
“Before someone notices you talking to me.”
Chloe nodded slowly.
As she turned to leave, Jasper spoke again.
“One more thing.”
She looked back.
His expression had turned serious.
“Be careful with Tristan.”
Chloe’s chest tightened.
“Why?”
Jasper’s voice dropped.
“Because someone’s been paying him to keep quiet.”
Chloe froze.
“What?”
He shrugged slightly.
“I’ve been tracking his phone records.”
Her heart pounded.
“Who’s paying him?”
Jasper shook his head.
“That’s the problem.”
“We don’t know.”
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting the campus in shadow.
Chloe looked down at the note in her hand.
The secrets were getting bigger.
Darker.
And somehow she was right in the middle of them.
But one thing was certain now.
Zoe Collins hadn’t died alone.
And the people Chloe trusted most were hiding the truth.
The question was—
How far would they go to keep it buried?