Leo’s leather notebook was gone. The flash drive was gone.
My breath caught in my throat. I stood up, spinning around, scanning the empty locker room. There was no one there.
Then I saw it. Taped to the inside of the dented locker door was a small, torn piece of lined paper.
I reached out with trembling fingers and pulled it down. The handwriting was neat, written in black ink.
You shouldn't have fought back. Now we take everything.
CHAPTER 2
I stared at the note until the neat black letters blurred together.
Now we take everything.
My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird. The leather notebook wasn’t just a diary. It was the only proof I had that Leo’s crash was tied to Vance Industries. It detailed the exact locations where he had taken water samples from the town reservoir, and it listed payouts made by Chloe’s father, Marcus Vance, to local officials. Without that notebook, I had nothing. Without the flash drive, I could never prove why my brother was lying in a hospital bed, kept alive by machines.
“Maya!”
I flinched, crumbling the note into a tight ball in my fist as the locker room door swung open. Coach Miller stormed in, his face flushed red with anger. He didn’t even hesitate at the sight of my smashed locker.
“Get your things,” he barked, pointing a thick finger at me. “Principal’s office. Now. You’re suspended, Lin. You’re lucky Mr. Vance isn’t pressing assault charges yet.”
I looked from Coach Miller to my broken lock on the floor.
“Someone broke into my locker,” I said, my voice trembling, though I fought to keep it steady. “My things were stolen.”
Miller’s eyes flicked to the broken lock, then back to my face. His expression didn’t change. There was no surprise. No concern.
“I said get your things,” he repeated coldly. “Maybe if you weren't attacking other students like a wild animal, you could keep track of your belongings. Move.”
He knew.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. He didn't care about the broken lock because he wasn't surprised by it.
I grabbed my backpack, stuffing my clothes inside, and walked past him. As I brushed by, my eyes caught something gleaming on the gray tile floor, half-hidden beneath the edge of the metal bench.
I recognized it instantly. It was a small, silver charm shaped like a crescent moon.
I had stared at that charm for three months. It belonged to the heavy bracelet Chloe Vance wore every single day.
I didn't stop. I discreetly kicked the charm with the toe of my sneaker, sliding it toward my bag, and scooped it up in one fluid motion as I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulder. I slipped the silver moon into my pocket, my mind racing.
Chloe hadn’t been on the track the whole time. The timeline didn't make sense. She was running next to me. She tripped me. I threw her to the ground. There was no physical way she could have been in the locker room breaking my lock while simultaneously bullying me on the field.
Unless she didn't do it. Unless she was just the distraction.
The meeting with the principal was a blur of threats and paperwork. My mother, exhausted and pale from spending her nights at the hospital with Leo, sat beside me in silence. She didn't yell. She just looked defeated, which hurt worse than any punishment. I was suspended for five days.
When we got in the car, the silence between us was agonizing.
“Mom, I—” I started, staring at my lap.
“Not now, Maya,” she said softly, gripping the steering wheel. “I can't. I just… I can't handle any more trouble today. We have to go see Leo.”
The hospital smelled like antiseptic and stale coffee. We sat in Leo’s room for two hours. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound. I sat in the plastic chair next to his bed, looking at his still, pale face. A bandage wrapped around his head covered the worst of the damage from the crash.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the silver crescent moon charm. I traced the edges with my thumb.
Let them think you’re weak right up until the second they realize they made a mistake.
I wasn't going to let them win. Whoever broke into my locker had to know my combination, or at least have access to the heavy bolt cutters kept in the maintenance closet. And whoever it was had to be working with Chloe.