Maya didn’t say a word. Her lips parted slightly, but her eyes—the ones always filled with smug amusement—now shimmered with something else.
Fear.
Lily didn’t wait for a response. She walked out of the cafeteria, adrenaline buzzing in her limbs. But it wasn’t just victory humming in her veins. It was curiosity. That notebook had more pages. And now, she needed answers.
That night, under the covers, Lily flipped through Eliza’s journal again. She hadn’t noticed before, but some pages near the back were glued together. With trembling fingers, she peeled them open.
There it was—a list of names. Eliza had written down people who had "turned on her." At the bottom of the list: Maya Collins.
Next to it, one more note, in red ink:
"If I disappear, start with her."
Lily's chest tightened.
She grabbed her phone and searched: Eliza Montgomery Jefferson High. One result. A news article from six years ago.
“Missing: 16-year-old Eliza Montgomery. Last seen after school on October 12th. No signs of foul play. Case remains open.”
October 12th.
That was tomorrow.
Suddenly, her bedroom lights flickered. Just once.
Then her phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
“You shouldn't be reading that.”
---
