*SECRET OF THE SCHOOL*
_*Chapter 1: The Disappearance*_
There were two things you hated about UNILAG.
One, FIN 101. Two, mornings.
Both greeted you with their full chest on that dry Monday in March.
You were late, hungry, and 70% sure you would fail the course again, when you stumbled into the lecture hall to find something worse than another 3-hour lecture: Dr. Okonkwo was missing.
Again.
No messages. No cancellation. Just absence. The kind that felt suspicious. The kind that lingered.
Your coursemate Fash waved you over. "Omo, sit here. Vibes and Insha Allah today again o."
You dropped beside her with a tired sigh.
Well, my name is Kate.A Student of the so-called Nation's First Choice - UNILAG, where your lecturers vanish, but your problems don't.
Secey and Emperor's Pen were two rows ahead, deep in one of their chaotic debates, something about CBN and poetry, which made no sense but somehow still sounded deep.
Then you noticed it. A small black USB flash drive on your seat. No label. Just sitting there like it had been waiting for you.
"Fash," you whispered. "Is this yours?"
She squinted. "Nope. Not mine."
You pocketed it.
Later that night in your hostel, you stared at the flash drive like it might bite you.
But curiosity, as always, won.
One folder.
*Project Phoenix — Confidential*
Inside: bank transactions. Lists of bursary recipients. Students you'd never heard of, but with familiar matric numbers.
Then your eyes caught it.
Your name.
Your matric number.
And a bank account you had never opened.
You scrolled down, confused, heart thumping in your chest.
₦230,000 paid in your name. Twice.
Then another name hit you harder than the rest.
Daniel.
Your friend. The guy who always stayed behind to help you study. The one who walked you back to your hostel during heavy rain and held your hand like it meant something.
His name. His fake account.
₦2.3 million.
And just as you tried to make sense of it, a message box blinked open on your screen.
> "If you're reading this, I may already be gone.
Trust no one. Not even your friends.
Especially not Daniel."
A knock hit your door like a gunshot.
Your heart jumped.
"It's me," a soft voice called.
Daniel.
"Can we talk?"