LUCA
I didn't sleep.
I sat in my car outside the West Dorm lot, headlights off, hands tight on the steering wheel. I told myself I just wanted to be nearby in case Lilly needed me. But that wasn't the truth.
The truth was—I couldn't shake the look in Samantha's eyes.
That smug, dangerous glint when she said "She's not untouchable."
It wasn't just jealousy. That was too easy. Too surface-level. Samantha didn't play games just to feel better about herself. She moved pieces because she knew how to win.
And now, something in me told me she wasn't bluffing.
---
By 6 a.m., I was back at my suite, dragging files across my desk like a man obsessed. Emails. Campus records. Access logs. Student council reports. Anything that might connect Samantha to the incident in the lab… or the anonymous threats Lilly got.
Every time I found something, I found nothing.
She was careful. Too careful.
---
Ethan texted at 8:13 a.m.
> "You alive? You dipped hard last night."
I didn't respond.
Julian texted at 8:25.
> "You looked like you saw a ghost."
Still nothing.
Because I had seen one.
Only this ghost wore lipstick and carried secrets like weapons.
---
Around nine, I finally left the room and headed for the library archives. I needed access to the student complaints database—a vault no one used unless they were building legal cases or internal reviews. The door required faculty clearance, which I had. Thanks to my last name.
I hated how often that came in handy.
Inside, I scrolled through logs from the past two months. Suspicious incident reports. Violation complaints. Most were harmless. Cheating. Noise issues. Someone smuggling in whiskey.
But then I found it.
Entry #1724: Anonymous Report – Unqualified Student Accessing Lab C
Date: Two days before Lilly was suspended.
Location: Submission terminal – East Faculty Hall.
No name. No attached student ID. Just the complaint.
The kicker?
The report was filed using a backdoor portal reserved for staff assistants—not students.
And Samantha had been an assistant in the Dean's office for two semesters.
---
She planted it.
She planted the report that got Lilly flagged. She knew the system. She used it.
And she did it before the so-called "incident" even happened.
Meaning someone was setting Lilly up long before she even stepped into that lab.
---
My hands curled into fists.
This wasn't about some petty rivalry. This was deeper. Planned. Coordinated.
And it wasn't just Samantha.
She was a tool. Someone else was pulling strings.
---
I heard my father's voice in my head, calm and echoing like a courtroom speech:
"Control the narrative. Never let sentiment cloud your judgment."
But right now? Sentiment was the only thing keeping me from torching every record in this building.
Because Lilly had almost lost everything… because of me. Because she got close to me. Because someone thought she didn't belong in our world.
---
I left the archives and crossed campus, my jaw tight, walking fast.
I had one more stop to make.
---
Dean Ravel's Office.
He was mid-phone call when I walked in, but he waved the assistant away and ended the call. "Mr. Demon. You look... focused."
"I want access to the internal complaint log. The full one."
He raised a brow. "Even faculty can't request that without a board-approved investigation."
"Then approve it. Or I'll take it higher."
He sat back, folding his hands. "Why so interested?"
"Because someone is abusing the system. And someone else is about to make the biggest mistake of their life if they think I'll let Lilly Lorenzo be their scapegoat."
Dean Ravel studied me quietly.
"I'll see what I can do."
---
I stepped outside and pulled my phone out again.
This time, I texted Lilly.
> "Meet me tonight. 7PM. Tower Garden. Don't ask questions. Just come."
No emojis. No warmth. Just the truth, raw and direct.
Because I had something to tell her.
And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure how she'd take it.