Chapter Nine

Madisyn barely heard the bell ringing over the pounding in her ears.

She stared at the slip of paper crumpled in her fist, her fingers tightening around it as if she could squeeze the fear out of her body. "You should've kept your mouth shut."

The words were scrawled in uneven, almost jagged handwriting, as if whoever had written them had been too angry to keep their hand steady. A chill crept up her spine as she stood frozen in front of her open locker. Someone had put this here. Someone who had been close enough to slip it inside, undetected.

Her breath came in quick, shallow gasps.

Chris was in police custody. He shouldn't have been able to do this. But Olivia's warning from earlier echoed in her mind—he wasn't acting alone.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she flinched, spinning around to see Malika and Rosetta standing there.

"What's wrong?" Malika asked, her dark brows knitting together in concern.

Wordlessly, Madisyn held out the note. Rosetta grabbed it first, reading it aloud under her breath.

Her face twisted in fury. "Oh, hell no."

Madisyn swallowed hard. "I don't know who put it there."

"You need to go to the office," Malika said firmly. "Report it before whoever this is gets bolder."

Rosetta nodded. "Yeah, they need to check the cameras or something. Maybe they caught whoever did this."

Madisyn hesitated. Every fiber of her being wanted to report it—she wanted to feel safe again. But fear still dug its claws into her. What if this was just the beginning? What if reporting it made things worse?

As if sensing her doubt, Malika grabbed her hand. "Mads, we've got your back. We're not letting you deal with this alone."

Madisyn exhaled shakily and gave a small nod. "Okay. Let's go."

They made their way toward the front office, but before they could reach it, a familiar voice called out behind them.

"Madisyn."

She turned, her heart dropping at the sight of Olivia Navarro standing near the stairwell, arms crossed over her chest. The other girl's expression was unreadable, but there was something almost… expectant in her dark eyes.

"We need to talk," Olivia said.

Malika stepped forward protectively. "Now's not the time."

Olivia ignored her, eyes locked on Madisyn. "This is important."

Madisyn hesitated. The last thing she wanted was another confrontation, but something in Olivia's face made her pause.

"I'll meet you guys in the office," she told Malika and Rosetta.

Both of them shot her uncertain glances, but when they saw the resolve in her face, they nodded reluctantly and walked off.

Olivia exhaled and motioned for Madisyn to follow her to a quieter corner of the hallway.

"This isn't just about Chris," Olivia said once they were alone.

Madisyn stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"There are people who will protect him, no matter what he did," Olivia said. "People who don't care about the truth. They only care about keeping him out of trouble."

Madisyn's stomach twisted. "Are you saying—"

"I'm saying be careful," Olivia interrupted. "You have no idea what you're up against."

Madisyn clenched her fists. "Why are you telling me this now?"

A flicker of something passed through Olivia's expression—regret, maybe? But it was gone before Madisyn could be sure.

"Because I know what it's like to think you're safe when you're not," Olivia murmured. "And I know Chris better than anyone."

The warning settled over Madisyn like a heavy weight.

Before she could respond, Olivia turned and walked away, leaving her standing there, feeling like the ground beneath her feet had just cracked open.

Lucian was waiting by his car when she finally stepped outside after reporting the note to the school administrators.

The tension in his shoulders loosened slightly when he saw her, but his dark eyes remained sharp, scanning her face as if searching for something.

"What happened?" he asked the second she reached him.

She hesitated for half a beat before holding out the note.

Lucian's jaw tightened as he read it. His fingers curled around the paper, knuckles whitening.

"Someone put this in your locker?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. "Yeah. And Olivia…" She swallowed hard. "She warned me that Chris isn't the only one I should be worried about."

Lucian cursed under his breath, crumpling the note in his fist.

Madisyn looked up at him, feeling something stir inside her—something like desperation. "I don't know what to do. I keep thinking this is over, but it's not. It's getting worse."

Lucian was silent for a moment, then he reached out, gently tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

"You're not doing this alone," he said, voice firm. "We're going to figure out who's behind this, and we're going to make sure they don't come near you again."

Madisyn exhaled shakily. "And what if it's bigger than just one person?"

Lucian's eyes darkened. "Then we make sure they regret ever coming after you."

A shiver ran down her spine—not from fear, but from the quiet intensity in his voice.

For the first time all day, she felt something other than dread.

She felt protected.

That night, Madisyn sat on her bed, staring at her phone.

She had told her mother about the note, and as expected, her mom had been furious. She wanted to pull Madisyn out of school, wanted to go straight to the police again. But Madisyn had convinced her to wait—just for a little while—until she had more information.

Now, as she scrolled through her messages, she found herself lingering on her last conversation with Lucian.

She hesitated before typing a new message.

Madisyn: Thanks for today. I don't think I could've handled it alone.

The reply came almost instantly.

Lucian: You don't have to handle it alone.

She chewed on her lip before typing again.

Madisyn: I don't know why this is happening. I thought after last night, things would calm down.

A pause. Then—

Lucian: They want to scare you. They want you to feel like you have no control. Don't give them that power.

Her heart thudded at his words.

Before she could respond, her phone buzzed again. But this time, it wasn't Lucian.

It was an unknown number.

Her stomach dropped.

With trembling fingers, she opened the message.

Unknown: You should've kept your mouth shut.

Madisyn's breath hitched. It was the same words from the note.

Her fingers tightened around the phone. This wasn't over.

She scrambled to call Lucian, but before she could press dial, another message came through.

Unknown: You think the police will protect you? You think Lucian can protect you?

Her heart pounded as she read the next line.

Unknown: You have no idea what you've started, Madisyn.

The air felt thick, suffocating.

Her phone buzzed again, and this time, it was Lucian calling.

She answered immediately, her voice shaky. "Lucian…"

"I know," he said, as if he could already tell something was wrong. "Talk to me."

She swallowed hard. "I got a text. From an unknown number."

The silence on the other end was brief but filled with tension. Then—

"I'm coming over."

Madisyn barely had time to respond before the call ended.

She gripped her phone tightly, trying to slow her breathing.

The walls of her room felt like they were closing in.

Whoever was behind this wasn't just trying to scare her.

They were making a promise.

And Madisyn had no doubt they intended to keep it.