Chapter 3: Beneath the Surface

The body was gone within minutes.

By the time the cafeteria staff arrived, there was no trace of the freshman who had just died. No blood. No signs of a struggle.

Just silence.

The dealers worked fast—too fast for just a bunch of students.

Julian leaned against the cafeteria wall, watching as everything returned to normal.

How many have they covered up like this?

He had seen it happen before. But this time, there was something different.

The way the dealers moved. The way they handled the body.

They weren't just cleaning up a mess.

They were following orders.

And that meant someone was giving them orders.

A Name in the Dark

Julian didn't go to class that afternoon.

Instead, he took the stairs down to the old storage basement—a place where no one dared to go. The lights barely worked, and the air was thick with dust and mildew.

But down here, away from prying eyes, was the one person who knew more about Raventhorn High's undergroundthan anyone else.

Leon.

Leon wasn't a student.

He wasn't even officially a teacher.

No one knew why he was at the school, but he'd been here for as long as anyone could remember. He spent his days lurking in forgotten hallways, watching from the shadows.

Julian found him exactly where he expected—sitting in the dark, flipping through a stack of files.

"You're early," Leon muttered, not looking up.

Julian smirked. "You already knew I was coming, huh?"

Leon sighed. "You always come when another student dies." He tossed one of the folders toward Julian. "That's the tenth this month. The thirtieth this year."

Julian flipped the file open. Inside were photos of missing students—all of them taken before they disappeared.

"This drug trade…" Julian muttered. "It's bigger than I thought."

Leon nodded. "And it's getting worse."

Julian's fingers tightened around the papers. He had spent months watching, waiting, tracking. But even now, the real supplier of the drug remained a mystery.

Until today.

Leon tapped a photo on the table. "I finally got a name."

Julian looked down—and his eyes widened.

For the first time, he had a lead.

Someone inside the school was connected to the drug trade.

And their name was Julial.