A Letter That Shouldn’t Exist

The lecture hall buzzed with idle chatter before class. Students milled around, exchanging notes, coffee cups in hand, unaware that a storm was about to strike—not outside, but in the form of a folded envelope held tightly in Rhea Carson's hand.

Jake was already seated, flipping through a textbook, mind lost in compounds and chemical equations. He didn't notice Rhea until she was standing right next to him.

She dropped the envelope on his desk. "I thought you deserved to see this."

Jake stared at it. Black envelope. No name.

"What is it?" he asked flatly.

Rhea crossed her arms. "Answers. Or maybe just truths you've been avoiding."

He opened it without a word.

The first line was all it took.

"The Valeria Corporation claims no responsibility for the explosion that killed…"

Jake's hands clenched. His vision blurred.

He stood abruptly, the envelope slipping from his grip and hitting the floor like dead weight.

"You went digging?" His voice was low and lethal.

"I just wanted to understand why you push everyone away—why you're so angry. Now I know," she said, looking almost proud. "You don't have to be alone in this, Jake."

He shook his head, eyes sharp with fury. "You had no right."

People were turning. Whispers filled the hall like wildfire.

But Rhea didn't care. She stepped up onto the small presentation platform and turned to the crowd.

"I don't care what you all think. I'm tired of hiding it—Jake, I love you!" she shouted.

The room gasped.

Jake froze.

"I've admired you since our first year. Not because you're brilliant, not because you're untouchable... but because you're real. And if you're broken, then let me be the one to help fix you."

Silence.

Then footsteps.

Running

Everyone turned.

Emma. Her eyes wide, face pale. She had heard everything.

"Emma—" Lila's voice called from the back.

But Emma wasn't stopping. She turned at the stairwell—her foot caught the edge, and in the blink of an eye—

She fell.

A scream echoed through the hall as her body tumbled down the concrete steps.

Jake's heart dropped. He didn't think. Didn't hesitate.

He shoved past Rhea, ignoring the shocked crowd, and rushed to Emma's side.

Blood

"Emma. Emma, hey, stay with me," he whispered, hands shaking as he lifted her head. "Don't close your eyes. Don't—"

Her lashes fluttered weakly.

Scene Shift – Hospital

White walls. Cold light. The sharp scent of antiseptic.

Jake sat outside the emergency room, his hoodie soaked from sweat and rain, Emma's blood still smeared on his sleeves.

Then they arrived.

Verona Valeria. Alistair Valeria.

Emma's parents entered like royalty—followed by assistants, personal doctors, and security.

Their eyes landed on Jake.

"Who are you?" Alistair asked, voice stiff.

Jake stood slowly. "I brought her here."

Verona narrowed her eyes. "And what's your name, boy?"

"Jake Rolister."

The change was instant.

The recognition in Alistair's eyes.

The stiffening of Verona's mouth.

"Rolister?" she repeated, as if the word itself were filth. "As in Lillian and Caleb Rolister?"

Jake gave a slow nod, jaw clenched.

Alistair stepped forward. "Your parents worked under us. Until the accident."

Jake didn't flinch. "If that's what you call it."

Verona stepped in between them. "We owe you our thanks for saving Emma. Let us... help you."

Jake looked at the white envelope she pulled from her purse. Thick. Probably stacked with notes.

His face darkened. "You think I saved her for this?"

Verona's voice softened, faked concern. "It's not charity. Think of it as... moving forward."

Jake took the envelope. Looked at it.

Then tore it in half and dropped it at their feet.

"I don't want your money," he growled. "And I don't want anything from the people who crushed my family."

Alistair's eyes turned steel. "You'll regret this."

Jake turned and walked away.

His hands were shaking. Not from fear.

From memory.

From rage.

The next morning, Emma opened her eyes in the hospital room to the smell of fresh flowers and filtered sunlight.

Her head throbbed.

Lila was asleep in a chair.

But Jake wasn't there.

She waited all day.

No message. No visit.

When she returned to class a few days later, Jake passed her in the hallway like she didn't exist.

Cold. Hollow.

Like he'd never carried her in his arms.

"Jake!" she called after him once, desperate.

He didn't turn back.

Emma blinked away the sting in her eyes. Something had changed. He wasn't just distant now—he was unreachable.

Rhea, of course, had taken advantage. She sat beside Jake in lectures. Walked with him to labs. And even though he never said much, he didn't stop her either.

Emma watched it all, each second like a pin to the heart.

Then came the incident.

The experiment was routine—combining controlled chemical compounds for reaction timing.

Jake had stepped out to talk to a professor.

Emma was left alone in their lab station, trying to follow the written procedure.

The temperature gauge blinked—too fast.

Something wasn't right.

She turned to call Jake—he was gone.

A loud hiss.

BOOM.

A flash of light. The glass shattered. A scream ripped through the lab.

And then—

Black.

End of Part 3!