children of the row

Legacies weren't born.

They were bred.

Chosen. Groomed. Watched like test subjects in a maze of power, obedience -and silence.

Remy pointed to the wall of names again. She traced a finger down the list, voice flat:

"Every student chosen for The Last Row fit one of three categories:

The Pawn - disposable, predictable, easily manipulated.

The Blade - gifted with influence or intelligence. Useful until they cut the wrong direction.

The Legacy - born of the system. Meant to protect it. Or burn it down."

She turned to me.

"You were supposed to be the last."

My head was spinning.

"My mother was part of this?"

"She helped write the Manifesto," Remy said. "She believed in the program at first, until she tried to stop it. They erased her name from the records. Buried her research. And then… she vanished."

I stepped back. "That's not possible. My mom died in a car crash."

"Did she?" Remy asked softly. "Or was that just the version you were allowed to remember?"

I felt cold.

Too cold.

Remy handed me a thin folder labeled REED, E. // DISAVOWED.

Inside: a photo of my mother standing on the same stage I'd just walked across - wearing a Ravenwood badge.

Then:

Final Recorded Note - Subject REED, Evelyn

"If they ever find this… tell Nova I didn't abandon her. I was trying to protect her from the same trap I built."

That's when I saw it.

On the wall, among the names of the other 'Legacies,' one entry had a red slash through it.

Isla Moreau.

My stomach dropped.

"She was a Legacy too?"

Remy nodded.

"And the Row tried to kill her because she found out."

"Wrong," she said. "They tried to kill her because she tried to save you first."

The puzzle locked into place like a loaded gun.

Isla hadn't just dropped my name.

She'd been trying to warn me.

She was never trying to run. She was trying to recruit me.

The reason they punished her… wasn't betrayal.

It was loyalty.

Remy pulled something else from a locked drawer, a thumb drive, black, unmarked.

"This is the original Row Manifesto. Version zero. The one your mother helped write. It outlines how the system works, how to track the members, and how to disable the vote protocol."

I took it. It felt heavier than it should've.

"You're giving this to me?"

"You're the only one who can use it. It's coded to your DNA signature. It opens with a blood scan."

A beat.

Then she smiled, just barely.

"I already tested your hairbrush."

We both jumped when my phone buzzed.

It was Ezra.

ezrah01: I'm leaving. No choice. They're hunting me now.

But I left something for you in the north archive.

You'll know it when you see it.

Goodbye, Nova.

Don't die for them. Make them die for you.

The next morning, I skipped class. Headed to the north archive, technically off-limits, but no one checked anymore.

And in the center of a locked locker, behind old science fair medals and burnt-out trophies…

I found it.

A laptop.

Old. Scratched. But still blinking.

When I opened it, it didn't ask for a password.

It just loaded a single interface.

RAVENSHADE: ARCHITECT ACCESS ONLINE

And in the corner:

"Welcome back, Evelyn Reed."

"Activate Override?"

Y / N

My hands hovered.

The system didn't want to be destroyed.

It wanted to be claimed.