Chapter 10 Chapter 10
Chapter 10 Chapter 10
EVELYN POV
I barely slept after that. Even after Daniel told me Lila disappeared from view, I sat awake for hours with my back pressed against the headboard and my eyes fixed on the door. Every small noise made me flinch. The heater clicking on. Someone walking down the hallway. Even Maya rolling over in her sleep. My nerves felt like they were stretched too thin and ready to snap.
By the time morning light seeped through the curtains, I felt numb. My hands were cold, my throat dry, and my thoughts scattered. Maya was still sleeping when I finally slipped out of bed and went to wash my face. The cold water didn’t help much, but at least it kept me alert.
When I returned, my phone buzzed.
Daniel: Are you awake?
Me: Yes.
Daniel: I waited until sunrise. She didn’t come back.
Me: Thank you for staying.
Daniel: I didn’t want you to be alone.
The simplicity of the words hit harder than I expected. I stared at the screen for a long moment before setting the phone aside. I needed answers. Not comfort. Not fear. Not endless guessing.
I needed to know what Lila wanted.
And why she was willing to stand outside my window in the middle of the night for it.
Maya woke up almost an hour later. As soon as she saw me sitting at the desk, fully dressed and alert, she frowned. “You didn’t sleep at all, did you?”
“No,” I admitted.
She exhaled sharply. “Okay. Then tell me everything from last night.”
I told her. Not everything, but enough. Enough for her eyes to widen. Enough for her to set her breakfast aside untouched.
“That girl is insane,” Maya muttered. “We need to get the school involved.”
“She is too careful,” I said. “If I accuse her without evidence, I’ll look like I’m the one losing my mind.”
Maya nodded reluctantly. “So what do you want to do?”
“I want to know what Alex found.”
She hesitated. “And how are you going to find that?”
Before I could answer, my phone vibrated again.
Daniel: I found something.
My stomach tightened.
Me: What?
Daniel: Not here. Can we meet? Somewhere public.
Me: Yes. Library courtyard?
Daniel: Ten minutes.
I got up so fast Maya flinched. “Where are you going?”
“To meet Daniel.”
“Alone?”
I nodded. “We’ll stay in a public place.”
She didn’t like it, but she let me go. I grabbed my bag and left the room, checking the hallway twice before stepping out. The morning campus looked normal. Students walking to class. Birds scattered across the lawn. Laughter drifting from a group near the fountain.
Normal.
But for me, normal no longer existed.
I reached the courtyard before Daniel. The fountain’s water shimmered in the soft sunlight, and a few students lounged on benches, reading or chatting. Being around people helped. It made me feel less watched.
Daniel arrived a minute later. His expression was serious, almost tense, but he relaxed slightly when he saw me.
“You are safe,” he said quietly. “Good.”
“What did you find?”
He looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out something small wrapped in paper.
A USB drive.
I stared at it. “Where did that come from?”
“Alex’s old locker in the engineering building,” he said. “The one the police sealed for a week. After the case closed, the school cleaned it out. But they missed this. It was taped behind the shelf.”
I felt my breath freeze.
Alex left something behind.
Daniel handed it to me carefully. “There is no label. No name. But it was hidden. That means he didn’t want anyone else to find it.”
I closed my fingers around the USB, my heart pounding. “We need to open it.”
Daniel nodded. “Not here. Not on a campus computer. And not alone.”
“There’s a study room downstairs,” I said. “It has a desktop and nobody uses it this early.”
“Lead the way.”
We walked together into the library. My steps felt too loud. My palms were sweaty against the small device in my hand. The study room was empty when we entered. I closed the door gently behind us, and Daniel checked the hallway once more before locking it.
I sat at the computer and inserted the USB with a shaky hand.
It took a moment to load.
Then a single folder appeared.
Folder name: 11_19_FINAL
My breath hitched. “That was two days before he died.”
Daniel leaned closer beside me. “Open it.”
I clicked.
There were only two files.
One audio file. One video file.
My hands trembled. “Which one first?”
Daniel didn’t answer. His jaw was clenched again.
I clicked the audio file.
Alex’s voice played.
Hearing it again almost broke me.
“Okay,” his voice whispered, shaky and low, “if someone finds this before I talk to Evelyn… this is for her. And for anyone who believes something is wrong.”
I felt tears sting my eyes instantly.
“I didn’t fall in the lake. I wasn’t drunk. I know people will say that, but it’s not true. I’ve been followed. Watched. Every day. And I think… I think she knows I want to leave.”
The room felt colder.
Daniel went still.
Alex’s voice shook. “Lila isn’t who she pretends to be. I tried to cut ties weeks ago. She didn’t like it. She said if I left she would ruin everything that mattered to me. I didn’t believe her. But now… now I do.”
I brought my hand to my mouth.
“She told me nobody leaves her. Nobody.”
Daniel lowered his head, eyes tightening.
“And if something happens to me,” Alex whispered, “please. Somebody tell Evelyn I tried. I tried to come back. I tried to make this right. I just didn’t know she would go this far.”
The audio ended.
Silence filled the room.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
I wiped tears with shaking fingers. “She threatened him. She followed him. She knew he was leaving.”
Daniel didn’t speak for a while. Then he looked at the screen.
“There’s still the video.”
My stomach twisted.
“I am scared,” I whispered.
“So am I,” he said quietly. “But we need to watch it.”
I nodded slowly and clicked the video file.
It started with Alex sitting in his dorm room. He looked exhausted. His hair messy. His eyes red-rimwere med. He kept glancing at the door as if he expected someone to walk in at any moment.
“It’s getting worse,” he whispered into the camera. “I told Daniel what happened. I didn’t want to drag him into this, but I don’t know who else to trust.”
Daniel stiffened beside me.
“I’m going to talk to the dean tomorrow,” Alex continued. “I won’t let her do this anymore. She can’t control me. I’m not scared of her.”
He paused.
His voice dropped.
“That’s a lie. I am scared.”
The screen trembled as he exhaled shakily.
“But I need to make sure Evelyn is safe. That’s all that matters. She doesn’t know what’s happening here. She doesn’t know what Lila is capable of.”
The door behind him rattled.
Alex flinched hard.
Someone on the other side turned the doorknob.
It didn’t open. He must have locked it.
Alex whispered, “She’s here.”
The video shook as he reached for the camera.
“I have to go. If anything happens—”
The door slammed violently.
Alex jumped.
The camera dropped.
The recording cut abruptly.
The computer screen returned to black.
I sat frozen, unable to breathe, unable to think. Tears blurred my vision again.
Daniel finally whispered, “She was at his door the night before he died.”
I nodded slowly. “She didn’t want him to talk to anyone.”
“Evelyn,” Daniel said gently, “this is evidence. Real evidence.”
But evidence meant danger. Evidence meant Lila wouldn’t just stalk me from the shadows anymore.
I turned to him, fear tightening my chest.
“She knows I’m digging. She knows we’re working together. She won’t stop.”
Daniel held my gaze. “Then we don’t stop either.”
I stared at the dark computer screen, my reflection faint in the black glass.
Alex tried to warn me.
Now it was my turn.
“We need to expose her,” I said quietly.
Daniel nodded. “And we will.”
But even as he said it, the lights in the study room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the room went dark.
I gasped, gripping the edge of the desk.
Daniel moved immediately. “Stay here.”
“No,” I whispered. “Daniel—”
Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Slow.
Steady.
Coming closer.
Daniel’s hand tightened on my shoulder as he whispered only one word.
“Run.”