Chapter 12 When Secrets Become Weapons
ARIA'S POV
I woke up to Kael shaking my shoulder, his hand clamped over my mouth.
"Don't scream," he whispered. "Someone's blackmailing us. We need to leave. Now."
My heart slammed against my ribs. I nodded, and he removed his hand.
"What happened?" I asked, already pulling on Asher's boots.
Kael shoved his phone at me. The text message glowed in the darkness: I know what you're hiding, Ashford. That's not your roommate. Turn the Omega in by tomorrow or I tell Cross everything. —S
My blood turned to ice. "Who's S?"
"I have one guess." Kael's jaw clenched. "Sienna Zhao. Elite Council President. My ex-fiancée. And the only person cruel enough to use this against us."
"Your what?"
"Long story. Not important right now." He grabbed my arm. "We have twelve hours before she exposes you. We need proof against Cross before that happens—something so damning that even if Sienna tells him about you, he can't make us disappear without everyone knowing the truth."
"How do we get proof in twelve hours?"
Kael's silver eyes gleamed. "We break into his office."
Twenty minutes later, we were sneaking across campus in the pre-dawn darkness. My suppressants made me dizzy, but I ignored it. Focus. Survive. Find answers.
The administration building loomed ahead—all stone and shadows, like something from a nightmare.
"Security cameras?" I whispered.
"Disabled them from my laptop. We have fifteen minutes before the system resets." Kael picked the lock on the side door with quick, practiced movements. "Fifteen minutes to find evidence that Cross is a murderer."
No pressure.
Inside, the building felt wrong. Too quiet. Too still. Like it was holding its breath, waiting.
We climbed the stairs to the third floor. Cross's office door was solid oak with his name engraved in gold: Professor Damien Cross, Headmaster.
The man who'd probably killed my brother.
Kael picked this lock too. The door swung open silently.
Cross's office was exactly what I'd expected—expensive, organized, filled with awards and photographs of him shaking hands with powerful people. Everything designed to make him look important. Trustworthy.
"You search the desk," Kael said. "I'll check the filing cabinets."
I moved behind Cross's massive desk, my hands shaking as I opened drawers. Pens. Papers. Nothing useful—
My fingers brushed something taped to the underside of the desk.
A key.
"Kael," I breathed. "Look."
He came over immediately. "Hidden key. Which means there's something here he really doesn't want found."
We searched faster now, desperate. Looking for whatever that key opened.
Kael found it—a small safe hidden behind a painting of the Academy's founding ceremony. The key fit perfectly.
Inside were files. Dozens of them. Each labeled with a student's name and date.
I recognized some names. Students who'd "dropped out" over the past five years. Students I'd seen in memorial photos in the library, their deaths explained as accidents.
"These are kill orders," Kael said, his voice hollow. He pulled out a file. "Look. Each one has a photo, personal information, and a red stamp that says 'Eliminated.'"
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the files. So many names. So many lives.
"Is Asher's here?" I had to know. Had to see it written down, even though it would destroy me.
Kael flipped through quickly. His face went white.
"Aria, you need to see this."
He handed me a file labeled Asher Sinclair.
But when I opened it, my brain couldn't process what I was seeing.
The red stamp didn't say "Eliminated."
It said "Collected."
Below that, handwritten notes: Subject shows promising Alpha genetics. Relocated to Research Facility B for experimental enhancement. Status: Alive. Project Success Rate: 87%.
"He's alive," I whispered. "Asher's alive."
"They didn't kill him," Kael said, reading over my shoulder. "They're experimenting on him."
Joy and horror crashed through me at the same time. Asher was alive—but suffering. Being turned into some kind of weapon.
"Where's Research Facility B?" I demanded.
"I don't know. But—" Kael stopped. His head snapped toward the door. "Someone's coming."
Footsteps in the hallway. Multiple people. Moving fast.
"The window—" I started.
"Third floor," Kael reminded me. "We'd break our legs."
The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
"Nowhere to hide," I said, panic rising. "Kael, what do we—"
The door burst open.
But it wasn't Cross.
Luna Park stood there, pink hair wild, laptop clutched to her chest. Behind her were Marcus and three other students I recognized from our classes.
"Thank God," Luna gasped. "We've been looking everywhere for you. Sienna didn't just threaten to expose Aria—she posted it in the Elite Council group chat. Everyone knows."
My stomach dropped. "Everyone?"
"Two hundred students," Marcus confirmed grimly. "And it's spreading fast. By breakfast, the whole Academy will know you're an Omega."
"Cross will—" I couldn't finish. Couldn't breathe.
"Cross already knows," said a cold voice behind Luna.
The group parted, and Professor Cross stepped through, flanked by security guards.
He smiled at me. That same charming smile from all his photographs.
"Hello, Aria," he said pleasantly. "I've been expecting you. Did you really think I didn't know you were here? I've been watching since the moment you arrived."
"Then why didn't you—" My voice failed.
"Turn you in? Eliminate you?" Cross chuckled. "Because you're much more valuable to me than your brother. You see, identical twins with matching scents are extremely rare. And when one twin is enhanced Alpha and the other is natural Omega..." His eyes gleamed with something terrible. "The research possibilities are extraordinary."
Horror crawled up my spine. "You want to experiment on both of us."
"I want to perfect you both. Asher's enhancement is nearly complete—he'll be the strongest Alpha ever created. And you..." Cross stepped closer. "You'll be the perfect Omega mate. Together, your offspring will revolutionize the species."
"You're insane," Kael snarled, moving between us.
"And you're outnumbered, Mr. Ashford." Cross gestured, and more guards flooded into the room. "Take them both. Aria goes to Facility B immediately. Kael goes to containment—his family will pay handsomely to get him back, and we can use those funds to expand our research."
The guards moved forward.
Luna threw her laptop at one. Marcus tackled another. The room exploded into chaos—fighting, shouting, bodies crashing into furniture.
Kael grabbed my hand. "Run!"
We bolted for the door, fighting through guards, Luna and Marcus covering our escape.
But as we burst into the hallway, Sienna was waiting.
She wasn't alone.
Twenty more guards surrounded us. And standing beside Sienna, looking bored and dangerous, was someone I'd never seen before—a tall woman with ice-blue eyes and a cruel smile.
"Going somewhere?" the woman asked. "I'm Dr. Elena Kane. I run Research Facility B. And I've been dying to meet you, Aria." She pulled out a syringe filled with something that glowed faintly green. "Your brother sends his regards. Or he would, if we hadn't erased most of his memory."
"No," I whispered.
Kane smiled wider. "Don't worry. The procedure is quite painless. You won't remember being human at all."
She lunged forward, syringe raised—
And Kael threw himself between us.
The needle plunged into his neck.