Chapter 104 Chapter 104
The school felt different now.
Not louder.
Not busier.
Just… sharper.
Like everyone had quietly agreed something important was coming, even if no one knew what it was.
Cass noticed it first in the way people spoke.
Shorter sentences. Quieter laughs. Eyes lingering a second too long before looking away.
Even Lena picked up on it, leaning against Cass’s locker with her usual grin, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Something’s brewing,” she said, watching the hallway like it might confess.
Cass closed her locker slowly.
“It always is.”
Lena hummed.
“Yeah, but this one feels… personal.”
Cass didn’t answer, because she felt it too.
That tightening in her chest whenever she thought about Jace. That uneasy awareness whenever Zayelle walked past like she owned the air. That irritation—no, fear—whenever Marvin was too quiet.
And Marvin had been very quiet.
Too quiet.
He showed up during lunch like nothing had changed.
That was the first mistake.
He sat on the edge of a table, legs swinging slightly, smiling at no one in particular. Not the loud, chaotic Marvin they were used to. This version was calmer. Almost polite.
And that was worse.
Cass felt it immediately.
Jace did too.
Because the second Marvin’s eyes landed on them across the cafeteria, something passed between the brothers.
Not words.
Not even emotion.
A decision.
Lena leaned closer.
“Oh no,” she muttered. “That’s not a normal face.”
Cass didn’t take her eyes off Marvin.
“What do you mean?”
Lena frowned.
“That’s a ‘I’ve already done something and I’m just waiting for it to land’ face.”
Cass’s stomach tightened.
Jace stood up.
Slowly.
Like he already knew he was walking into something.
Cass followed instinctively, but Lena grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t,” she warned softly. “Let them collide first.”
Cass hesitated.
But she stayed back.
Barely.
Jace reached Marvin near the far end of the cafeteria.
The noise didn’t stop, but it softened around them, like the room itself was holding its breath.
Marvin smiled when he saw him.
“Hey, big brother.”
Jace didn’t smile back.
“What did you do?”
Marvin tilted his head.
“Wow. No hello?”
Jace stepped closer.
“What did you do?”
The smile faded slightly.
But not completely.
That was the dangerous part.
“I didn’t do anything,” Marvin said lightly. “Yet.”
Jace’s jaw tightened.
“Don’t play with me.”
Marvin leaned forward slightly.
“I’m not playing.”
A pause.
Then—
“I’m just letting things catch up.”
Jace’s expression changed.
Just a fraction.
Recognition.
Cass saw it from across the room and her stomach dropped.
Because whatever Marvin had done…
Jace understood it before anyone else did.
At the same time, Zayelle walked in.
Perfect timing.
Too perfect.
She didn’t look at Marvin immediately.
She looked at Jace.
Then Cass.
Then the entire room like she was checking positions on a board only she could see.
Lena whispered, almost amused now.
“Oh, this is going to be fun.”
Cass didn’t laugh.
Zayelle walked straight to their table.
No hesitation.
No fear.
She stopped just beside Cass.
And spoke quietly.
“He submitted it.”
Cass frowned.
“Submitted what?”
Zayelle’s eyes flicked briefly toward Marvin.
“A report,” she said.
Jace turned sharply.
“Report for what?”
Zayelle finally looked at him.
“For what happened that night.”
Silence.
Immediate.
Heavy.
Cass felt her heart drop.
Marvin called from across the cafeteria, voice casual.
“Oops.”
Just that.
Like it was nothing.
Like he hadn’t just thrown a match into gasoline.
Jace moved fast.
But Zayelle stepped slightly in front of him.
Blocking him without even touching him.
“You can’t stop it now,” she said quietly.
Jace’s voice went low.
“Get out of my way.”
Zayelle didn’t move.
“You think this is about you,” she said.
A pause.
“It’s not.”
Cass stepped forward.
“What does the report say?”
Zayelle hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then—
“Enough.”
That word landed wrong.
Cass felt it.
Because “enough” could mean anything.
And nothing good.
Marvin finally stood.
Clapping slowly.
Mocking.
“Relax,” he called out. “It’s just paperwork.”
Jace turned toward him fully now.
And for the first time—
Cass saw it.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Something colder.
Final.
“Who did you send it to?” Jace asked.
Marvin shrugged.
“People who care about old accidents.”
Zayelle’s expression tightened.
“You didn’t send it to school authorities,” she said sharply.
Marvin smiled.
“Smart girl.”
Cass felt her breath catch.
“Then who?” she whispered.
Marvin looked at her directly now.
And for the first time, his voice dropped.
“People who were there.”
Silence.
Dead silence.
Jace’s phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
He didn’t need to check it.
He already knew.
But he did anyway.
His face changed the moment he saw it.
Cass stepped closer instinctively.
“What is it?”
Jace didn’t answer right away.
Then—
“He reopened it.”
Cass frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Zayelle answered instead.
Quietly.
“External investigation.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Cass’s breath caught.
“Why would he do that?” she whispered.
Marvin’s smile faded slightly.
“Because someone finally asked the right questions.”
Jace turned slowly toward him.
“You’re insane.”
Marvin shrugged.
“Or maybe I’m just done watching everyone pretend it didn’t happen.”
Zayelle stepped forward now.
Her voice sharper.
“You don’t understand what you just triggered.”
Marvin tilted his head.
“I think I do.”
A pause.
Then, softer—
“I think I understand more than all of you.”
That was the problem.
Because he might have been right.
Cass suddenly felt Jace’s hand find hers.
Tight.
Immediate.
Grounding.
But his voice when he spoke was different now.
Controlled.
Careful.
“Cass,” he said quietly.
She looked at him.
And saw it.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Decision.
“We need to leave.”
Behind them, the cafeteria buzz started to return.
People sensing something had happened but not knowing what.
But Cass didn’t hear it anymore.
Because all she could think was:
It wasn’t hidden anymore.
It was out.
And now—
There was no controlling what came next.