LET'S BREAK THEM

CHAPTER 14: MIDNIGHT

The rooftop was freezing at midnight. The wind cut through my hoodie like knives. This was the same rooftop where they humiliated me at prom. Where Ben laughed. Where my life split into before and after.

I came back anyway.

City lights stretched below me for miles. Cars moved like glowing ants on the highway. My hands were shaking, but not from cold. From anger. From fear. From the text still burning in my phone.

Ben was already here when I stepped out of the stairwell.

He didn’t have bodyguards. Didn’t have his driver. Just him. Hoodie, jeans, and dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept since the audio leaked.

"You came," he said. It wasn’t a question.

"You told me to come alone," I answered. I stopped three feet away from him. Three feet and a year of hate between us.

"Did you have to do the interview?" he asked. He tried to smile but it failed. "Carter Group is down twelve percent. My dad fired three PR people today."

"Your dad threatened my mother," I said. My voice didn’t shake. "What did you think would happen? That I’d stay quiet?"

He winced. Looked away at the skyline.

"I told him not to," Ben said quietly. "I told him to leave you and your mom alone. I didn’t know about the photos. I didn’t know he was watching the hospital."

"But you knew he was capable of it," I shot back. "You’ve always known what kind of man he is."

"I was sixteen when it started," Ben snapped. Then he exhaled. "I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t stop it. I’m sorry I laughed at prom. I’m sorry I was a coward."

The word hung between us. Sorry.

I wanted to believe him. Part of me did. The part that remembered him tutoring me after school. The part that remembered him sharing his lunch when I forgot mine.

"Why am I here, Ben?" I asked.

"Because I’m done," he said. "Done lying. Done pretending this is normal. Done watching him ruin people."

He reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a small black USB drive.

"This is everything," he said. "Bank records. Offshore accounts. Emails where he talks about 'removing problems'. Voice notes of him threatening two other girls before you. Evidence that he bribed the school board to cover up the prom video."

My breath caught.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because if I leak it, he’ll destroy me and call it fake," Ben said. "But if you leak it, people will believe it. You’re the victim. You’re the one on TV. You’re the one with nothing to lose."

He held the USB out to me. His hand was shaking.

"If you take this, Carter Group goes down. The name is ruined. But I go down too. I lose everything. My last name. My money. My family."

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

I opened the message with one hand.

It was a photo. My mom. Asleep in her hospital bed. An IV in her arm. The timestamp was from ten minutes ago.

Under it: `Last chance, Kudo. Delete the audio. Delete the files. Disappear by Friday. Or she has an accident. -C`

My blood turned to ice.

Ben saw the screen. His face went pale, then furious.

"Don’t," he said quickly. "Give me the USB. I’ll take it to him. I’ll make a deal. I’ll protect her. Just don’t upload this tonight."

The wind howled.

The USB was warm in my palm.

Ben’s hand was reaching for mine.

And my mother was alone in that hospital bed.

Step 13: Complete.

Choose who to trust.

Choose who to burn.