campus secrets

​Chapter 1: Echoes in the Quad

​The central courtyard of Saint Jude University smelled of damp autumn leaves and cheap espresso, a comforting veneer that disguised the predatory currents humming just beneath the surface. Maya walked fast, clutching her worn sketchbook to her chest as if it could shield her from the whispers. She was the quiet, ethereal girl who rarely spoke in class, known across campus for her soft features, bright copper-tinted hair, and intense loyalty to those she let into her circle.

​Across the quad stood Chloe. Hot, magnetic, and razor-sharp, Chloe possessed a presence that commanded every room she walked into. She wore tailored designer coats, laughed just a little too loud, and treated people like temporary conveniences. Yet Maya loved her with a blind, fierce devotion. They had been inseparable since freshman dorm assignment, bound by a bond that everyone envied—and few truly understood.

​"You're late, Maya," Chloe said, barely looking up from her phone as Maya reached the marble steps of the humanities building.

​"Professor Vance kept us after class," Maya murmured, offering a small, apologetic smile. "I grabbed your iced latte on the way."

​Chloe took the cup without a thank you, taking a long sip before handing Maya a heavy, unmarked manila envelope. "Drop this off at the basement locker in the old library. locker 412. Don't open it. Don't look at anyone."

​Maya paused, feeling a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the wind. "Chloe... what is this? Is this about your brother again?"

​"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," Chloe snapped, her eyes narrowing with a sharp, selfish coldness that always made Maya back down. "If you care about me, you'll just do it."

​Maya swallowed her doubt and nodded. That was her flaw: she would walk into fire if Chloe asked her to. She slipped the envelope into her bag and turned toward the library, oblivious to the armed eyes watching from a tinted SUV parked along the curb—operatives from the Moretti syndicate, checking off names on a list that contained Chloe’s family name, and now, Maya’s.