campus secrets

​Chapter 5: Puppeteer

Returning to campus three weeks later felt like walking through a theater set where everyone knew their lines except Maya. She moved through the halls like a ghost, reliant entirely on Chloe for every piece of her reality.

​Chloe carefully curated Maya’s world. She threw away Maya’s old journals, deleted photographs from her laptop, and controlled who was allowed to visit their shared dorm room. To the outside world, Chloe looked like a saintly, devoted friend caring for an invalid. In reality, she was constructing a cage.

​"Here," Chloe said one afternoon, handing Maya a stack of fake study notes. "You need to memorize these for our business law exam tomorrow. I wrote them for you."

​"Thank you, Chloe," Maya said, offering her soft, loyal smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

​"You don't have to think about that," Chloe replied coldly.

​When the local police detective came to question Maya about the night at the library, Chloe sat directly beside her, holding her hand while answering half the questions herself.

​"She doesn't remember anything officer," Chloe told the detective, her tone sharp and protective. "Re-traumatizing her won't bring back her memories. Please leave us alone."

​Maya looked at Chloe, feeling a deep debt of gratitude. She truly believed Chloe was protecting her from a harsh, cruel world. She didn't realize she was being used as an alibi—a helpless witness whose artificial narrative kept the Moretti family off Chloe’s back.