Chapter 003
1091 Words
Chapter 3
Wren
It took me exactly two days to carefully craft my revenge plan.
And when I was done, I had to admit it was a good one.
To execute it, I stayed late after school and waited for everyone to leave. Earlier, Axel had texted me, asking to meet him and wondering why I'd been so busy lately.
I hadn't been alone with him since the day I found out what he had been doing behind my back.
And I could tell he had started to notice.
I doubted Poppy could keep him distracted forever.
I texted him back, telling him I had already gone home and planned to spend the night studying.
After sending the message, I slipped out of the library.
The library stayed open until ten at night, but it was only seven. By this point, even most of the athletes had already finished practice and gone home. The school gates closed at eight, and shortly afterward, the security guards usually finished their rounds and left.
My plan was risky.
All I had to do was leave an envelope on the athletic coordinator's desk.
Inside the envelope was a note, an USB drive and several photographs.
The note claimed that Axel Hart had been using drugs and performance-enhancing steroids.
The photographs were real. They had been taken at a party two months ago.
A party Axel had taken me to just a few nights after he lost his captaincy. That night had started out harmless enough. I had let him go because I believed he needed a distraction. He was devastated about losing his position, and I wanted him to have some fun.
But then the atmosphere changed.
More people started arriving. People I didn't recognize. People who were older than us. And before the night was over, I saw Axel doing drugs.
I still remembered standing there in shock while some of his friends casually joked about how he had been ordering steroids to improve his performance on the ice.
At the time, I had been drinking too. Not enough to forget what happened, but enough that everything felt blurry around the edges.
My phone had been passed around all night, and when I woke up the next morning, I found several photos from the party.
Photos of things I wished I had never seen.
Axel and I had a huge fight afterward. I demanded to know why he was doing that to himself.
Why he was risking everything.
He told me he didn't know what he was doing. He said he had been drunk. That he had been overwhelmed by losing his captaincy. That he had wanted an escape from the disappointment and frustration eating him alive.
He called it a mistake. A moment of weakness. And then he promised me it would never happen again.
I still remembered how sincere he had looked. How determined he had sounded. Axel loved hockey more than anything. At the time, I believed him.
Then there was the steroid rumor. When I confronted him about it, he immediately denied everything. He swore it was a lie. A rumor started by people who wanted to tear him down. And because I had no proof, there was nothing left to argue about.
Eventually, the matter faded away. Or at least, I thought it had.
Luckily, I had forgotten to delete the pictures and videos from that night. So I selected the clearest ones, the photos where Axel could be seen without any doubt. The USB drive contained a video of one of the conversations that had taken place at the party.
Solid proof.
With evidence like this, Axel wouldn't just be questioned. He could be investigated, suspended from the team, or face whatever punishment the principal decided to hand out.
That was my revenge on him.
Brutal. Lethal.
I couldn't risk emailing anything. Digital traces could always be found, and I knew Axel well enough to know he'd hunt down whoever ruined his life.
So I pulled on a hoodie and covered my head before heading toward the school building. The envelope was tucked safely inside my pocket.
I had deliberately dressed in loose trousers and an oversized hoodie. Nothing distinctive. Nothing that would reveal my gender.
The more confusion, the better.
I knew the coordinator would probably keep the source anonymous, but I didn't want anyone knowing who had delivered the evidence in the first place.
Simple. Clean. Untraceable.
At least, that was the plan. The important thing was making sure this worked.
The school hallways were almost dark, illuminated only by scattered ceiling lights. I had never stayed this late after school before.
The place felt completely different.
Empty. Quiet. Almost eerie.
For a moment, I barely recognized it.
When I reached an area monitored by security cameras, I pulled a black surgical mask from my pocket and covered the rest of my face.
Then I continued walking. My footsteps echoed as I entered the teachers' and administrative section. After a few turns, I spotted the athletic coordinator's desk.
My pulse quickened. This was it.
I pulled the envelope from my hoodie pocket and placed it carefully on the desk. Then I turned and hurried away. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst through my chest. Adrenaline surged through my veins.
I did it. I actually did it.
I had almost reached the main hallway when something inside me snapped.
I slowed. Then stopped.
A strange feeling settled in my stomach.
Wasn't this too much?
Now that I had actually done it, it suddenly felt different. Ruining his career. Potentially ruining his future. All because he cheated on me?
Yes, what Axel had done was horrible.
Disgusting. Unforgivable.
But was this really the punishment I wanted?
Maybe publicly humiliating him would've been enough. Maybe exposing him and Poppy would've been enough.
I had wanted revenge, not destruction. And now that the envelope was sitting on that desk, it felt like I'd gone too far.
"f**k," I muttered.
Damn my stupid conscience. I'd come up with a better plan later. Something less life-ruining. This one wasn't it.
Decision made, I turned around and headed back toward the administrative section. But the moment I reached the coordinator's desk, my eyes widened.
The envelope was gone.
Gone.
I stared at the empty desk. "What the f**k?"
My stomach dropped. I had just put it there. Less than a minute ago. Who could've taken it?
And more importantly...
Who the hell was still in the building?
- Writer
