Campus of Secrets

The experiment

Lila pov

“Cassie," I manage to choke out, my voice barely working, "I need you to watch this.

She's beside me in seconds, her camera finally set down as she leans over my laptop, we watch the video again together and I see her face change from curious to horrified, the footage of me being stalked for two years, the boardroom discussion, Dean Vale's voice talking about me like I'm a lab rat.

"Oh my god," she whispers when it ends, "Lila, this is insane.

"They planned everything," I can't stop my hands from shaking, "The scandal, the video, sending me here, it was all part of some sick experiment.

"The sister confirmed cooperation," Cassie replays that part.

"Who's your sister?"

"Ava," the name tastes like poison, "My adoptive sister, she's the one who filmed the original video.

"She was working with them?"

The room starts spinning and I can't breathe, everything I thought I knew about that night is a lie, Ava didn't betray me in a moment of sibling jealousy, she destroyed my life because someone paid her to, because I was selected as Subject 17 and she helped them break me.

"Hey, hey look at me," Cassie grabs my shoulders, "Breathe, just breathe.

I try but it comes out as a sob, then another, and suddenly I'm crying so hard I can't see, Cassie pulls me against her and just holds me while I fall apart, her camera sits forgotten on her desk for once.

"Whatever's on that drive," she says quietly.

You don't have to face it alone, okay?"

I want to tell her everything, about the photo, the text messages, the figure in my old i********: post, but something stops me, Cassie's camera is always rolling, always documenting.

what if she's part of this too, what if everyone at Ravenwood is in on it.

"I need to research," I pull away and wipe my face, "The video mentioned other subjects, which means I'm not the only one.

Research what?

Ravenwood's history," I opened a new browser tab, "If they've done this before there has to be a trial.

We spend the next three hours digging through everything we can find online, old newspaper articles, archived school websites, social media posts from former students, the deeper we go the more disturbing it gets.

"Look at this," Cassie points to an article from four years ago, Student transfers out for medical reasons, that's the third one that year.

And this one," I pull up another article, "Psychology professor vanishes, last seen on campus, foul play not suspected."

"Professor Lyra James," Cassie reads, "She taught here for ten years before disappearing three years ago, her car was found in the parking lot but she was never seen again.

I click through more articles and Professor James's name keeps appearing, she published papers on behavioral manipulation and social engineering, she won awards for her research, and then suddenly she was gone and nobody seemed to care.

"She knew something," I say, "She had to, why else would they make her disappear."

My phone buzzes and we both jump, it's a text from an unknown number:

Can we talk? Away from campus.

"Who is it?" Cassie asks.

Another text comes through: It's Ethan, I got your number from student services, please, I need to explain.

"The dean's son," I showed her, He gave me the USB drive, I think.

"You think?

"He was the only one close enough to put it in my pocket," I stood up, "I have to meet him."

"Are you crazy?" Cassie grabs my arm.

What if it's a trap?

"Then I'll finally know who's on which side," I pull on my jacket.

Cover for me if anyone asks.

"Lila wait," she looks genuinely worried, "At least tell me where you're going.

"The old observatory."

The campus is dark and quiet as I make my way through the fog, curfew is in an hour but nobody's around to enforce it yet, I follow the path Ethan showed me earlier until the observatory emerges from the mist like a ghost.

He's already there pacing back and forth, his hands running through his hair over and over, when he sees me he stops.

"You watched it," he says, not a question.

"You put it in my pocket.

"I had to," he steps closer, "I couldn't just tell you, they're always watching, always listening, but you needed to know the truth.

"The truth about what?" My voice is harder than I expect, That your father has been stalking me for years, that my entire life was destroyed on purpose?

"My father," he spits the word, He's not who you think he is, he's not who I thought he was either.

"What are you talking about?

"I found those files two weeks ago," Ethan's voice shakes, "Hidden on his personal server, footage of dozens of students being monitored, selected, manipulated, I didn't know, Lila, I swear I didn't know what he was doing.

But you know now.

Now I know he's been using me, He laughs but there's no humor in it, "Using my position, my access, my trust to recruit people, every time I made a friend or helped someone adjust I was actually helping him collect data.

Why should I believe you?

"Because I'm choosing you over him," Ethan moves closer, enough that I can see his eyes in the moonlight, Because whatever you're caught up in, I want to help you get out, because when I look at you I see someone fighting and I need to fight too.

"Ethan," I start to say but he cuts me off.

"I know you don't trust me," his voice drops, "You shouldn't trust anyone here, but I'm asking you to take a chance, let me help you expose this before someone else gets hurt.

I want to believe him, I'm so desperate to have someone on my side that I almost step forward, almost letting myself trust the boy with the kind smile and wounded eyes.

"Ethan, step away from her."

The voice comes from the shadows and my blood turns to ice.

I know that voice, I've heard it my entire life in a thousand different tones, angry and sweet and cold and fake.

A figure steps into the moonlight.

Ava.

My adoptive sister stands there with her arms crossed, she looks different than I remember, darker hair, sharper clothes, more confident, like she's grown into someone I don't recognize.

"What are you doing here?" the words barely come out.

"I go here," she says simply, "Have been for two years, surprise little sister.

"That's impossible," I'm shaking again, "You're supposed to be at home, at community college."

"That's what Mom and Dad think," she smiles and it doesn't reach her eyes, "Turns out I'm a much better liar than you ever were.

Ethan looks between us confused, "You two know each other?

"She's my sister," I say.

"Half sister," Ava corrects, "Adoptive, let's not exaggerate our connection.

"You destroyed my life," I'm moving toward her before I can stop myself.

"You filmed that video, you put drugs in my drink, you ruined everything.

"I created you," she doesn't even flinch, "The old Lila was boring, predictable, desperate for validation, the new Lila is interesting, broken enough to rebuild into something better.

You're insane.

"I'm employed," she pulls out a student ID that says Ava Morrison.

"The Ascension Circle pays very well for quality work, you should be thanking me really, without me you'd still be posting sponsored content and pretending to be happy.

"The Circle?" Ethan asks

"Oh he doesn't know," Ava laughs, "The dean's son doesn't know about Daddy's little secret society, that's actually hilarious.

"What is she talking about?" I look at Ethan.The Ascension Circle," Ava says, "The organization that runs Ravenwood, that selects subjects, that engineers social experiments, your boyfriend's father is the head of it.

Ethan goes pale.

"I'm not part of them," I say.

"Not yet," Ava's smile widens, "But you will be, everyone breaks eventually, that's the whole point.”