*Chapter 4: What I Found*
1638 Words
*Chapter 4: What I Found*
_Ethan’s POV_
I don’t usually get involved in other people’s drama.
That’s what I tell myself, anyway.
I’m the film kid. I notice things, I record them, I edit them into something that makes sense later. I don’t jump in the middle of it.
But Sabrina’s different.
It started with the way she flinched when Agent Reyes said “international ties.” Like she’d been expecting it. Like she’d been waiting for it.
Then there was the “lift” thing. Nobody from Columbus says lift. My aunt lives there. I’ve visited. They say elevator.
And now there’s Alex, the London kid, circling her like a shark that already smells blood.
I’m not stupid.
I waited until after school to act. Sabrina left with her “uncle” — the guy who calls himself Mr. Davis but watches the parking lot like he’s expecting a hit squad. I didn’t follow them. That would be weird, even for me.
Instead, I went to the library.
Our school library has free access to public records. Birth records, property records, old news articles. It’s slow, clunky, and half the time it crashes, but it works.
I pulled up Sabrina Walter, Columbus, Ohio.
Nothing.
No birth certificate. No school records before last month. No photos of her at any little league game, no birthday posts, no “Happy 16th, Sabrina!” from some friend.
It was like she’d been invented two weeks ago.
Which she probably had been.
I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my eyes.
This is where I should stop. Delete the search history, go home, edit the short film I’m behind on. Mind my business.
But I kept thinking about her face when Alex said “Your Highness.”
She didn’t look scared.
She looked like she’d been caught.
So I searched Alex instead.
Alex Mercer. Moved from London two weeks ago. Enrolled at West Ridge three days ago. Parents: David Mercer, consultant, and Eleanor Mercer, “homemaker.”
I found a LinkedIn for David Mercer. The photo was him shaking hands with a guy I recognized from the news — a Valerion diplomat. Valerion, the kingdom that’s been fighting a border war with Camelot for the last year.
Camelot.
The place Sabrina’s accent almost slipped into when she was tired.
My stomach dropped.
I wasn’t dealing with a transfer student. I was dealing with something way bigger.
I closed the laptop before my hands started shaking.
---
The next morning, I got to school early.
I wanted to watch them.
Sabrina always got there early, before the halls filled up. She’d stand by the doors, back to the wall, eyes moving. Like she was expecting someone to come through them with a gun.
Alex showed up ten minutes later, every day.
Today was no different.
He walked straight to her locker.
I stayed back, pretending to check my phone, but my camera was rolling. Always rolling. Habit.
“Coffee,” Alex said, holding it out. “You looked tired.”
Sabrina didn’t take it.
“How did you get my number?” she asked. Her voice was low, but I caught it.
“High school’s small,” Alex said, smiling. “People talk.”
Sabrina stepped back. “Don’t call me that.”
Alex’s smile slipped. “Call you what?”
“Sabrina.”
“What should I call you then? Your Highness?”
That was it.
I had it on video.
Sabrina’s face went blank for half a second, then hard. “Stay away from me, Alex,” she said, and walked off.
Alex watched her go. His smile came back, but it wasn’t nice anymore. It was satisfied.
I stopped recording.
I had a choice now.
I could keep this to myself. Pretend I didn’t see it, didn’t hear it, didn’t know.
Or I could tell Sabrina I know.
I chose the stupid option.
---
I caught up to her between English and History.
“Hey,” I said, falling into step beside her.
She glanced at me, wary. “Hey.”
“I saw that,” I said. No point dancing around it.
Her whole body went still. “Saw what?”
“Alex calling you Your Highness. You walking away like you wanted to punch him.” I kept my voice low. “Sabrina, I’m not an i***t. You’re not from Columbus.”
She stopped walking.
The hallway was busy, but it felt like it was just us.
“How long have you known?” she asked.
“Long enough to know you’re scared,” I said. “And that Alex isn’t here to make friends.”
Sabrina looked around, checking for ears. Smart. “Ethan, you need to drop this.”
“Why?” I asked. “Because it’s dangerous? Yeah, I figured that out. But you’re here, and you’re alone, and that guy’s clearly working for whoever you’re running from.”
“I’m not running,” she said quietly.
“Sure,” I said. “That’s why Homeland Security showed up on day two.”
Her eyes widened slightly. She didn’t know I’d put that together too.
“Look,” I said. “I don’t care if you’re a princess, or a spy, or whatever. I care that Alex is making you uncomfortable. And I care that you looked like you hadn’t slept in days.”
Sabrina swallowed. “You can’t help me, Ethan.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “But I can film him. I can document it. If something happens, there’s a record. People believe video.”
She stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
“You want to film me being hunted?” she said.
“I want to help you not be hunted,” I said. “In whatever way I can.”
We stood there for a long time.
Finally, she said, “If you tell anyone—”
“I won’t,” I said. “I’m not an i***t. I know how this works. Loose lips, dead people. I watched too many documentaries.”
A tiny smile tugged at her mouth. “You watch too many documentaries.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s a problem.”
The bell rang. We both moved, heading to class.
Before she left, she said, “Don’t follow me after school. It’s not safe.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” I lied.
---
I followed her after school.
Not closely. Just enough to make sure Alex didn’t.
He didn’t. He got picked up by a black SUV with tinted windows. That’s not normal for a transfer student.
Sabrina got into a beat-up Honda with Mr. Davis.
They drove off fast.
I went home and started editing.
I clipped together the footage of Alex and Sabrina. Added timestamps. Put it in a folder labeled “Project Red.”
If anything happened to her, I’d send it to someone. A journalist. A lawyer. Someone who could make noise.
It felt like the only thing I could control.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
_Stop digging, Ethan. You don’t know what you’re dealing with._
I stared at the message.
No name. No context. But I knew who it was from.
I didn’t reply.
I deleted it.
Then I backed up the folder to three different cloud accounts.
If they wanted me to stop, it meant I was on the right track.
---
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I kept thinking about Sabrina’s face when she said “I’m not running.”
She was lying. But not to me. To herself.
She was running. She had been running for weeks, maybe months.
And now she’d run into me.
I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
All I knew was that I wasn’t going to let Alex scare her off without a fight.
Even if I didn’t know how to fight yet.
I’d learn.
---
The next day, Alex was back.
He didn’t approach Sabrina right away.
He approached me.
“Ethan, right?” he said, leaning against my locker. “Film kid.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“I heard you’ve been asking questions about me,” he said. His voice was friendly. Too friendly.
“News travels fast,” I said.
“It does,” Alex said. “Especially when you’re looking into things you shouldn’t.”
I met his eyes. “And what shouldn’t I be looking into?”
Alex smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“Let’s just say Sabrina’s safety depends on you minding your own business.”
So it was a threat.
“Got it,” I said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He nodded, satisfied, and walked away.
I pulled out my phone.
Hit record.
If he tried anything, I’d have it.
---
After school, I waited across the street.
Sabrina came out with Mr. Davis.
Alex’s SUV pulled up on the other side of the street.
For a second, I thought it was over.
But Mr. Davis saw it too. He got Sabrina into the car fast and pulled out before the SUV could block them.
I followed on my bike, staying three cars back.
They didn’t notice me.
The SUV didn’t follow for long.
When I got home, I checked the footage.
Clear shot of the SUV’s license plate.
I ran it.
Registered to a shell company in London.
Valerion.
I was in too deep now.
And Sabrina didn’t even know half of it.
---
I texted her that night.
_We need to talk. It’s about Alex._
She replied instantly:
_Not over text._
_Tomorrow. Before class._
_Okay._
I set my alarm for 6am.
If Alex made a move, I’d be ready.
If Sabrina decided I was a liability, I’d understand.
But I wasn’t walking away.
Not now.
---
- Writer
