Ruling silverlake High

Archive Ambush

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, but I kept my grip tight on the black binder. The cool steel of Zander’s lighter was still pressed against my palm inside the varsity jacket pocket.Principal Vance stepped into the dim archive room, the heavy gate scraping against the floor. The two security guards moved like shadows, locking the exit behind them. The trap was sprung, and I had walked right into it."You really don't know when to stop digging, do you, Miss Montgomery?" Principal Vance said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses. "First Zander’s desk, then his jacket, and now the school's private corporate history. You’ve become quite the nuisance.""Nuisance?" I shot back, backing up until my spine hit the cold mahogany bookshelf. "Is that what you call a student who finds out the principal is helping a billionaire commit offshore loan fraud using school land?"Principal Vance’s expression didn't change, but his eyes turned completely dead. "Silverlake Prep is a private ecosystem. How we secure our funding is none of your concern. Hand over the binder, Aria. You’re already on thin ice. Trespassing in a restricted archive is more than enough grounds for immediate, non-negotiable expulsion—endowment or not.""If you expel me, the paperwork triggers an automatic board review anyway," I countered, bluffing based on what Zander had written in the note. "Landon has copies of my enrollment status. If I disappear from the roster today, the independent auditors get called tomorrow morning."A flicker of hesitation crossed the principal’s face. He knew I was right. Zander had built the legal cage perfectly. But Principal Vance wasn't going to let me walk out with the proof."I don't need to expel you to handle this, sweetheart," Vance murmured, nodding to the two guards. "Take the binder from her. If she resists, she’s assaulting school staff."The larger of the two guards stepped forward, his heavy boots thudding against the floorboards. He reached out a massive, calloused hand toward the ledger. Panic flared in my throat, hot and blinding. I couldn't lose this binder. It was the only leash we had on Charles Sterling. It was Zander’s ticket out of that military prison.

Just as the guard’s fingers brushed the leather edge of the binder, a sharp, deafening sound shattered the silence of the library.BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!The overhead fire alarms erupted into a shrieking frenzy. A second later, the ceiling sprinklers hissed to life, unleashing a torrential downpour of freezing water straight onto the archive room."What the hell?!" the guard yelled, flinching back as the cold spray hit his face.In the chaos, the archive door burst open. Landon Chase stood in the doorway, drenched from head to toe, holding a smoking fire extinguisher in one hand and a pulled fire alarm lever casing in the other."Aria! Run!" Landon roared over the deafening sirens.I didn't waste a split second. I shoved the heavy binder inside the oversized front pocket of Zander's varsity jacket, ducked under the guard's outstretched arm, and bolted toward the door. Principal Vance tried to grab my shoulder, his expensive suit completely ruined by the cascading water, but I violently wrenched myself away, leaving him stumbling against a shelf of historical ledgers.Landon grabbed my hand, dragging me through the flooded library lobby. The main fire doors were wide open, and the entire student body was streaming out of the building in a panicked mass exodus, screaming and shielding their heads from the downpour.We blended into the crowd, rushing down the grand stone steps of the campus into the thick afternoon fog."My car, now!" Landon panted, wiping the water from his eyes as he led me toward a sleek, dark blue truck parked at the edge of the lot.We threw ourselves into the cab, Landon slamming the gas before the security guards could even exit the building. The tires screeched against the wet asphalt, tearing away from Silverlake Prep.I sat in the passenger seat, gasping for breath, the heavy varsity jacket soaked but protecting the binder hidden against my chest. My hands were shaking uncontrollably, a mixture of adrenaline and pure terror vibrating through my bones."You're completely crazy, Chase," I breathed, turning to look at him as he navigated the winding coastal roads.

You're completely crazy, Chase," I breathed, turning to look at him as he navigated the winding coastal roads."Hey, you're the one who found the signatures," Landon said, a breathless, exhilarated grin breaking through his panicked expression. He flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror, checking for tailing cars. "We have the deeds, Aria. We have the proof connecting his dad and the principal."I pulled the wet binder from my jacket, staring at the blurred ink on the corporate seal. We had the weapon Zander wanted. But looking out the window at the vast, dark ocean line, a new, heavier dread settled in my stomach.We had the proof, but Charles Sterling was still a billionaire with absolute power. And now that he knew the scholarship girl had his secrets, the game wasn't just high stakes anymore.It was deadly.