The frame–up was exposed. In high definition.
A collective gasp went through the crowd. Lilith’s face went from triumphant to ashen in a split second.
Mr. Albright paused the video and looked at Lilith, his voice echoing with cold
uthority. “Miss Fairchild, my office
Now.”
A deep flush of shame and horror crept up Mrs. Fairchild’s neck. “Rowan… I… Lilith… she’s just… she’s very insecure.”
We let out a cold, silent laugh and said nothing at all. Lilith had lost the battle, and the aftershocks were just beginning.
509
That night, we held an all–hands meeting in our shared consciousness. The objective: retrieve Caspian’s mother’s journals and find the leverage to end this war once and for all.
Late that night, Caspian and I, dressed in black, snuck into the opulent mansion of his half–brother, Julian, The house was dark and silent.
11:43 PM P
With thirty–one pairs of eyes acting as a high–tech surveillance system, we located a safe hidden behind a painting in the master bedroom.
*Jax: Let me handle this. Our homeroom teacher always locked his phone in the office safe. I taught myself a few things. for… educational purposes.*
He pressed his ear against the cold steel, his fingers deftly turning the dial. The soft clicks were the only sound in the tense silence. Just as he was about to make the final turn, we heard a car pull into the driveway.
“They’re home early!” Caspian hissed, his face pale.
We scrambled for cover. Jax quickly pulled Caspian into a large walk–in closet. I dove behind the heavy velvet curtains by the window, my heart pounding.
Lilith’s voice, shrill and angry, carried up from the ground floor. “Those two old fools have gotten so stingy ever since their precious biological daughter came back. Mrs. Fairchild actually cut my allowance! And they won’t even give me a condo.”
“Baby, whatever house you want, I’ll buy it for you,” Julian cooed, his voice slick with false charm.
“I don’t want yours! I want the Fairchilds‘ money!” Lilith shrieked. “All of it!”
“But they’re not willing to give it to you. What can you do?”
Lilith let out a cold, chilling laugh. “Then I’ll just take it! Next week, Uncle Fairchild is taking us on a road trip to the lake house. I plan on making a few… adjustments to the brakes on his car beforehand…”
Julian kissed her, a loud, obnoxious sound. “So ruthless, baby. Almost as good as that ‘heroic act you pulled to ‘save‘ Auntie Fairchild in that car crash two years ago.”
“But that’s what I love about you.”
Caspian and I exchanged a horrified look through the crack in the closet door. We both silently pulled out our phones and started recording.
*Priya’s voice was electric in our mind: We’ve got her! This is conspiracy to commit murder!*
After what felt like an eternity, they finally went to a different room. Jax quickly finished his work. The safe clicked open. He carefully removed a leather–bound box and handed it to Caspian, whose eyes filled with tears as he clutched it to his
chest.
