Abigail's POV 
I stood in the kitchen, the smell of cookies filling the air, and tried to distract myself from the worry creeping into my mind. Nathalie was supposed to be home by now. Dinner was ready, spaghetti, nothing fancy but it was almost midnight, and still no sign of her. I glanced at the clock on the wall, the minutes ticking by painfully slow. My stomach twisted in knots, even though I tried to ignore it.
“She’s fine,” I whispered to myself, stirring the sauce one last time. “It’s just one of those nights.”
I threw the spoon down and wiped my hands on my apron, moving over to the tray of cookies I’d baked for dessert. They were Nathalie’s favorite, chocolate chip, slightly gooey in the middle, the way she liked them. I smiled a little, thinking about how excited she’d be to come home to these. 
As I carried the tray toward the table, lost in my thoughts, a sudden knock came from the door. My heart jumped, but relief washed over me. Nathalie. Finally. I rushed over, still holding the tray of cookies, ready to scold her for being late and hug her all at once.
But when I opened the door, it wasn’t Nathalie standing there.
A girl, someone I vaguely recognized from the event earlier, stood in front of me. She was wearing the unmistakable black uniform of the Black Elites. Her face was calm, but there was a sharpness in her eyes that put me on edge. Amara, that was her name. I’d seen her earlier today, but hadn’t thought much of it then.
Before I could ask if she was lost or needed something, the girl spoke.
“Amara Heviner,” she introduced herself, her voice smooth and steady. “The last Black Elite to reach rank last year.”
I blinked, processing her words, not sure where this was going. “Uh… okay? Nice to meet you, I guess?”
Amara nodded slightly, her face unreadable. “There’s a mail for you,” she said, pausing for a second. “From Lucas. Black Elite.”
As soon as I heard Lucas’ name, everything clicked. The mail. The files. Of course. Lucas had promised to send me something important. I felt my stomach tighten in anticipation. 
“Thanks,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’ve been waiting for it.”
But just as I was about to close the door, Amara moved. Her hand shot out, gripping the edge of the door, stopping it from shutting. I froze, my pulse racing, unsure of what she was about to do.
Amara’s eyes flicked to the tray of cookies I was still holding. Without a word, she reached out and grabbed one, her lips curving into a small, almost playful smile. “These smell good,” she said casually, as if we were old friends. 
Before I could respond, she raised her other hand, giving me a quick wave goodbye, and turned on her heel, walking away down the hall.
I stood there, completely dumbfounded. 
What the heck just happened?
I laughed quietly to myself, shaking my head. For someone so intimidating, Amara’s actions were weirdly… innocent? Like a little kid stealing a cookie.
Shaking off the confusion, I didn’t waste any more time. I hurried into the other room, my hands trembling slightly as I opened my laptop. The USD drive file of Lucas had sent was already waiting for me, a red notification blinking on the screen. My heart raced as I clicked it open, not sure what I was about to find.
The first image that popped up was a black-and-white photo. A man standing tall, straight-backed, looking important. But it was different, younger. He had a strong, sharp look to him, like he could command a room with just his presence. Next to him, a woman in a wheelchair smiled softly. 
I scrolled down and froze.
Another photo popped up, a younger version of that same man, but this time there was a shadowy figure beside him—a man whose face I recognized immediately.
My heart stopped for a moment.
Dad?
I blinked, staring hard at the image, my breath catching in my throat. It couldn’t be. But it was. That was him, standing right next to Lucas’ father, way before I was even born. I had no idea what to think or feel. My mind was spinning, but I couldn’t look away.
My dad, in an old picture with the founder of the Academy? Why? How? And why didn’t I know about this? There were no stories, no mention of this ever. My dad never said a word.
I felt like the ground was shifting beneath me. My dad wasn’t supposed to be involved in anything like this. He was just… well, my dad. Yeah he's a power business man but... I can't understand what this means, all of this. The man who loved to tell bad jokes at dinner and always made sure I had my favorite ice cream in the freezer.
I stared harder at the image, hoping it was a mistake, but there was no doubt. It was him.
I scrolled down quickly, almost frantically, trying to make sense of everything. There were more documents, more photos, but my mind kept coming back to that one image. My hands shook, and my heart pounded harder in my chest. I needed answers. But there was no one here to ask, no one to explain why my dad was in these files. 
The clock was ticking in the background, reminding me that time was running out. I didn’t have long to process this. Lucas had sent this to me for a reason, and I needed to figure it out. 
But how was I supposed to focus now? How was I supposed to make sense of all this when my world felt like it was being ripped apart?
I scrolled again, stopping when I saw a note from Lucas.
"I need you to understand this, Abigail. You have to figure it out. Keep going. There’s more here than you realize."
More than I realized? No kidding. I felt like I was being hit with a wave of information that I wasn’t ready for. I wasn’t just looking at some random file. This was personal. This was my dad’s past—his secret past—and I had no idea why he kept it hidden. Or what it meant for me.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. Time’s running out. You have to push through. But my hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and my mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. All I could think about was how my dad had been a part of something bigger, something tied to the founder of the Academy, to Lucas’ family, to everything!
I had to know more. I had to figure out what Lucas wanted me to see.
I clicked on the next file, trying to push the confusion and fear aside. But it wasn’t that easy. Time was ticking faster, and the pressure was building. I could feel it... something big was happening, something that was going to change everything. I needed to understand it before it was too late.
I scrolled further through the file, and more images popped up, documents, letters, and another set of pictures. One of them stopped me cold.
It was a younger version of Lucas’ dad, standing with a group of other men, all dressed in black suits. Behind them, barely visible in the background, was the Academy. But what caught my attention was the shadowy figure beside them. A girl. Dark hair, intense eyes, standing just off to the side, like she didn’t quite belong. But there was something familiar about her, something that made my stomach churn with recognition.
No way.
I leaned closer, my eyes widening as I realized who it was.
Emery?
I felt the blood drain from my face. How? How could she have been there? The date on the picture was years ago, long before I even started at the Academy. What was Emery's old kid picture doing there?
Suddenly, everything felt like it was spinning out of control. There was more to this than Lucas had let on. The file was massive, filled with connections I hadn’t even begun to understand. But one thing was clear, Lucas’ family had a history with the founder of the Academy, past with my Dad that went deeper than anyone knew. And Emery… she was somehow part of it.
I sat back, staring at the screen, trying to piece it all together. But the more I looked, the more questions filled my mind.
What did this mean for me? And why did Lucas trust me with this?
As the weight of it all settled on my shoulders.
Just as I was about to dive deeper into the documents, I heard Nathalie’s voice echo through the apartment.
“I’m back, Abigail!”
Her voice was light, joyful even. Like she had just won a prize or something. But my heart sank. She couldn’t see any of this. If she walked in and saw the room filled with papers, the laptop open with sensitive files—everything would be exposed. Worse, Emery would know before I had time to explain anything.
“Shit,” I whispered under my breath, my hands freezing on the keyboard. I couldn’t get out of the room now, not with Nathalie so close. My mind raced. Think fast, Abigail. You need an excuse. But nothing came. 
Nathalie called out again, her voice a bit more serious this time. “Abigail? Where are you?”
I could hear the worry creeping into her tone, like she was getting suspicious. My heart started pounding harder. She was looking for me, probably panicking now that I hadn’t responded. I could hear the quick shuffle of her footsteps outside the door, moving faster as she called my name again.
I held my breath, waiting for her to give up, waiting for her to leave or just stop looking. My body was tense, locked in place, trying to think of what I would say if she found me like this. “There’s no way she can see this...”
After a few long minutes, the footsteps faded away. I waited a little longer, just to be sure, before cautiously leaving the room. The hallway was empty, and the door was wide open. Damn it.
I had to act quickly. Make an excuse, I told myself. There was only one person I could use. 
James. 
I rushed down the hallway toward the boys’ dorms, my heart still pounding. I didn’t even knock on his door, just stood there for a second, enough to make it seem like I’d been there for a reason. Then I turned back toward my room.
As soon as I stepped back inside, there she was. Nathalie stood right outside the door, her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, her lips pressed into a hard line. Her high heel tapped against the floor impatiently, and it made me gulp. I’m so dead.
I forced a smile, trying to act casual, but Nathalie’s expression didn’t change. Her face was cold, her eyes narrowed, like she knew something was off.
“Where were you?” she asked, her tone sharp.
I blinked, trying to keep my voice steady. “I was… uh, what’s wrong?”
Nathalie’s eyes narrowed even more. “I hate repeating myself, Abigail,” she said, her voice cutting through the air like a knife.
My heart raced, and I tried not to panic. “I was just, um, sharing some cookies with James.” I pointed behind me like it would somehow prove my story. “There were too many, and I didn’t want them to go to waste.”
In reality, I hadn’t even knocked on James’ door. I’d just passed by, hoping it would be enough to cover my tracks. But Nathalie didn’t look convinced. She stared at me, her expression unreadable, and I could feel sweat gathering at the back of my neck.
Her foot tapped the floor again, the sound louder this time, echoing in the quiet room. “Is that so?” she said slowly, her tone icy. “You just gave cookies to James?”
I nodded quickly, even though my stomach churned with guilt. “Yeah, I mean, they were really good, but there were too many. So, I figured, why not?”
She raised one eyebrow, her gaze still sharp. For a moment, I thought she was going to call me out, tell me I was lying. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this up. My mind was racing, trying to come up with something, anything to make this seem less suspicious.
Nathalie didn’t say anything for a long time, and the silence hung heavy between us. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel my pulse in my ears. 
Don’t blow it, Abigail. Just stay calm!
Finally, Nathalie sighed, her expression softening just a bit. “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms tighter. “But next time, don’t leave me wondering where you are, okay?”
I nodded again, too fast, too eager. “Of course, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
She rolled her eyes and let out a small huff. “You better not have. I hate being left in the dark.”
She gave me one last look, and for a second, I thought I saw something else in her eyes, something like suspicion but she didn’t press any further. Instead, she turned and walked toward the kitchen, leaving me standing there, feeling like I had just barely escaped disaster.
I let out a long breath, my shoulders sagging as the tension drained out of me. That was too close.
But as I glanced back toward the secret room, I knew this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. Nathalie might have let it go for now, but if I wasn’t careful, if I made one wrong move again, it would all come crashing down. And I couldn’t let that happen.
Not now. Not when everything was starting to unravel.