Chapter 4 The Boy Everyone Feared

Lucien Cross stopped barely a step away from Aria.

The courtyard, alive with chatter only moments ago, had fallen into an uneasy hush. Students pretended to continue walking, but nearly every pair of eyes drifted toward them.

Aria had never met him. Yet somehow, she felt as though he’d been studying her long before this moment.

He was taller than she’d expected, dressed in the same Blackwood uniform as everyone else, though on him it looked less like a school uniform and more like a tailored suit. His black tie hung slightly loose, and a leather jacket rested over one shoulder despite the academy’s strict dress code.

No teacher stopped him. No prefect dared.

He looked at Aria with calm, unsettling focus. “You opened it.” It wasn’t a question.

Aria frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “Don’t lie.”

Nora shifted nervously beside her. “Lucien…” He didn’t even glance at her. “The locker.” His voice remained quiet. “You opened Locker 313.”

Aria felt every muscle in her body tighten. “How do you know that?” A faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Because it only opens when it chooses someone.”

She almost laughed. “What kind of nonsense—”

“Did you listen to the recording?”

Her words caught in her throat. She hadn’t told anyone.

Not even Nora. Not the administrator. No one.

Lucien watched the answer appear on her face. “I thought so.” He turned to leave.

“Wait.” He stopped without looking back. “You know about those recordings?”

“I know enough.”

“Then explain.”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try.”

For the first time, he looked genuinely tired. “The less you know…” His gaze briefly drifted toward Locker 313’s building in the distance. “the longer you stay alive.” He walked away before she could stop him.

Students immediately flooded around him, whispering once he was out of earshot. Nora let out the breath she’d been holding. “I can’t believe he spoke to you.”

“Who is he?”

“You seriously don’t know?”

“I’ve been here one day.”

Nora lowered her voice. “Lucien Cross is… complicated.”

“That’s not an answer.” Well... “His family practically owns half this city.”

“And?”

“And weird things happen around him.”

Aria folded her arms. “Such as?”

Nora hesitated. “No one’s ever proved anything.”

“But?”

“But whenever something big happens at Blackwood…”

She looked toward the academy gates where Lucien had disappeared... “he somehow knows before everyone else.”

Classes officially began an hour later. The chemistry laboratory remained sealed with bright yellow police tape stretched across its entrance. Teachers offered no explanation.

Instead, first-year students were redirected to the lecture hall. Professor Evelyn Grant attempted to begin the lesson as though nothing unusual had happened.

“Chemistry,” she announced, writing across the board, “is the science of transformation.” A few students chuckled. Most looked distracted, including Aria. Her eyes drifted repeatedly toward the empty seat three rows ahead.

The nameplate attached to the desk read: ETHAN HOLLOWAY, was empty. She glanced at the clock.

Five minutes late. Ten. Fifteen, still no Ethan.

Professor Grant paused mid-sentence. “Has anyone seen Mr. Holloway this morning?”

Silence, one student raised his hand. “I heard he went home.” Another shook his head. “My roommate said the police were looking for him.”

The classroom erupted into whispers. Professor Grant tapped the desk sharply.

“Enough.”

Order returned, but the uneasiness remained. Aria’s pulse quickened. The recording hadn’t said Ethan would disappear. It had said… He would be dead before tomorrow’s sunset.

Lunch only made the rumours worse.Some students claimed Ethan had been expelled. Others insisted he’d been arrested. One even swore he’d run away during the night. Every version contradicted the last. No one actually knew the truth.

Aria carried her tray to an empty table near the windows.

She had barely sat down when someone slid into the chair opposite her.

Lucien, again. He hadn’t collected any food. He simply rested an unopened bottle of water on the table. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

Aria stared at him. “You’ve said that twice now.”

“Because you still don’t understand.”

“I understand that you know something.”

“And I understand you’re asking the wrong questions.”

She leaned forward. “Then tell me the right ones.” Lucien held her gaze. “Forget Ethan.”

“I can’t.”

“You have to.”

“Why?”

“Because Ethan isn’t the real target.”

A chill crept through her. “What does that mean?” He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his blazer pocket and placed something on the table. An old student identification card. The photograph showed a smiling girl with dark hair. Beneath it was a name.

MAYA ASHCROFT

Aria’s breath caught. “The voice…” Lucien nodded once.

“Belongs to her.”

Before Aria could ask another question, the academy’s emergency alarm shattered the lunchtime noise. Students froze, teachers stood abruptly, then came the announcement.

“Attention, all students and staff.” The principal’s strained voice echoed through every speaker across Blackwood Academy.

“This is not a drill.” A pause. “If anyone has seen Ethan Holloway today…” Another pause. Please “report immediately to the administration office.”

Silence swallowed the cafeteria. Then the principal spoke the words that made Aria’s blood turn to ice.

“We have reason to believe… a student has been murdered.”