Chapter 4 Someone Is Watching

LENA'S POV

"Lena, you're overthinking it," Maya said gently, setting her spoon down as she leaned across the breakfast table. Her brows knitted together with concern while she searched my face for any sign that I'd believe her. "Maybe one of the cleaners came in while you were gone. Or the maintenance staff. You said nothing was stolen, right?"

I wrapped both hands around my mug, letting the warmth seep into my fingers even though it did little to calm the uneasiness sitting in my chest. "That's exactly why it doesn't make sense," I replied, lowering my voice so the other students wouldn't overhear us. "My money was still there. My clothes hadn't been touched, but someone went through my room. I know they did."

Maya sighed softly before reaching across the table and giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm not saying I don't believe you," she said, her expression softening. "I just think you're jumping to the worst conclusion. If you report it, the academy will investigate."

I slowly shook my head.

"And then they'll start asking questions I'm not ready to answer," I admitted, glancing around the dining hall before continuing. "What if they ask what I think the person was looking for? I can't tell anyone about my mother's letter."

Maya looked at me for a long moment before finally nodding.

"I guess I understand that," she said quietly. "But promise me one thing."

"What?"

"If anything else happens... you tell me first."

"I promise."

The conversation ended there, but the uneasy feeling refused to leave. Before we headed to class, I returned to my room and retrieved my mother's letter from beneath the mattress. Hiding it there had already proven to be a mistake.

After searching the room for several minutes, I finally slipped the folded paper into the lining of an old jacket hanging at the back of my wardrobe. It wasn't the safest hiding place in the world, but it was somewhere no one would think to check unless they knew exactly what they were looking for.

The rest of the morning passed slowly. Maya seemed determined to distract me from everything that had happened, filling every quiet moment with another ridiculous story about life at Knights Academy.

She pointed out professors who were impossible to impress, students who'd somehow become campus legends and even warned me about a vending machine that apparently ate people's money every Friday. I laughed more than I expected to, though every now and then my thoughts drifted back to my room and the unsettling feeling that someone had been standing there while I was gone.

By lunchtime, Maya suddenly clapped her hands together and flashed me an excited smile.

"I know exactly what you need," she announced, grabbing my wrist before I could ask what she meant. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

She practically dragged me across campus until we stopped in front of a massive stone building with towering stained-glass windows.

"The library," she said proudly. "If Knights Academy is hiding secrets, this is where they'll be."

The moment I stepped inside, I understood why she'd brought me.

The place was enormous.

Towering bookshelves stretched toward the ceiling, connected by winding staircases and narrow balconies that disappeared into rows upon rows of ancient books. The scent of old paper and polished wood filled the air, and for the first time since arriving at the academy, something inside me stirred with hope.

If answers still existed...

Maybe they had survived in here.

Maya wandered toward the fiction section after promising not to disturb my "detective work," leaving me alone to explore the history shelves. I started pulling out every book I could find about Knights Academy, the Alpha Council and the founding families, stacking them neatly on a nearby table.

At first, everything looked normal but then I noticed the missing pages.

One book ended halfway through a chapter discussing the academy's founders. Another had several pages ripped clean out of the middle. A third skipped almost twenty years of historical records without any explanation at all.

My stomach tightened as realization hit me hard..

Wait.. Yeah I get it that one damaged book could've been an accident but definitely three wasn't.

Someone had deliberately erased parts of the academy's history.

I frowned as my eyes landed on another old leather-bound volume resting on the highest shelf. Stretching onto my toes, I reached for it just as another hand closed around the spine.

Startled, I looked up and phew it was Ryder.

For a brief second, neither of us spoke.

"You can have it," I said, letting go of the book as I stepped back.

Instead of keeping it, Ryder pulled the book from the shelf and held it out to me.

"I wasn't looking for it," he said quietly, his expression as unreadable as ever. "You were."

I hesitated before accepting it back.

"Thanks."

Before I could ask why he'd helped me, a sharp voice echoed through the aisle.

"The restricted archives are not open to students."

Both of us turned to find the elderly librarian walking toward us with a disapproving look.

"Those shelves are off-limits without permission," she continued, folding her arms. "You should know better, Mr. Knight."

Ryder dipped his head slightly.

"My mistake," he replied calmly. "It won't happen again."

The librarian looked between us one last time before walking away.

I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Looks like you just saved me from getting into trouble on my third day."

"It would've been a terrible record," Ryder replied, and although his face barely changed, I could've sworn I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

A small laugh escaped me.

"I'll try to do better."

"I'm sure you will."

For a moment, it felt like he wanted to say something else.

Instead, he simply nodded once before turning and walking away, disappearing between the towering shelves without another word.

I watched him leave, more confused than ever.

The arrogant hockey captain everyone talked about didn't seem nearly as arrogant whenever we were alone.

That evening, curiosity drew me back to the library.

The building was almost empty now, making every footstep echo through the silent aisles as I returned to the history section. I hoped that without crowds or interruptions, I'd finally find something the academy hadn't managed to erase.

I rounded the corner...

...and stopped so suddenly my heart lurched.

The old book Ryder had handed me earlier was sitting alone on the table.

I was certain it hadn't been there when I'd left.

Slowly, I walked toward it and opened the cover.

Most of the pages were blank then I noticed a folded piece of paper tucked neatly between them.

My hands trembled as I unfolded it.

Only seven words had been written across the page.

"Stop looking before you end up like your mother.”