Chapter 3 Playing The Tape

The morning dragged on like a slow-motion nightmare. Every time a floorboard creaked or a teacher called my name, I flinched, convinced the student council was about to descend on me. The weight of the USB drive in my pocket felt like a hot coal, burning a hole through the fabric of my hoodie.

When the lunch bell finally rang, I didn't go to the cafeteria. I waited until the hallways cleared, then slipped out the side doors of the main building, heading toward the old brick gym.

The boiler room was located down a set of concrete stairs at the back of the building. It was a place students avoided, it was dark, smelling of rust, wet earth, and old steam pipes. I pushed the heavy metal door open, the rusty hinges groaning in the damp air.

"Close the door," a voice muttered from the shadows.

Liam was sitting on a wooden crate, the dim orange glow of his phone illuminating his sharp jawline. I did as he said, letting the heavy door click shut, plunging us into near-darkness save for his screen and the faint light filtering through a high, dirty window.

"Did anyone follow you?" he asked, standing up.

"No," I whispered, my voice echoing off the concrete walls. "I was careful."

I pulled the matte-black USB drive out of my pocket. The crimson velvet ribbon was still tied tightly around it.

Liam stared at it, his expression softening for a fraction of a second into something that looked like pure grief. Then, the cold, guarded look returned. He pulled a battered laptop from his backpack, flipping it open.

"Give it to me," he said, holding out his hand.

I hesitated, pulling the drive back slightly. "Why did she give this to me, Liam? Why not you? You’re her brother."

"Stepbrother," he corrected quietly, his eyes dark. "And because they’re watching me. They expect me to burn their world down. They don’t expect you. Charlotte knew that if she gave it to me, the council would have stolen it before I could even get it home." He took a step closer, his voice softening just a fraction. "She trusted you because you aren't part of their games, Joy. Please."

I looked at him, searching his face. He was angry, reckless, and dangerous, but beneath all of that, he was desperate to find his sister.

I placed the drive in his palm.

Liam plugged it into the laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard, bypassing security prompts until a single folder popped up on the screen. Inside, there was only one audio file, labeled: EPISODE_6_FINAL.mp3.

"This is it," Liam muttered. "The last episode."

He clicked play.

The static was loud in the small room, and then Charlotte's voice filled the space. But she wasn't speaking into a studio microphone this time. The audio was muffled, recorded in secret.

"You don't understand what you're doing," Charlotte’s voice said, sounding breathless and terrified.

Another voice cut in cold, smooth, and instantly recognizable. It was Julian Vance, the student council president.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Charlotte," Julian’s voice replied through the speakers. "You think this little podcast of yours makes you a hero? You’re just as dirty as the rest of us. If you release the files on the academy’s offshore account, you ruin your own family, too. Your dad’s charity is how we move the money."

"I don't care anymore!" Charlotte cried, her voice cracking with emotion. "The blackmail, the fake grades, the money laundering... it ends. I wrote everything down. Every name, every transaction, every account number. It's in the red ledger. And if anything happens to me, the ledger will find its way to the federal investigators."

"You won't live to see that happen," Julian said, his voice dropping to a chilling, low whisper.

The audio cut out with a sharp, static pop.

The silence in the boiler room was deafening. I stood frozen, my hands pressed against my mouth, my mind racing. Offshore accounts? Money laundering? This wasn't just typical high school drama. This was a massive, dangerous criminal conspiracy.

"The red ledger," Liam whispered, his hands clenched into tight fists. "She hid the physical proof. That's what Julian is looking for. That’s why she’s gone."

"Liam, we have to go to the police," I said, my voice trembling. "They have Julian on tape threatening her!"

"The police won't do anything," Liam snapped, turning to me, his eyes blazing with fury. "Julian’s dad basically owns the local police department. They’ll call it a fake AI recording and bury it. We need that physical ledger. It's the only thing that will keep Charlotte alive if she still is."

He closed the laptop, grabbing my shoulders. His grip was firm, but not painful. His face was only inches from mine, and I could feel the heat radiating off him.

"We have to find it, Joy. Before they do."