"Truth doesn't just set you free. Sometimes, it's the lock that keeps you trapped."
— Lukas Silva, Entry #4
Lucien didn't want to open the journal.
He'd kept it hidden for over a year—buried behind his bedroom wall, in a crevice only he knew. He had found it three days after Lukas died, its leather cover scorched at the edges, the pages smudged with ash, blood… and something darker.
Now, sitting at the center of Keira's room, he finally let her read it.
She opened it carefully.
The first page was addressed to her.
"Keira Faye. If you're reading this, it means I failed."
"But it also means you've survived."
"This is not your story alone. It began with me. So I'll start from the beginning."
FLASHBACK: One Year Ago
Lukas Silva was the perfect student.
Everyone said it.
Top scorer. Flawless attendance. Captain of the Debate Club. Teachers loved him. Parents envied him. Students admired him from afar.
But perfection was a mask—and Lukas wore it so tightly, it left bruises beneath.
His descent began when he stumbled into the West Wing Archives—a locked section of the library no one was allowed to enter. He hadn't meant to. He had followed strange music coming from the hallways after hours.
He remembered the room: old scrolls, video tapes, and a large filing cabinet labeled:
EX—TRIAL I: Subject Initiation
Inside were photos.
Of students. Their psychological profiles. Discipline records. Their weaknesses.
And at the top of the pile:
His own file.
"Subject 0: Lukas Silva."
"Compliant. Intelligent. Morally stable. Perfect for Phase One."
"Objective: Trigger moral collapse and record ethical reaction."
Lukas dropped the paper.
That night, he couldn't sleep.
Not just because he was being watched.
But because the next day… the experiment began.
DAY ONE: Trial Initiation
He found a note in his locker: "Confess your worst sin in Room 8-B, or someone else will do it for you."
He ignored it.
But after school, Ms. Cabral pulled him aside. "You left this," she said, handing him back a file. His file.
That night, Lucien remembers his brother coming home… pale.
"Do you believe people can be tested without their permission?" Lukas asked.
Lucien had been gaming. He barely looked up.
"If it's for science? I guess?"
Lukas laughed—quiet, bitter.
DAY TWO: The Trial
A fake cheating allegation was posted on the school's bulletin board.
Lukas's name. A forged test sheet.
The school started whispering. Teachers stopped calling on him.
Even his best friend, Armand, began acting distant.
The note returned:
"Fix it by making someone else fall. Your choice. Or the next phase begins."
Lukas tried reporting it.
Principal Olivarez laughed. "You're an overachiever. Try not to break under pressure, Mr. Silva."
DAY THREE: The Spiral
Armand was framed next.
Caught with exam answer keys in his bag.
Expelled on the spot.
Lukas got another note.
"Well done. Phase Two unlocked."
"Now let's see how far you'll go to survive."
Lukas wrote in the journal that night.
"They aren't trying to punish bad kids."
"They're trying to break the good ones."
Back in the present, Keira clenched the book.
"They used him like a test dummy."
Lucien nodded. "He tried to fight back. Tried warning others. That's when Trisha got pulled in."
"They were friends?" Keira asked.
"More. They were in love."
Keira looked down at another page.
A drawing: Lukas and Trisha under the bleachers, laughing.
Then the next page… darker.
"Trisha's next. I heard them planning it. They want to use her to see how I break."
"I can't let them."
FLASHBACK: DAY FIVE
Trisha was summoned to the counseling room.
She never returned to class that day.
Lukas wrote one final entry:
"Tonight, I'll burn the Mirror Room. That's where they keep the records. The confessions. The pain."
"I'll end this. Even if it ends me."
Lucien's hands trembled.
"I think… he set the fire. To protect her. To protect us."
"And the school blamed it on a short circuit," Keira said softly.
"They needed a cover-up. And they erased Lukas in the process."
There was one last envelope at the back of the journal.
It held a photo of Lukas.
Standing in front of the Mirror Room.
Spray-painted behind him: "This is NOT a school. It's a lab."
Below it, a key.
Keira turned to Lucien.
"What's this unlock?"
He looked up. "The Basement."
Everyone froze.
"What basement?" Maya asked.
Lucien's voice dropped.
"The one under the East Wing. Where all expelled students' files disappear. Where the real Phase Three happens."
Cliffhanger Ending:
As the group stares at the journal in stunned silence, Keira picks up the last piece of Lukas's message:
A torn blueprint.
It leads to the East Wing's underground tunnel.
Suddenly, her phone buzzes.
A message.
From an unknown number:
"You opened his book. Now we open yours."
[Video attachment: A live camera feed of Keira's bedroom.]
She drops the phone.
"We're being watched. Right now."
Lucien locks eyes with her.
"Then it's time we finally watch them back."