Mornings at Bellmont School were usually filled with the sounds of footsteps and cheerful chatter echoing through the hallways. But this morning felt different. Rossie could feel a chill in the air—not from the weather, but from the stares she was getting. People who once smiled at her now looked away… or worse, glared.
"Is it just me, or is everyone looking at us like we're criminals?" Nichole whispered as they walked toward class.
"It's not just you," Liam muttered, showing them his phone.
The screen displayed the headline from an unofficial campus news site:
"Foundation Scandal? Former Teacher Accuses Bellmont Board of Data Manipulation"
A blurry image of the confidential documents they found was front and center. Mr. Daniel had moved fast—too fast.
Flashback – The Night Before
After handing over the USB drive to Mr. Daniel, Rossie had made one clear request.
"Please give us time to prepare a backup. Don't release it just yet."
Mr. Daniel simply nodded. "Relax. I know what I'm doing."
But clearly, by this morning, things had already spiraled out of control.
History Class – Rising Tension
Mr. Daniel entered the room, his expression grim. The students fell silent, eyes fixed on him. Moments later, the door creaked open again—and three formal-looking members of the school foundation stepped in, clipboards in hand.
"Mr. Daniel Lancaster?" one of them asked.
"My name is Daniel Arjuna. Not Lancaster," he replied firmly.
"We're here to escort you to the Headmaster's office. Immediately."
Everyone in the class froze.
Rossie and Liam exchanged a look.
"He's being set up," Jasper muttered from the back.
Rossie stood up impulsively. "Can I come with him?"
The staff answered coldly. "No."
Silent Hallways
"This is how they do it," Liam whispered. "Lancaster found out. He's covering his tracks."
"Were we idiots for trusting a teacher so easily?" Nichole asked—half angry, half scared.
Rossie clenched her fists. "We trusted him… because we wanted to believe there were still good people in a broken system."
Back Garden – Secret Meeting
They gathered quietly in the garden behind the library. Jasper opened his laptop and showed them a backup of the files.
"Good thing I saved this before they wiped the server. But we need to get it out of Bellmont. It's not safe here anymore."
Rossie closed her eyes briefly. One wrong move, and they wouldn't just be expelled. They'd be framed. Or worse.
"Who can we trust now?" Nichole asked, her voice small.
No one answered—until Liam finally spoke.
"I might know someone. Someone outside this school. But he's… not just anyone. And he has a dark history with Bellmont."
Rossie looked at him. "Who?"
Liam's expression hardened as he stared into the distance.
"His name is Daryl. He was a scholarship student. Just like you. But he was expelled under mysterious circumstances… and then vanished."