Chapter 2 - Investigation

“Hey.”

That voice again.

I turned, careful to keep my expression blank.

Zeke Navarro. The name alone was enough to raise internal alarms. He was new, quiet, calculated—the type of guy who didn’t just transfer without a reason. Not to this school. Not now.

“You knew her?” he asked, eyes flicking to my notebook.

I kept my gaze on him. “Everyone knew Mikaela.”

“Right,” he said, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But not everyone writes crime notes during class.”

I wanted to smirk.

He was testing me. Watching. Just like the others who’d tried before him.

He had no idea who I really was. No one at this school did. They only saw what I wanted them to see—

The shy one. The pretty little victim. The girl who never fights back.

Let them think that.

Because at night, I was none of those things.

At night, I ran the shadows. Controlled territories. Gave commands that ended people.

I was the queen of a world no one here could survive in.

But now, someone was moving in too close. Mikaela’s death wasn’t random. It was a message. And the fact that Zeke Navarro transferred here just days before it happened?

That wasn’t a coincidence.

Maybe it was a threat.

Maybe he was here for me.

He just didn’t know yet that in this game…

I always kill first.

---

The moon was high when I slipped out of my bedroom window.

The schoolgirl uniform was gone—replaced by sleek black clothes that clung to me like a second skin. My face was bare, hair tied back, every movement silent and sharp. No more shy smiles. No more fake stutters. Just silence. Precision.

The streets were empty as I walked, blending into shadows like I was born from them. A single motorbike waited at the corner, matte black with no plates. I swung onto it with ease, the engine purring to life like it recognized its master.

Fifteen minutes later, I reached the warehouse.

Not abandoned—secured. Guards lined the perimeter, faces I personally chose. They nodded in respect as I passed. No one spoke unless I did first.

Inside, the air was heavy with tension and loyalty. My second-in-command, Cypriene, stood by the long table with a map spread across it. Red marks. Black pins. Names. Photos. Crime families. Threats.

“We have a problem,” he said, eyes meeting mine.

“Another one?” I replied coolly, pulling off my gloves. “Make it quick.”

He pointed to a photo.

Mikaela.

I froze. Not visibly. But just enough for cypriene to notice the pause.

“She was found this morning. Dead. In your school.”

“She wasn’t one of us,” I said.

“No. But someone used your territory to send a message. That’s personal.”

I leaned over the table, scanning the information. My mind raced through names, threats, and unfinished business.

“And there’s more,” cypriene added. “A transfer student. Male. Zeke Navarro. No background we can trace. No digital footprint beyond basic enrollment. Too clean.”

“Suspicious,” I murmured.

“Should we handle him?”

I hesitated. That name… it echoed. Familiar, but not in a dangerous way. I remembered his stare—sharp, but not hostile. Curious. Intrusive.

“No,” I said. “Not yet.”

“But—”

“I’ll handle him myself,” I said, voice final.

cypriene nodded, backing down.

I turned away from the table, walking toward the dark glass wall that overlooked the city.

This was my kingdom. Built in silence. Protected in blood.

I didn’t know who killed Mikaela. Or why they were taunting me with it.

They’re deluded if they think that innocent student could ever rattle me

But one thing was certain.