“I have an idea but there’s no proof.”
“I’ll handle it,” he says. “I’ll have a specialist come tonight. Not just a better lock, but a full security system. This won’t happen again.”
A knot in my chest loosens. Not all the way—but just enough that I can breathe again.
“Thanks,” I whisper. “Really.”
He lowers his voice. “I promised you’d be safe. I meant it.”
When we hang up, I stand. I walk to the window and slam it shut. I pull the curtains. I straighten the photo of me and Maeve, flipping it upright again.
They think they can scare me? Fine.
But they’re not taking this room from me.
I spend the next hour going through all my things, putting them back where they belong, while meticulously looking around for any shred of evidence to confirm my suspicions.
But they were careful. They left nothing behind.
Checking my phone, I make my way down to the dining hall. I grab a sandwich and some snacks to take back to my room to eat in peace.
Shortly after I finish my dinner, there’s a knock.
“Max! Preston!” I smile.
“Hi, Iz!” Max steps inside, giving me a quick hug.
Preston follows and offers me a high five.
“Lucian said some people broke into your room?” Preston asks.
I roll my eyes, shutting the door behind them. “Nah, someone must’ve lifted my key. They just did it to mess with me.”
Max’s playful smile disappears. “Who’s messing with you?”
I giggle. “Calm down, it’s okay. Nothing I can’t handle. If anything, I’m being hazed.”
Preston lifts an eyebrow, studying me. “If you say so.”
The first thing they do is remove the lock entirely. It’s dismantled in less than two minutes.
In its place, they install a high-tech thumbprint lock with a secondary six-digit code. A small screen glows softly above the knob, and I’m shown how to set my print, my backup pin.
“No override,” Preston says. “Well, except Lucian. But only yours works. Not even school administration can get in.”
“But if you want to add anyone, you can calibrate it with the app we’ll install on your phone.”
Good.
Then come the cameras.
Three total — one just above the door, another in the far corner facing the windows, and a third angled to cover the entire room in a wide sweep. They’re tiny. Sleek. Matte black. Easy to miss if you’re not looking for them.
Motion detection. Night vision. Audio pickup. All encrypted. All synced directly to a secure server only I can access.
They set up an app on my phone. It pings when there’s motion and I’m not in the room. Records anything suspicious. Saves clips instantly.
“There’s a panic feature,” Max holds out a small pendant. “Press and hold for three seconds, and it’ll alert us and the campus emergency response. Someone will be here in under two minutes.”
