CHAPTER NINE. Picture perfect

Karissa didn't hesitate. As soon as Maeva, Rebecca, and Gwen left, she bolted out of the library. Her heart pounded against her ribs, her pulse roaring in her ears.

Ashley.

She needed to find Ashley.

She had heard whispers—rumors that Ashley had proof of drug dealings on campus. That he had been threatened into silence. If anyone knew what the hell was going on, it was him.

"Karissa!" Emmet called after her, his footsteps quick as he caught up. "You wanna tell me what the hell you're doing?"

"Finding Ashley," she shot back without slowing down. "If Lucas was involved with drugs—if fentanyl was in his system—then he might have answers."

Emmet didn't argue, just matched her pace, keeping up with her sharp turns through the hallways. Then, both of their phones buzzed at the same time.

A new message.

From The Watcher.

Ashley, Ashley... were you really just a witness? You know drugs aren't the only thing Lucas was hiding.

Karissa's breath hitched. She skidded to a stop, eyes locked on the screen.

How...

Emmet ran into her shoulder. "What the hell?" he muttered, then looked down at his own phone. When he saw the message, his expression twisted in frustration.

"How do they keep doing this?" he snapped.

Karissa wasn't listening. Her brain was in overdrive. She had just learned about the fentanyl—just figured out that Lucas was involved in something bigger—so how did The Watcher already know?

The only ones she had spoken to were Maeva, Rebecca, and Gwen.

Could they have done it?

Are they The Watcher?

Karissa shook her head. No. That didn't make sense. The messages had been going on for too long. The Watcher knew everything. It wasn't just this one detail—it was all of them.

But then how?

Her fists clenched.

"Come on," she muttered, shoving her phone back into her pocket. "Ashley's in the art wing. If he's got proof, I'm going to see it for myself."

Emmet scoffed. "And if he refuses?"

Karissa's smile was sharp. "Then we make him talk."

Neither of them noticed the security camera in the hallway blink red as they walked away.

Karissa moved fast, her thoughts spiraling as her feet carried her toward the art wing. Emmet kept pace beside her, his jaw clenched.

Ashley had to be here.

The art wing was quiet, the faint scent of paint and turpentine lingering in the air. A few students worked silently at easels or hunched over sketchbooks, lost in their own worlds.

Karissa scanned the room until she spotted him.

Ashley sat hunched at a desk near the windows, his sketchbook open in front of him. He wasn't drawing—just absentmindedly tapping the end of his pencil against the page. His hair fell over his forehead, and he pushed his glasses up his nose with a nervous flick of his fingers.

He looked up just as they approached, eyes widening. "Oh." His voice was quiet, uncertain. "Uh... hey?"

Karissa didn't waste time. "You have proof."

Ashley blinked. "What?"

"Lucas," she said, keeping her voice low. "And the drugs. You have proof."

Ashley immediately stiffened. His fingers tightened around his pencil, and his eyes darted toward the nearest exit, like he was already planning an escape.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled.

Karissa exhaled sharply. He was a terrible liar.

Emmet leaned against the desk, arms crossed. "Come on, man. We're not here to turn you in."

Ashley swallowed hard. His foot bounced anxiously under the desk. "Why are you asking me this?"

Karissa met his eyes. "Because The Watcher knows. And if they know, then someone else might, too."

Ashley flinched. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I—" He hesitated, then sighed. "I had proof."

Karissa and Emmet exchanged a glance.

Ashley's fingers fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. "I took photos. Videos. Lucas was dealing, yeah—but it wasn't just small stuff. He was mixed up in something bigger. Someone dangerous."

Karissa felt her stomach tighten. "How do you know that?"

Ashley hesitated again, then mumbled, "Because I had to delete everything."

Emmet straightened. "Wait, what?"

Ashley hunched his shoulders, looking guilty. "Lucas made me."

Karissa frowned. "He forced you?"

Ashley nodded, eyes fixed on his desk. "He found out someone was onto him. He freaked out. Told me to wipe it all. Said if I didn't, I'd regret it." He swallowed hard. "I—I didn't ask questions. I just did it."

Karissa's mind raced. Lucas had been afraid. Not just of getting caught—but of something else.

The fentanyl. The Watcher. The threats.

It was all tangled together.

Then Ashley spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.

"The thing is... Lucas told me something else. Right before everything went to hell."

Karissa and Emmet both stilled.

Ashley hesitated, like he wasn't sure if he should say it. Then he finally whispered,

"He said that if something happened to him, it wouldn't be an accident."

Karissa's breath caught.

Emmet's expression darkened. "You mean—"

Ashley nodded slowly. His hands were trembling as he gripped his pencil. "Lucas knew he was going to die."

Gwen sat in the cold chair, arms crossed, trying her best to look unbothered. The interrogation room was exactly what she'd expected—dim lighting, a plain table, and two detectives sitting across from her like they had all the time in the world.

"You know why you're here, Gwen." Reed's voice was calm, almost rehearsed.

She leaned back. "Yeah, I got lost on my way to math class, and suddenly, here I am." She gestured around the room. "Your hospitality could use some work."

Allen gave her a flat look. "You're not funny."

Gwen raised a brow. "That's subjective."

Reed exhaled. "Look, we know you were close to Lucas's family."

Gwen let out a short, humorless laugh. "Close? That's a stretch." She tilted her head. "They liked to pretend they were perfect. Perfect house, perfect smiles, perfect son. But that was just for show. You don't know what it's like being in that house."

Allen leaned forward. "Then tell us."

Gwen hesitated. She shouldn't have said that. She was running her mouth too much.

"They were just... intense," she said vaguely. "Pressure to be perfect all the time. Lucas played along because he had to."

Reed studied her. "And you? You didn't play along?"

"I never wanted to be part of their show."

Allen tapped his pen again. "That doesn't mean you didn't see things."

Gwen scoffed. "If you're looking for some big scandal, sorry to disappoint. The worst thing I saw was them flipping out over a B on a report card."

That was a lie, but she wasn't about to tell them that.

Reed's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't press. Instead, he leaned back, shifting gears. "Tell us about Lucas."

Gwen shrugged. "You already know everything, don't you? Star athlete, golden boy, everyone loved him."

Allen cut in. "What about what people didn't know?"

Her fingers drummed against her thigh. "I don't know. He had secrets, I guess."

Reed's gaze sharpened. "Like what?"

Gwen huffed. "I don't know. I—"

And then she slipped.

"Maybe something to do with the drugs, but—"

Shit.

The second the words left her mouth, she froze. Allen's pen stopped tapping.

Reed straightened. "What did you just say?"

Gwen clenched her jaw.

Damn it.

"I didn't—"

"You said drugs." Allen's voice was cool, but there was something predatory in the way he watched her. "What drugs, Gwen?"

She swallowed hard. "I don't—"

"You wouldn't have mentioned it if you didn't know something."

Gwen muttered a curse under her breath.

She had not meant to say that.

The detectives waited.

She could lie. Say she just heard rumors. But would that even help at this point?

Her mind raced.

Then she let out a sharp breath and muttered, "It's The Watcher."

Reed and Allen exchanged a look.

Allen folded his arms. "The Watcher?"

Gwen licked her lips. She was in too deep now.

She might as well tell them.

"The Watcher has been sending messages. They know everything. Stuff that no one should know."

Allen frowned. "And you think they know something about the drugs?"

"They've been dropping hints," Gwen said. "Connecting things."

Reed's expression darkened. "And you didn't think to tell us this sooner?"

"Oh, sure," Gwen shot back. "Because I love getting cryptic threats from some all-knowing stalker and thought, Hey, let's get the cops involved."

Reed's jaw tightened.

Gwen sighed. "Look. The Watcher is dangerous. They know things they shouldn't. And if they're bringing up the drugs..." She hesitated. "Then Lucas might have been into something way worse than we thought."

Silence stretched between them.

Then Allen leaned forward. "Tell us everything you know."

EJONA SPEAKS !!

Oops well shes the first to break but hey at least now the police will find who the watcher is? (police sucks in these fics)

THOUGHTS??