The morning after the break-in, the sun rose on broken glass.
Vanessa stood outside The Quiet Room, staring at the charred remains of the mural. The phoenix that once symbolized healing had been burned, a smear of black soot across cracked paint.
Jude arrived moments later, breath heavy, eyes wide with disbelief.
"They came at night," he said. "Security cameras were disabled. Whoever it was knew what they were doing."
Vanessa clenched her fists. "They wanted to erase us."
Jude gently placed his hand on her back. "Then we paint again. Bigger this time."
She nodded, tears silently sliding down her cheek. "Let's give them something they'll never burn."
---
Adrian and Isabel arrived an hour later.
Isabel moved through the wreckage like a storm held still. She stopped at the torn resource board, picking up a flyer that had been partially scorched.
She turned to Harper, who stood with a police officer nearby.
"Do they have suspects?"
Harper nodded grimly. "There were fingerprints. And one name keeps coming up."
Isabel braced herself.
"Daniel," Harper said.
Adrian's jaw tightened. "But he's in custody."
"Out on bail," Harper replied. "We didn't even know until this morning. Some wealthy distant cousin posted it. He's disappeared since."
A chill wrapped around Isabel's spine.
---
That night, Adrian insisted they stay at a secure hotel. Isabel tried to stay calm, but her mind raced with every sound. Every shadow.
She finally fell asleep in his arms, his breath steady against her ear.
But at 3:13 a.m., her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number:
"You think this is over? I haven't even started."
Isabel sat up, heart pounding. She showed Adrian.
He sprang into action—calling the police, the building's security, Harper.
But nothing prepared them for what came next.
---
The next afternoon, as Vanessa worked inside The Quiet Room, Jude ran in breathless.
"He's here."
She looked up, confused. "Who?"
"Daniel. He was spotted near the campus center, talking to a group of students. Disguised, but someone recognized him."
Vanessa's blood ran cold. "Is Isabel—?"
"She's with Adrian. Security's been dispatched. But we need to move."
---
Meanwhile, Adrian had taken Isabel to the administrative wing, where extra officers had been stationed. But as they turned a corner, the hallway fell silent.
Too silent.
And then—a voice.
"Well. Looks like we're all here."
Daniel stepped from a doorway, a crooked smile on his face, one hand inside his coat.
"Don't move," Adrian said sharply, stepping in front of Isabel.
Daniel laughed. "Still playing the hero? You took what was mine, and you think this ends with a wedding?"
Isabel's voice was calm, but deadly. "I was never yours."
He raised his hand—and in it, a small blade.
"Back up!" Adrian shouted, holding out his arm.
But before Daniel could step forward, a figure rushed from behind—Jude.
He tackled Daniel to the ground, the blade clattering across the tiles. Officers swarmed seconds later.
Daniel fought, screamed, spit threats. But it was over.
---
At the hospital, Jude lay in a bed, stitches across his shoulder where the blade had grazed him.
"I'm fine," he grunted. "Just a dramatic scratch."
Vanessa held his hand. "You're ridiculous. But I'm glad you're okay."
He looked at her seriously. "I couldn't let him take anything else from any of you."
Isabel entered the room with Adrian.
"Daniel's in custody," she said. "No more bail. No more freedom. They found more messages. More threats. Enough to lock him away for good."
Jude sighed. "Finally."
They all sat quietly for a moment.
Then Vanessa stood. "We're repainting the mural tomorrow."
Isabel smiled. "We'll all be there."