**(Dora's POV – Two Weeks Before the Fall)**
The ledger pulsed like a second heartbeat in Dora's hands.
She'd found it inside Locker 47 after hours, its cracked leather binding whispering to her. Now, hunched in the dim glow of the library's emergency exit light, she traced the names scrawled across its pages—students from decades past, all forgotten. All *trapped*.
*"You're not supposed to have that."*
Tyler Knox loomed over her, his letterman jacket reeking of expensive cologne and something darker. His smile didn't reach his eyes.
*"Your family put it here,"* Dora accused, clutching the ledger tighter. *"You use it to hide the suicides. To keep the school's reputation clean."*
Tyler's laugh was a blade. *"Wrong. We don't *hide* them—we *trade* them. One soul stays bound to the ledger, and the rest get to move on like nothing happened."* He leaned in. *"Guess whose turn it is now?"*
---
**(Elle's POV – Present Day)**
Elle's fingers trembled as she pulled the ledger from Locker 47.
It was heavier than it looked, its pages thick with names—some faded, some fresh. At the very bottom, barely visible under layers of scratched-out ink:
**DORA NAVARRO**
Next to it, a new line pulsed wet and red, as if waiting:
**ELLE SANTIAGO**
*"Put it back."*
Callum stood in the doorway, his face ashen. Behind him, the hallway lights flickered.
*"It's already chosen you,"* he said. *"But you don't have to end up like her."*
A cold breath brushed Elle's neck.
Dora's voice, barely a whisper:
*"Too late."*