> "Silence isn't peace.
It's the space where fear grows legs."
— Sade's Hidden Journal
---
🎭 Zuri Is Hiding Something
Sharon didn't ask immediately. She watched instead.
Zuri moved differently now — careful with her phone, quieter when Sharon walked in, and always deflecting when conversations came close to danger.
She even avoided Reina.
That morning, Sharon asked gently, "Still tired?"
Zuri looked up from her untouched cereal. "Yeah. Midterms."
But her eyes flicked toward the senior wing.
> Midterms don't make your hands shake, Sharon thought.
Threats do.
---
🧓 The Teacher Who Might Know
Sharon's only clue now was the name lost in that journal — and one person who might remember her:
Mrs. Adeyemi.
English Lit. Been at Crescent Grove over two decades. Quiet. Respected. Almost invisible.
That afternoon, Sharon waited behind after class.
"Mrs. Adeyemi," she said softly. "Can I ask you something... off the record?"
The teacher looked up slowly, as if already expecting it.
"If this is about your sister," she said, "I can't talk. I've already been warned."
"By who?"
A pause.
Then: "Let me show you something."
---
📂 The Photo That Shouldn't Exist
Mrs. Adeyemi slid open the lowest drawer of her desk and pulled out a plastic folder.
Inside: a photograph. Faded, yellowed at the edges.
Three students sat on a bench outside the observatory.
Sade.
A girl with braids and dark eyes.
And… Damian.
Younger. Smiling.
Sharon's fingers trembled.
"Who is she?" she asked.
Mrs. Adeyemi whispered, "Her name was Mara. Top of her class. Wrote about everything. Too much, maybe."
"Mara," Sharon repeated.
Ma...e...a...
The name in the journal. Mara.
"What happened to her?"
"She challenged the Circle," the teacher said. "Then she was gone. No expulsion. No records. Her parents were silent. We all were."
"Why are you showing me this?"
Mrs. Adeyemi met her eyes.
"Because I see the same fire in you. And I need you to know something."
"What?"
"You're not the first.
You may not be the last.
But you're the only one they haven't broken yet."
---
🕷️ Meanwhile, in the Girls' Bathroom…
Zuri stood by the sink, staring into the mirror.
A girl walked in. Senior. Unknown name.
She leaned in close and whispered:
> "You have one job: keep your roommate in line.
Or we'll find another way to shut her up."
Then she smiled.
And dropped a red queen chess piece into the sink before walking out.
Zuri didn't move.
Didn't cry.
Didn't breathe.
Just reached in slowly and picked up the wet piece, her hand shaking.
---
🔚 End of Chapter Sixteen
> The silence around Sharon was growing louder.
Red hands were everywhere.
And mouths stayed shut —
Not because they didn't want to speak.
But because they'd already paid the price.
---
🔜 Coming in Chapter Seventeen: Beneath Bianca's Mask
Sharon finally corners Bianca in private — and forces her to reveal what really happened to Mara.
Zuri receives an ultimatum that breaks her.
Reina makes a quiet power move.
And Sharon uncovers a password-protected flash drive… with Sade's initials carved into the metal