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CHAPTER SEVEN – The Wolf Inside the Crown
Crestwood had a way of protecting its kings.
But Emily Hale? She wasn't here to be royal.
She was here to drag the crown into the mud — and make sure everyone bled for it.
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The library was silent except for the hum of her laptop.
Emily sat tucked between the old law section and a dusty globe, eyes scanning code lines and back-end databases.
She wasn't just leaking information now.
She was building something.
A digital file tree. One that linked every legacy student to the scholarship funds they stole, the grades they bought, and the people they ruined.
She called it The Wolf File.
Because when the lambs scream, no one listens.
But when the wolves howl — everyone runs.
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Across campus, Luke was being summoned.
A private meeting. No agenda. Just one location:
The President's House.
He didn't bring Emily. He didn't tell her.
Inside, the room was cold — not from temperature, but tension.
President Caldwell stood behind his desk. His gold watch glinted with the same arrogance that lined every inch of Crestwood's walls.
"You've been busy," his father said.
Luke didn't speak.
"Leaking files. Protecting her."
Luke's jaw clenched. "She didn't do this alone."
"No. But she's the one they'll burn."
President Caldwell circled his son like a lion sizing up a wounded cub.
"You need to decide, Luke — are you going to inherit this legacy… or throw it away for some girl with a vendetta?"
Luke stayed still. "I'd rather burn than become you."
The silence was heavy. Until the President said quietly:
"Then you'll burn alone."
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Emily was waiting outside Luke's suite when he returned.
"You didn't answer your phone," she said.
He looked at her like he wanted to say everything and nothing.
"My father knows," he said. "About everything."
Emily didn't blink. "Good."
"No," he said, voice breaking. "He's planning something. I don't know what."
She stepped closer. "Then we hit first."
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That night, Emily slipped into the Crestwood servers.
It wasn't hard — not anymore. Not after everything she'd learned.
She uploaded The Wolf File to a private site.
Encrypted. Timed. Set to release in seven days.
No turning back.
She left a note in the code, not for the board, not for the press — but for the students.
> "Your silence built this kingdom. Now scream loud enough to bring it down."
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The next day, she was summoned.
Room 4B. Judicial Council.
Brielle sat at the center of the table, smiling like a saint dressed for a funeral.
Luke wasn't there.
But Caleb — Luke's best friend and the head of the Crestwood Honor Committee — was.
"Emily Hale," he began, "you are being investigated for academic fraud, harassment, and network tampering."
Emily tilted her head. "You mean, for exposing the truth?"
"Do you deny hacking Crestwood servers?"
"I didn't hack. I accessed."
"And the difference?"
"I didn't break in. You left the doors wide open."
Gasps. Murmurs. But Caleb's face didn't change.
"You'll be suspended until the investigation is complete."
Emily smiled coldly. "I'll be famous before then."
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Luke found her later on the lawn.
She was sitting alone under the old willow, legs stretched out, watching birds tear at crumbs someone left behind.
"They've suspended you," he said.
"I heard."
"I tried to stop them."
She looked at him then, eyes burning.
"You didn't show up."
His jaw clenched. "If I had, they'd have blamed it all on me too."
"Maybe they should."
Luke knelt beside her. "I'm not your enemy, Emily."
She whispered, "Then why does it feel like I'm fighting alone?"
He didn't answer.
So she stood, walked away, and didn't look back.
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But that night, she received a text.
> Unknown Number: "You think you've exposed us. You've only peeled the first layer. Back off or your father's name won't be the only thing we bury."
Attached:
A photo of her younger brother — walking out of school. Smiling. Innocent.
Emily's blood froze.
---
Luke was waiting at her dorm when she rushed back.
She didn't speak. Just handed him the phone.
He read the message. His face darkened.
"They're threatening your family now."
Emily nodded. "We're past warnings. This is war."
Luke stepped forward. "Then let's fight."
Together.
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