For a moment, no one breathed.

  Detective Harris slowly turned toward me while Officer Park's flashlight drifted from Daniel in the vent to my face. Madison stared like she had just seen a ghost.

  Only Daniel Reyes looked pleased.

  His smile widened as the silence stretched.

  "See?" he said softly from the duct. "This is the part where everything gets interesting."

  Harris spoke first, his voice calm now—too calm.

  "Ethan."

  "Yes."

  "Were you here that night?"

  I didn't answer immediately. Not because I didn't know what to say, but because I wanted to see how long Daniel could hold that smile.

  Park stepped closer.

  "Ethan," she said quietly, "we need the truth."

  Daniel laughed softly above us.

  "Oh, he's good at the truth."

  "Is that right?" Harris asked.

  Daniel nodded.

  "He tells pieces of it."

  "Then help us," Park said. "What happened that night?"

  Daniel shifted in the duct, lowering himself a little farther out so we could see him clearly. His clothes were dusty from crawling through the ventilation system, but his eyes were bright—excited, like someone who had been waiting months to tell a story.

  "January ninth," he said.

  "9:42 p.m."

  His phone camera pointed down at the room, recording everything.

  "I followed Lily."

  Madison whispered, "You were stalking her."

  Daniel shrugged.

  "I prefer the word observing."

  Park said firmly, "Continue."

  Daniel nodded.

  "I saw Olivia bring Lily through the tunnel."

  Harris glanced toward the fence.

  "The Death Tunnel."

  "Yes."

  Daniel's eyes flicked toward Madison.

  "Emma and Madison were already waiting inside."

  Madison's voice trembled.

  "You weren't supposed to see that."

  Daniel laughed.

  "That's the problem with secrets."

  He lifted his phone slightly.

  "Cameras exist."

  Park asked, "Why didn't you stop them?"

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Daniel's smile faded slightly.

  "I tried."

  "What happened?"

  "They locked the door."

  The words echoed in the locker room.

  Just like the earlier message.

  Who locked the door?

  Daniel continued.

  "I started filming through the vent."

  "Why the vent?" Harris asked.

  "Because I couldn't get inside."

  Park frowned.

  "You were in the duct the whole time?"

  Daniel nodded.

  "Watching."

  My pulse slowed slightly.

  Because now the shadow in the video made sense.

  Park said carefully, "But Ethan—"

  Daniel interrupted her.

  "Oh, Ethan wasn't in the vent."

  Harris's eyes narrowed.

  "Then where was he?"

  Daniel looked directly at me.

  "In the hallway."

  Madison gasped.

  "That's impossible!"

  Daniel shook his head.

  "No."

  Then he looked back at the detectives.

  "I saw him."

  Harris turned slowly toward me again.

  "Is that true?"

  I exhaled quietly.

  "Yes."

  Madison jumped to her feet.

  "You were there?!"

  Park raised a hand.

  "Everyone stay calm."

  Harris's voice remained steady.

  "Ethan, explain."

  So I did.

  "I heard the screaming."

  Madison stared at me.

  "You're lying."

  "No."

  Harris asked, "Where were you before that?"

  "Working."

  "Then why were you at school?"

  I looked toward the locker room door.

  "Because Olivia texted me."

  Park nodded slightly.

  "The burner phone."

  "Yes."

  "What did the message say?"

  I remembered the words clearly.

  Come to the gym. Now.

  Harris said, "So you came."

  "Yes."

  "And then?"

  "I heard Lily screaming."

  Park asked quietly, "Why didn't you call the police?"

  "Because the door was already locked."

  Daniel nodded eagerly above us.

  "That part is true."

  Harris's eyes flicked upward.

  "Let him finish."

  I continued.

  "I tried to open the door."

  "Couldn't?"

  "No."

  "So you left."

  "No."

  The locker room fell silent again.

  Harris asked carefully, "What did you do?"

  I looked at Madison.

  "You remember."

  Her face went pale.

  "No."

  "Yes."

  Park leaned forward slightly.

  "What happened?"

  "I grabbed Madison."

  Madison screamed.

  "That's not what happened!"

  "Yes it is."

  Harris stepped between us.

  "Both of you stop."

  Then he turned back to me.

  "Continue."

  I spoke slowly.

  "When I heard Lily scream, I ran to the locker room door."

  "And?"

  "It was chained."

  "From the outside?"

  "Yes."

  "Who chained it?"

  I looked directly at Madison.

  "She did."

  Madison shook her head violently.

  "No!"

  Daniel laughed above us.

  "Oh, that part's my favorite."

  Harris's voice hardened.

  "Madison."

  She started crying again.

  "I didn't mean to—"

  Park said softly,

  "Tell us."

  Madison's voice broke.

  "Olivia told me to."

  Silence fell again.

  "She said Lily was lying about us," Madison whispered. "She said Lily was going to ruin everything."

  "And?"

  "She told me to stand outside and make sure no one came in."

  Harris asked quietly,

  "So you chained the door."

  Madison nodded weakly.

  "I thought they were just scaring her."

  "And when she started screaming?"

  Madison covered her face.

  "I froze."

  Park asked,

  "What about Ethan?"

  Madison's voice trembled.

  "He grabbed me."

  I nodded.

  "Yes."

  Harris said slowly,

  "You were trying to open the door."

  "Yes."

  "But the chain was locked."

  "Yes."

  "And Lily..."

  I finished the sentence.

  "...was already dying."

  The room felt colder.

  Daniel spoke softly from the vent.

  "And that's when the game really started."

  Park looked up.

  "What do you mean?"

  Daniel smiled again.

  "Because after Lily stopped screaming..."

  "...Olivia came out."

  Madison started shaking.

  "No."

  "Yes," Daniel said.

  "She opened the door."

  Harris frowned.

  "But the chain—"

  Daniel pointed at Madison.

  "She unlocked it."

  Madison's voice collapsed into a whisper.

  "I didn't know what they did."

  Park asked quietly,

  "What did Olivia say?"

  Daniel's smile grew wider.

  "She looked at Ethan."

  "And?"

  "And she said..."

  He paused deliberately.

  Then finished the sentence.

  "Now you're part of it too."

  The locker room went completely silent.

  Because that sentence meant something simple.

  If Ethan had been there...

  If he had tried to open the door...

  Then he had seen what happened after.

  Harris spoke slowly.

  "Ethan."

  "Yes."

  "What happened after Olivia came out?"

  I looked at the floor.

  Then at the place where Lily had sat.

  Finally I answered.

  "She laughed."

  Madison sobbed.

  Daniel whispered excitedly,

  "Tell them the rest."

  So I did.

  "She said we were all players now."

  Park asked,

  "What players?"

  I met her eyes.

  "In Olivia's game."

  Harris said quietly,

  "And the rule?"

  I remembered it clearly.

  Because Olivia had been smiling when she said it.

  "The last player tells the story."

  Daniel laughed.

  "Yes."

  Then he climbed the rest of the way out of the duct and dropped to the floor. The detectives stepped forward instantly, but Daniel didn't run.

  Instead he raised his phone.

  Still recording.

  And said softly:

  "So the real question isn't who killed Lily."

  Harris frowned.

  "Then what is it?"

  Daniel's grin returned.

  "Who started the game first."

  He looked directly at me.

  "And that answer..."

  "...is Ethan."