The difference between secrets and lies is that lies hide you.
Secrets bury you.
Sonia stood still by the tall East Tower window, her breath fogging the glass as she watched Eric Blackbourne disappear behind the hedge and slip into the back wing of the faculty archives.
There were two rules at Daxton.
One: Don't get caught.
Two: If you do, don't drag anyone else down with you.
And Eric? He didn't seem like the type to break rules without a reason.
She grabbed her hoodie, shoved her notebook into her bag, and slipped into the hallway. No sound. No footsteps. Just the soft thump of her heart in her ears as she crept past dorm monitors and cameras she'd already mapped out.
---
The archive wing was colder. Quieter.
The kind of quiet that made you feel like you were already in trouble.
Sonia found the side door slightly ajar, a sliver of warm yellow light cutting through the dark. She slipped in silently, her fingers grazing the wall.
Down the hallway, a door clicked shut.
Then footsteps.
She ducked behind a statue of Headmaster Quill's great-great-grandfather...Sir Edwin Quill III. The man looked just as judgmental in stone as he did in the textbooks.
Eric's silhouette passed under the hanging lanterns, heading toward the restricted archives.
Sonia's fingers tightened on the strap of her bag.
What are you doing, Blackbourne?
And why do you move like you've done this before?
---
Eric stopped in front of a steel door and tapped in a code.
Click.
The door creaked open, and he disappeared inside.
Sonia waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
She moved.
Just as the door began to close behind him, she slipped in—barely a shadow behind his.
---
The room smelled of dust, ink, and old firewood.
Rows of shelves lined the walls, stacked with leather-bound records, student files, maps, and a few things that looked like they belonged in a museum more than a school.
Eric didn't notice her at first. He walked to the back of the room, pulled out a thick folder, and laid it on the desk under a cone of warm light.
Sonia crept closer.
Then his voice broke the silence.
"You're not exactly subtle, Vale."
She froze mid-step.
"You've been following me since the hedge," he added, not turning. "You walk too quietly for a guy who used to stomp like a soldier."
Sonia straightened. No point pretending now.
"Then why didn't you stop me?"
Eric finally turned to face her.
His expression wasn't angry. It was tired. Resigned. A little impressed, maybe.
"Because I wanted to see how far you'd go."
Sonia crossed her arms. "And what exactly are you doing sneaking around a restricted building?"
He held up the file in his hand. "Trying to figure out who's lying to us."
"About what?"
"About your death."
The room fell into a sharp, stunned silence.
Eric tossed the folder toward her. It slid across the desk and stopped in front of her.
Her hands didn't move, but her voice did.
"You think I faked it?"
"I don't think you're Silas," he said calmly. "But I think he's still alive."
Sonia's stomach flipped.
She was used to bluffing, but this wasn't bluffing. This was a guess that had landed too close to the truth.
"That's a heavy theory," she said.
"It's Daxton," Eric replied. "Nothing's ever light here."
She hesitated, then picked up the folder.
Inside were photos.
Surveillance stills from the day Silas "died." A figure cloaked, moving too fast to be clear but definitely not alone.
"This one," Eric pointed, "was taken four minutes before the crash. The timestamp proves it."
Sonia stared at it.
Her fingers trembled, just a little.
"Why are you looking into this?" she asked.
"Because no one else is," Eric said simply. "Because I knew Silas. He didn't die like that. He wouldn't."
"You cared about him?"
He met her eyes.
"I owed him."
The words felt heavier than they should've. Like they carried a secret she didn't understand yet.
"He told me once," Eric continued, "that if anything happened to him, it wouldn't be an accident. And that if I found out too late... I should protect whoever took his place."
Her mouth went dry.
Her brother had planned for this. Trusted Eric of all people to step in.
And Eric didn't even realize he was already doing it.
---
She turned to go. Her head was spinning.
Eric called after her.
"Vale."
She paused in the doorway.
"Who are you really?"
Her breath caught.
"Someone who knows how to keep a secret."
---
Back in her dorm, Sonia opened her notebook to the page with Silas's list of names.
One had been lightly scribbled out.
She rubbed the edge of the paper.
Underneath the faded ink, just visible now...Eric Blackbourne.
It was crossed out, then circled again. Twice.