Maya stood outside the school records room, her heart pounding.
She shouldn't be here.
But she needed answers.
Carefully, she pushed the door open.
Inside, the room was quiet and dusty.
Rows of old files lined the shelves.
Her fingers trembled as she searched.
"R… Re… Reeves…"
Then—
She found it.
Daniel Reeves.
Maya pulled out the file and opened it.
Her eyes scanned the page.
Age. Class. Attendance…
Everything seemed normal.
Until she reached the last line.
Status: Missing
Her chest tightened.
Then suddenly—
Footsteps.
Maya froze.
Someone was outside.
Before she could react, the door opened.
"Maya?"
Her heart dropped.
Ethan stood there.
Looking at her.
Looking at the file.
And now—
There was no way to pretend anymore.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The air felt heavy.
"What are you doing here?" Ethan finally asked.
Maya closed the file slowly.
"I could ask you the same thing."
Ethan stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
That small action made Maya nervous.
Too enclosed.
Too close.
His eyes moved to the file in her hands.
"You shouldn't be looking at that."
Her grip tightened.
"Why not?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked closer.
Step by step.
"Maya," he said quietly, "you don't understand what you're getting into."
Her heart pounded.
"Then explain it to me."
Silence.
Then—
"That boy," Ethan said, his voice barely above a whisper, "Daniel… he didn't just disappear."
Maya felt a chill.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan looked directly into her eyes.
"He was involved in something."
Her breath caught.
"What kind of something?"
Ethan hesitated.
And that hesitation said everything.
Something dark.
Something dangerous.
Something he didn't want to say out loud.