Her Trace

My hands were slightly trembling, thrilled, as I reached for the mouse. I can't wait any longer to find out what was on Jared's phone. I clicked the file 'TERRORISM' and numerous folders and a few saved emails were displayed.

I go through every one of them.

Heh.

So that was your plan, huh, mayor?

My hands were cold, but my mind was active. My stomach twisted so I leaned back in my chair, staring at the words on the screen. The mayor and the school president planned to lockdown the school to find one person. What?

Then I felt the twist again and my head began hurting.

I scrolled through the emails again, ignoring what I'm feeling, reading between the lines. There were mentions of "monitoring" and "tracking," and one phrase stood out:

"The faculty was ruled out. The students remain our best lead. The one we seek has no history here. They are foreign."

What a stupid plan.

And the school president actually agreed to it.

Ridiculous.

But, foreign?

My pulse quickened. My head hurts even more. Fuck

They weren't talking about some random transfer student. They were looking for someone with no history in this town. Someone who appeared out of nowhere. Someone who didn't belong.

According to the emails, the mayor and the school president had spent months narrowing down their search. They knew their target had no history in town, no deep roots. That meant transfers, exchange students, teachers, or anyone whose past couldn't be fully verified. However they weren't able to trace it down.

But with over more than 7,000 students, they needed a way to break their suspects.

And that's where the torture came in.

Psychological. Physical. Isolation.

You've gotta be kidding me.

They planned to start with the most suspicious students interrogations disguised as "security screenings." The Student Council's auditor, and the school president's personal assistant were all in on it. Their job? To monitor, report, and select students for questioning.

The ones who will resist?

They'll never make it out the same.

Just like Jared.

But why go to such extreme lengths for a single person?

I flipped through the other emails, my eyes narrowing at the name I had seen over and over again—Gabriel Jañola.

The mayor's son.

A drug addict, a gambler, a known abuser. The town knew about his crimes but never dared to speak these aloud. He had power, protection.

But a year ago, he vanished.

Some thought he fled. Others believed he was taken out. But the mayor— the mayor thought he was kidnapped to be used against him in the next election.

And the mayor thought he knew exactly who was responsible.

This entire operation, the school lockdown, the interrogations—it was all about revenge.

The mayor wasn't looking for justice. He was looking for someone to suffer.

Jared tried to stop them, but he never had a chance.