Chapter 94: Mysterious Elias sat in the library the next morning, his notebook open but his mind racing through everything the figure had told him. He needed to talk to students who knew Bella, who had witnessed what happened before she was sent to the forest. The dining hall incident was the perfect starting point. He spotted a younger girl sitting alone near the windows, one of the second years. Her name was Sophie, and she looked nervous even now, fidgeting with her breakfast toast. Elias approached casually, sliding into the seat across from her. "Hey. You’re Sophie, right?" She looked up, startled. "Yes. Do I know you?" "Not really. I’m Elias. I’m in fourth year." He kept his tone friendly, non threatening. "I heard there was some drama in the dining hall some weeks ago. Something about Bella Rivers?" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?" "There was some sort of fight between Bella and a couple of girls in her dormitory." Then Sophie’s eyes widened in their sockets as realisation dawned on her. "You heard about that?" "Everyone heard about it. Four girls ganging up on one? That’s not something a story that can be contained," he chuckled. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 Sophie glanced around nervously, then leaned closer. "It was horrible. Jasmine slapped her right across the face. Everyone saw it." "Why did they attack her?" "Because of the portrait. Luca drew a portrait of Bella and everyone figured out it was her. The girls who like Luca, they were furious. Especially Leina and Jasmine." Elias made a mental note. "Jasmine? I thought she was Bella’s friend." "She is. But I guess she got tired of Bella getting all the attention from Luca. She was standing right there with Leina and the others, saying terrible things." "What kind of things?" Sophie bit her lip. "She called Bella a manipulator. Said she was pretending to be weak and confused to get the boys to notice her. It was really mean." Elias wrote this down, careful to keep his expression neutral. "What happened during the fight? Did Bella fight back?" Sophie’s face changed, fear flickering across her features. "That’s the scary part. At first she tried to defend herself, but there were too many of them. They had her pinned against the wall. But then..." She trailed off. "Then what?" "She screamed. But it wasn’t a normal scream. It was like..." Sophie struggled for words. "Like an animal. And her hands, they started glowing silver. Just for a second, but I saw it. Other people saw it too." Elias felt a chill run down his spine. "Glowing silver?" "I know it sounds crazy. But I swear I saw it. And then Corrine showed up and broke up the fight." "Corrine? That’s her roommate right? But she’s always quiet." "That’s the weird part. Corrine threw Jasmine across the room like she weighed nothing. And she stood up for Bella like they were best friends, even though everyone knows Corrine doesn’t care about anyone." After Sophie left, Elias tracked down Bianca, one of the girls who had participated in the attack. She was sitting in the courtyard with two other students. "Bianca," Elias said, approaching her group. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Her friends immediately got up and left, clearly not wanting to be associated with whatever he had to say. Bianca crossed her arms defensively. "What do you want?" "I just want to understand what happened between you and Bella. Why did you and the others go after her?" "What do you mean go after her? Bella is in the forest and nothing about her concerns me." "No, Bianca. I’m talking about the day you and your group of girls attacked her in the dining. You remember? Because Luca drew a portrait." Biance inhaled sharply. "Because she deserved it, she’s been playing games with everyone since she got here." "What kind of games?" "Acting all innocent and lost, getting the boys to fall over themselves to help her. Luca especially. You should have seen the way he looks at her." "So you attacked her because you were jealous?" Bianca’s face flushed. "It wasn’t just jealousy. There’s something wrong with her. Something unnatural." Elias leaned forward. "What do you mean, unnatural?" Bianca looked around nervously. "During the fight, her hands glowed. Silver light, coming right from her skin. And the sound she made, it wasn’t human." "Maybe it was just the light reflecting off something." "No," Bianca said firmly. "I was right there. I saw it clearly. And I felt something too, like power radiating off her. It scared me so badly I let go of her arm." "Did anyone else see it?" "Sophie did. And maybe Leina. But we haven’t really talked about it since. Jasmine told us to keep quiet about that part." "Why?" Bianca’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Because if we tell anyone what we saw, they’ll think we’re crazy. Or worse, they’ll start asking questions about what Bella really is." After Bianca left, Elias knew he needed to talk to Jasmine. She had been Bella’s friend, had helped her during her first days at the school. If anyone knew Bella’s secrets, it would be her. He found Jasmine in the common room, sitting alone with a book she wasn’t reading. Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying. "Jasmine," Elias said gently, sitting down beside her. "Can we talk?" She looked at him, her expression guarded. "About what?" "About Bella." Jasmine’s face hardened. "I don’t want to talk about her." "Please. I’m trying to understand what happened." Jasmine was quiet for a long moment. Then she said bitterly, "You want to know about Bella? She’s my friend who’s buried deep in the forest now with all these strange things happening. I’m worried sick to my bones if she’ll survive!" "Someone told me you once thought she manipulates boys. How does she do that?" "What? What are you talking about?" I already spoke to Sophia and Bianca. They confirmed this. I just want to know why you think that. Her face hardened as she recalled the first few weeks of Bella schooling in Whitethorn. "She does that by acting helpless and confused. By making them think she needs protecting. Luca, Killian, Cassian, Rafe, they all fell for it. Even Corrine, who hates everyone, is suddenly her best friend." "But you were her friend too, weren’t you? You helped her when she first arrived." Jasmine’s eyes filled with tears. "I thought I was helping her. I showed her around, introduced her to people, tried to make her feel welcome. And how did she repay me? By stealing the one person I’ve cared about for years." "Luca." "Yes, Luca. Do you know how long I’ve waited for him to notice me? Three years. Three years of sitting near him in classes, trying to talk to him, hoping he’d see me. And then she shows up and within weeks he’s drawing portraits of her." "That’s not really her fault though." "Isn’t it?" Jasmine snapped. "She knew I liked him. I told her. And she still let him get close to her. She still spent time with him alone." Elias chose his words carefully. "What about her sneaking around at night? I heard she does that." Jasmine nodded. "All the time. She thinks I don’t notice, but I do. She leaves her room late at night and comes back before dawn. Sometimes she’s gone for hours." "Where does she go?" "I don’t know. But it’s not normal. And neither is she." Elias leaned closer. "What do you mean?" Jasmine hesitated, then said quietly, "There’s something different about her. The way she looks at people sometimes, like she can see right through them. And her eyes, they change color sometimes. Just slightly, but I’ve noticed." "Change color how?" "They get brighter. More silver. Especially when she’s upset or scared." Elias made notes of everything, his mind racing. Silver eyes, silver glow from her hands, an inhuman scream. Bella was definitely not an ordinary student. "One more thing," Elias said. "Why did Corrine intervene that day? You said she and Bella weren’t close." Jasmine’s expression darkened. "That’s what I can’t figure out. Corrine has been at this school for years and she’s never cared about anyone. But suddenly she’s fighting for Bella like they’re sisters. She must know something about Bella that the rest of us don’t." After his conversations, Elias compiled his findings in his notebook: 1. Bella has supernatural abilities (silver glow, enhanced strength, possibly changing eye color) 2. She has strong connections to Luca and the other boys who disappeared 3. She disappears frequently, especially at night 4. Corrine, who normally isolates herself, has become Bella’s fierce protector 5. Multiple students witnessed her abilities during the dining hall fight That evening, Elias returned to his room to find another note slipped under his door. His hands shook as he picked it up and read: "Bella Rivers is not your concern. The girls who attacked her learned their lesson. Don’t make us teach you yours." Elias stared at the note, his heart pounding. Someone knew he was investigating. Someone was watching him. But instead of backing off, the threat only made him more determined. He needed to know what these girls had learned that made them targets for warnings. He needed to know what they knew about Bella. Late that night, Elias waited until the dormitory was quiet. He’d made his decision. He was going to search the rooms of Bianca, Jasmine, and the other girls involved in the attack. If they knew something about Bella’s true nature, they might have evidence hidden in their belongings. He started with Jasmine’s room since he knew her schedule best. She had night study in the library until ten, which gave him at least an hour. Elias pulled out the lock picking tools he’d borrowed from the drama department’s prop box and carefully worked on Jasmine’s door. After three attempts, the lock clicked open. He slipped inside and closed the door quietly behind him. The room was neat, almost obsessively organized. Jasmine’s side was covered with photos and drawings, many of them featuring Luca. Elias searched through her desk drawers first. School papers, art supplies, letters from home. Nothing unusual. Then he checked under her mattress and found a journal. He flipped through it quickly, scanning entries about her daily life, her classes, her feelings about Luca. But one entry made him stop cold: "Bella’s eyes changed again today. Pure silver for just a moment when she thought no one was watching. I’m not imagining it. There’s something wrong with her. Something not human. I need to find out what she is before she hurts someone. Before she takes everything from me." Elias photographed the page with his phone, his hands shaking. He continued searching and found a folder tucked behind Jasmine’s textbooks. Inside were more notes, observations about Bella’s behavior, times she left the room at night, suspicious conversations she’d had. Jasmine had been documenting everything, building a case against Bella without telling anyone. Elias was so focused on the folder that he didn’t hear the footsteps in the corridor until they stopped right outside the door. His heart stopped. The door handle began to turn. Elias dove behind the wardrobe, pressing himself into the shadows just as the door opened. Someone stepped inside. Not Jasmine. The footsteps were heavier, more deliberate. Elias held his breath, watching through a gap in the wardrobe as a dark figure moved through the room, checking the desk, the bed, the very journal Elias had just been reading. The figure picked up the journal, flipped through it, and then placed it back exactly where it had been. Then the figure turned and looked directly at the wardrobe where Elias was hiding. Elias’s blood ran cold. A voice, low and dangerous, spoke into the darkness: "I know you’re there, Elias. And I know what you’ve been doing." The figure stepped closer. "The question is, are you brave enough to learn the truth? Or will you run like a coward when you finally understand what Bella Rivers really is?" Elias didn’t move, didn’t breathe. The figure waited for a moment longer, then turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind them. Elias stayed frozen behind the wardrobe for a full five minutes before his legs would work again. When he finally emerged, his hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold his notebook. Someone knew he was investigating. Someone had been watching him all along. And whoever it was, they wanted him to continue digging. The question was why.