SCARLETT POV
"We need to find whoever took that photo," I say, already moving toward the fire escape.
"Scarlett, wait—" Adrian grabs my arm, pulling me back. "That's exactly what they want. For us to panic. To make mistakes."
"They have a photo that makes you look like a predator and me look like a stupid girl who can't stay away from her professor!" My voice rises. "Monday morning, everyone will see it. Your career is over. My scholarship is over. We don't have time to be careful!"
"Which is why we need to think." Adrian's voice is calm, but I can see the fear in his eyes. "Whoever this Puppet Master is, they're smart. They planned this. The texts. The timing. Getting us both here. They knew we'd figure it out and they were ready with that photo."
Maya's been quiet, staring at her phone. Now she looks up, face pale. "Guys. It gets worse."
She shows us her screen. A new text from an unknown number: "Maya Rodriguez. Photography major. Scholarship student. Currently on academic probation for that little incident with Professor Harrison's camera. Would be a shame if someone told the dean you helped your best friend sneak into a professor's hotel room. Accidents happen when people interfere. Stay out of this."
"They're threatening you too," I whisper.
"How do they know about Harrison?" Maya's hands shake. "That was handled privately. Only three people knew—me, Harrison, and the dean."
Adrian's jaw tightens. "This person has access. To university records. To private information. They're either faculty, administration, or—"
"Or they hacked the system," I finish. My mind is racing. "This isn't random. They chose us specifically. But why? What do we have in common?"
"Besides being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Maya mutters.
I shake my head. "No. There's something else. Adrian, when did you sign your contract to teach at Ashford?"
"Three months ago. Why?"
"Tyler started acting weird three months ago." The pieces click together in my mind. "He got more distant. Started picking fights over nothing. He never did that before. What if someone was pushing him toward Jennifer? Setting up the affair?"
"That's conspiracy theory territory," Maya says, but she doesn't sound convinced.
Adrian's looking at me with something like respect. "You think someone's been planning this since I agreed to teach there."
"I think someone wants us together," I say slowly. "But not in a romantic way. In a destructive way. They want to ruin both of us."
"Why not just release the photo now?" Adrian challenges. "Why wait until Monday?"
"Because they want us to make a choice." The answer comes to me like ice water. "The text said we have to decide—pretend tonight never happened, or acknowledge the connection. They're giving us the weekend to agonize over it. To make ourselves crazy. And whatever we choose, they win."
Silence falls over our alley. Somewhere above us, that camera could still be watching.
"We go to the police," Maya says firmly. "Right now."
"With what evidence?" Adrian counters. "Anonymous texts that could be from burner phones? A power outage that the hotel will say was a malfunction? A photo that makes me look guilty as hell?"
"So we do nothing?" I can't keep the frustration from my voice.
"No. We play smarter." Adrian looks at me. "This Puppet Master wants a reaction. Wants us scared and sloppy. We don't give them that. Monday morning, we walk into that classroom and act like professionals. You're a student. I'm your professor. Nothing more."
"Except we know someone's watching."
"Exactly. So we give them nothing to work with." His eyes hold mine. "Can you do that? Sit in my class and pretend tonight never happened?"
Every part of me wants to say yes. Wants to be the good girl who follows the rules, who doesn't make waves. But that girl got her heart destroyed tonight.
"I can do better than that," I say. "I can help you find out who this is."
"Absolutely not." Adrian's voice goes hard. "You're a student. My student. Getting involved with me further is exactly what they want."
"I'm involved whether you like it or not!" I step closer to him, anger burning through my fear. "Someone stalked me. Manipulated my relationship. Sent me to that bar knowing you'd be there. I'm not walking away because you want to protect me. I want answers."
"Scarlett—"
"Plus, I'm good at research. Really good. I can find things people want hidden." I cross my arms. "You can either work with me, or I'll do it alone and probably screw up both our lives faster."
Maya snorts. "She's not kidding. When our RA stole from the dorm fundraiser, Scarlett tracked the money through six dummy accounts in three days. The girl's a bloodhound."
Adrian looks between us, clearly torn. Finally, he sighs. "Fine. But we set boundaries. No meeting alone. No private communication. Everything goes through Maya as a buffer. And if this gets too dangerous, you walk away. Deal?"
"Deal."
My phone buzzes. So does Adrian's. So does Maya's.
All the same message: "How touching. A team. But you're forgetting something important. I don't play fair. And I always have insurance. Check your email, Scarlett."
My stomach drops as I open my email app. There's a message from an unknown sender. No subject line. Just an attachment.
I click it.
It's a video. Grainy security footage from tonight. Outside Tyler's apartment.
The timestamp shows 6:47 PM—right before I walked in and found him with Jennifer.
In the video, I can see someone approaching Tyler's door. A woman in a hoodie, face hidden. She knocks. Tyler answers, and they talk for a moment. I can't hear what they're saying, but then the woman hands him something—a small bag or envelope.
Tyler looks at it, then nods. The woman leaves.
Five minutes later, on the timestamp, I see myself arrive with the cake.
"They paid him," I breathe. "Someone paid Tyler to make sure I'd catch him tonight."
Adrian's watching over my shoulder, his face grim. "This was all planned. Every single piece."
The video continues. After I run out, crying, the same hooded woman returns. This time she films Tyler and Jennifer through the window. Getting evidence? Or just watching her work?
Then the woman turns toward the camera. For just a second, the hood slips.
I see dark hair. Red lipstick. And a smile that makes my blood run cold.
But the face is blurred—pixelated just enough that I can't make out features. Deliberately obscured.
A new text comes through: "Recognize her? You will. Soon. She's closer than you think. Sleep tight, Scarlett. Monday's coming. And so am I."
"She?" Adrian reads over my shoulder. "The Puppet Master is a woman?"
"Or wants us to think that," Maya says.
My mind is spinning. A woman who knew about Tyler. Who knew about Adrian. Who has access to university records and security footage. Who's been planning this for months.
"Vanessa," I whisper. "Your ex. She's back in town. She destroyed your career once—"
"She didn't know I'd be teaching at Ashford." But Adrian's voice lacks conviction. "I took the job specifically because she was supposed to be in Europe for a year. The timing of her exhibition announcement was—"
"Convenient?" I finish.
We stare at each other as the horrible possibility settles over us. What if Vanessa Chen orchestrated all of this? What if Adrian's ex-fiancée is the Puppet Master, and this is all some twisted revenge plot?
"We need more information," Adrian says. "About Vanessa. About who knew I'd be teaching. About—"
His phone rings. Not a text this time. An actual call from an unknown number.
We all freeze.
"Don't answer it," Maya whispers.
Adrian answers it. Puts it on speaker.
A woman's voice, distorted by a voice changer, fills the alley: "Hello, Professor Cross. Miss Hayes. I hope you enjoyed tonight's opening act. Consider it a preview of what's to come. You have sixty hours until Monday morning. Sixty hours to decide—will you fight me? Or will you fall apart like the broken things you are? Choose wisely. Because I already know how this ends."
"Who are you?" Adrian demands. "What do you want?"
Laughter. Cold and mechanical through the distortion. "I want to watch you burn, Adrian. Just like you watched me burn five years ago. And Scarlett? Sweet, perfect Scarlett? You're just collateral damage. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong professor. But don't worry—your pain serves a purpose. It makes his so much worse."
The line goes dead.
We stand in stunned silence.
"This is about you," I say quietly to Adrian. "I really am just collateral damage."
"Scarlett—"
"It's Vanessa. It has to be." I feel numb. "She's using me to hurt you."
"Then we stop her." Adrian's voice is fierce. "We figure out her plan and we stop her."
"In sixty hours?" Maya shakes her head. "That's impossible."
My phone buzzes one more time. I almost don't want to look.
But I do.
A photo. Recent, from tonight. Of me and Adrian in the bar, taken from a high angle. We're looking at each other, and the expression on his face...
It's not the expression of a professor looking at a student.
It's the expression of a man looking at a woman he wants.
Below the photo, one final message: "P.S. — The connection is already there. I didn't create it. I just lit the match. Now let's watch you both burn."
I look up at Adrian, and I see my own fear reflected in his eyes.
Because the Puppet Master is right.
Something did spark between us tonight. Something dangerous and wrong and absolutely forbidden.
And now someone's going to use it to destroy us both.