The next morning, Ridgewood International felt like a battlefield. Every glance from a student, every hushed conversation, carried a weight Maya hadn't noticed before. She moved through the halls with Liam close by, his presence a shield she didn't realize she needed until now.
By mid-morning, the first opportunity presented itself. During history class, a group of Vanessa's friends whispered loudly enough for the nearby students to overhear, mocking Maya's recent "failures." Their words were careful, calculated, meant to provoke.
Maya felt a flicker of panic, but Liam's hand brushed hers under the desk, grounding her.
Not this time, he mouthed.
When the bell rang, Maya followed him to the courtyard, away from prying eyes.
"They think intimidation will work," Liam said quietly. "We're going to make them see the consequences instead."
"What do you mean?" Maya asked, though she had a sense of what he planned.
He opened his laptop. "We start with proof. Evidence of who helped Vanessa spread lies, manipulated files, and planted the drive."
Maya leaned in, scanning the information he had already collected. It was meticulous. Names, timestamps, cross-references with access logs, and the patterns of digital footprints.
"This… this will work?" she asked, hope and doubt warring in her chest.
"Yes," Liam said firmly. "We expose the weak links first. Those who cracked under pressure or were careless. They'll crumble, and the network will unravel."
Maya nodded. "And the video?"
"We use it as leverage," Liam replied. "We don't confront it directly. We make them defend it, explain it, justify it. The cracks will show themselves."
By lunchtime, they were ready. Liam had gathered the first piece of evidence—a text message chain between Brielle and one of Vanessa's close allies, showing coordination in the leaks.
Maya felt her stomach twist. "This… this is enough to start?"
"Yes," Liam said, eyes dark and focused. "Watch and learn. Timing is everything."
They slipped the printed screenshots into Brielle's locker while she was at lunch, leaving them where they would be discovered but without an obvious trace.
By the end of the day, whispers spread faster than wildfire. Brielle was questioned by teachers, her face pale and panicked. Vanessa's allies glanced nervously at one another, the first seeds of doubt planted.
Maya watched from the sidelines, her pulse racing. It was one thing to react to attacks. It was another to take control, to force the other side to defend themselves.
Liam's hand found hers again. "This is just the beginning," he said, eyes gleaming. "And we're winning the first round."
Maya's lips curved into a determined smile. Fear had not disappeared, but it had shifted into something else: power.
And as the sun dipped low over Ridgewood's campus, she realized something thrilling and terrifying.
The hunters had become the hunted.
And they were ready.