The Digital Ghost
As Jaden stood in the conservatory, his mother's voice faded into a dull roar. His mind was already miles away, racing through the school's network architecture. He knew the Ethics Committee's server was old, a legacy system that relied on an automated filter. If Marcus had sent something, it would hit the "pending" queue before being opened by the Dean at 8:00 AM the next morning.
"I understand, Mother," Jaden said, his voice a flat, hollow monotone. "I'll handle the ranking. I just need to... clear my head."
He didn't wait for her permission. He turned and walked out, his heart hammering against his ribs. He didn't go to his bedroom; he went to his private study and locked the door.
He opened his laptop not the one he used for school, but a customized rig with a blacked-out chassis. Within seconds, he was back in the world of JD-Zero. The violet glow of the screen reflected in his eyes as he bypassed the Sterling home firewall.
He didn't just need to intercept an email; he needed to erase Marcus's digital footprint.
The Midnight Breach
Across town, April was sitting at the counter of the Seven-Star, her eyes glued to the security monitor. The streets were quiet, but the air felt heavy. She had tried to text Jaden three times, but each message remained on "Read."
She didn't know that at that exact moment, Jaden was a ghost in the St. Jude's mainframe.
His fingers flew across the mechanical keyboard, the rhythmic clack-clack-clack sounding like a countdown. He found the server. He found the "Anonymous Tip" folder. And there it was, sitting like a ticking time bomb: [EVIDENCE OF ACADEMIC FRAUD: STERLING & MENDOZA].
Jaden's breath hitched. He opened the metadata. Marcus hadn't just found the logs; he had highlighted the exact moments Jaden had hesitated. It was a surgical strike.
Delete.
The prompt flashed on the screen: [Are you sure you want to permanently delete this file?]
Jaden's hand hovered over the 'Enter' key. If he deleted it, Marcus would know he had been hacked. It would confirm that Jaden was more than just a "perfect student"—it would prove he had the skills of a high-level infiltrator. He would be trading one secret for another.
But then he thought of April. He thought of her losing her scholarship, returning to the Old District with nothing but a ruined reputation because she had the misfortune of meeting him.
He slammed the key.
[FILE DELETED.]
But he didn't stop there. He knew Marcus would have a backup. He traced the IP address of the sender back to Marcus's home network. In a move of pure, reckless JD-Zero aggression, Jaden sent a "corruptor" script back through the open port Marcus had used to send the email.
In Marcus's dark study, his laptop suddenly let out a high-pitched whine. The screen flickered to a bright, toxic violet.
"What the....?" Marcus scrambled for his mouse, but the cursor was moving on its own.
A single line of text appeared in the center of Marcus's screen in gold lettering:
[STAY IN YOUR LANE, #3.]
Seconds later, Marcus's hard drive let out a final, mechanical click. The screen went black. The backup logs, the photos, the "Mendoza Project" everything was gone.
The Aftermath
Jaden slumped back in his chair, his forehead damp with sweat. He was shaking. He had just committed a felony to save a girl he was supposed to be "fake dating."
His phone buzzed on the desk. It was a text from April.
April: "Are you okay? Your maid said your mom was looking for you. Don't do anything stupid, Jaden."
Jaden stared at the screen for a long time. He wanted to tell her that he had just burned the world down to keep her safe. He wanted to tell her that the "contract" was the only thing keeping him sane.
Instead, he typed:
Jaden: "The crown is safe. See you tomorrow, #1."
The atmosphere at St. Jude's the next morning was suffocating. The "silent war" between the Top Three had reached a breaking point, and the explosion was coming from two directions at once
April was barely two steps into the main hallway when a hand slammed against the locker beside her head. The sound echoed like a gunshot.
She flinched, looking up into the bloodshot, frantic eyes of Marcus Thorne. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. His usual polished demeanor was gone; his tie was crooked, and his hands were shaking with pure, unadulterated rage.
"Where is he?" Marcus hissed, leaning into April's space. "Where is your little hacker?"
April forced herself to stay calm, though her heart was thundering. "I don't know what you're talking about, Marcus. Get out of my face."
"Don't play dumb with me, Mendoza!" Marcus roared, drawing a crowd of shocked students. "My server was wiped. My hardware is fried. He thinks he's a ghost? He thinks he can just delete the truth? I know what he did! I saw the gold lettering. I saw the JD-Zero signature!"
April's blood ran cold. JD-Zero? Jaden had used his underground handle to attack Marcus?
"You're losing it," April said, her voice trembling slightly. "You're obsessed with a ranking you couldn't keep, and now you're making up ghost stories."
"I have nothing left to lose," Marcus whispered, his face inches from hers. "If I can't prove the fraud digitally, I'll do it the old-fashioned way. I'll tear this school apart until the Dean realizes that the two of you are—"
"You'll do nothing, Marcus."
The voice was like a glacier. The crowd parted instantly.
But it wasn't Jaden.
Standing at the end of the hall was a man who looked like a lethal, older version of Jaden. Arthur Sterling had returned from London. He stood in a bespoke navy suit, his presence so commanding that even the teachers stopped in their tracks. Beside him, Jaden stood like a soldier at attention, his face completely devoid of emotion.
Arthur Sterling didn't raise his voice. He didn't have to. "Mr. Thorne, I suggest you remove your hand from that young lady's locker and return to your class. Harassment is a far more serious charge than... 'academic suspicion'."
Marcus paled, his bravado vanishing in the shadow of a man who owned half the city. He slunk away without a word, but the look he gave April as he passed was a promise of total war.
The King's Justice
Arthur Sterling didn't even glance at the students as he walked toward the Dean's office, Jaden trailing a step behind him. He stopped briefly in front of April. His eyes were like flint, scanning her from head to toe—not as a student, but as a problem to be solved.
"So," Arthur said, his voice a low rumble. "You're the girl who took my son's spot. You're the 99.5%."
"I am," April said, her chin up.
Arthur gave a small, chilling nod. "Efficiency is a trait I admire. But perfection is a trait I require from my heir." He looked at Jaden. "Wait in the office. We will discuss the 'circumstances' of your failure in private."
As they entered the Dean's office and the heavy doors clicked shut, April felt the weight of the entire school's gaze shift back to her. She was the Queen of the board, but she was standing on a trapdoor.
Inside the Office: The Cold Truth
The Dean sat behind his desk, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. Arthur Sterling stood by the window, silhouetted by the morning sun.
"I've reviewed the logs, Arthur," the Dean said nervously. "Jaden's performance was... unusual. But there is no proof of—"
"I don't care about 'proof', Henry," Arthur interrupted. He turned to Jaden. "I know you threw that test. I didn't raise a fool. You didn't miss those questions because you didn't know the answers. You missed them to make a point. Or to pay a debt."
Jaden stood perfectly still. "I was distracted, Father. It won't happen again."
Arthur walked over and placed a heavy hand on Jaden's shoulder. It wasn't a gesture of affection; it was a grip of iron. "You're right. It won't. Because if your name isn't back at #1 by the end of the semester, I will withdraw my endowment from this school. And the first thing the Dean will do to save his budget is cut the scholarship programs."
He leaned in, his voice a whisper. "Your little 'charity project' Mendoza? Her future depends on your perfection. If you want her to stay here, you will be the King again. If you fail, she's gone."
Jaden's jaw tightened until it looked like it might break. He had deleted Marcus's evidence, but he couldn't delete his father's power.