Nyra suddenly stopped and turned to look at Mary. A mocking laugh escaped her lips.
"My childhood sweetheart already gets more than enough attention, my little simp. Why would I need more of it?" she asked, her smile widening. "Besides, you've been talking about him a lot lately. Do you like him, Mary?"
She tilted her head, putting on an innocent expression.
"If you do, I might arrange a date for the two of you. I'm generous like that."
"No, no, no!" Mary shook her head immediately. "Of course I don't like him."
She gave a small laugh, lowering her eyes.
"You know I don't want any relationship affecting my studies. Besides, you and him grew up together. You're perfect for each other."
Nyra gave her a lingering look but didn't respond.
"Don't tell me you're still hung up on Matthew," Mary whispered, glancing at her from the corner of her eyes.
Seeing that Nyra was examining another display, she continued.
"Have you not seen today's social news? Even the school group is full of it. Our school won the Wit Competition, and everyone is pairing Sophia and Matthew together. They're practically the golden couple now."
She adjusted the shopping bags against her arm.
"And he's handsome. Very, very handsome. He's become one of the most popular boys in school. Ava even made him vice president of the Legion Group, and you know the kind of connections that position comes with."
Mary lowered her voice slightly, as though sharing something particularly astonishing.
"Not to mention the twenty-one billion CU he spent. Do you know how much money that is? He didn't even ask his parents or guardians before spending it. He just paid as though it were nothing. Seriously, how rich must someone be to have that much money available?"
She shook her head in disbelief.
"And he's a foreigner. Do you know how difficult it is for a foreigner to enter one of the top schools outside their own nation, let alone participate in important school activities? Yet he's allowed to do all of that. His family must have incredible backing. Maybe they're part of one of the Top Twenty families."
Nyra had stopped examining the display.
She stood before the mirror, carefully applying mascara to her eyelashes. As Mary spoke, her eyes gradually darkened.
Indeed, even when she'd tried investigating Matthew, she'd found almost nothing.
His name barely appeared in the information she could access. There were no useful family records, no clear background, and certainly nothing that could explain his wealth or influence.
Her family belonged to a middle-ranked Gray family. They weren't insignificant, but they weren't powerful enough to investigate someone whose connections seemed to be deliberately concealed.
No wonder he could afford to stay in the Silver Arc District.
And not just anywhere in the district, either. He lived in the core area.
Nyra could understand someone having access to the first district. Even the second was possible for certain wealthy families. But the third?
She remembered seeing his access card herself. Matthew had never appeared particularly interested in displaying his status, either. If anything, he seemed determined to keep a low profile.
Who exactly was he?
Nyra's fingers tightened around the mascara wand.
"Besides," Mary continued, unaware of her thoughts, "only girls like Ava and Sophia are suitable for him. Girls from their level."
Nyra's grip on the mascara wand hardened.
Mary finally noticed her silence and looked at her through the mirror.
Nyra carefully returned the wand to its container.
"You talk too much."
Mary blinked.
"Didn't we say we were going to school? Let's go. We should buy some snacks first."
Without waiting for an answer, Nyra walked towards the payment counter. She tapped her access card against the terminal, paying for the products she'd selected earlier.
The screen flashed green.
The purchases were packed into several branded shopping bags, which the sales assistant handed over to Mary.
Mary accepted them and followed Nyra towards the entrance.
Nyra adjusted her handbag and stepped out of the store, her expression once again carrying that familiar, pleasant smile.
Crownside High — Basketball Stadium
After several rounds of individual trials, only ten players remained.
Aiden, Rick, Matthew and seven others had advanced to the next stage.
The coach clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone, take a break before we continue. You've all shown us your individual skills, and these ten have performed the best so far. Now I want to see how well you work with others."
He pointed towards the selected players.
"The ten of you will split into two teams of five. After each round, we'll keep switching members between the teams. You'll continue playing with different combinations until I can determine who works well in a team without hiding their potential or trying to overshadow their teammates. This part is just as important as individual ability."
He paused, allowing the players to absorb the instructions.
"After that, we'll take another break and wrap things up for today. We'll return next week, and the ten of you will compete individually again. I'll select the final five from there. Those five will train until next Friday, when you'll compete against the other school's representatives. Understood?"
"Yes, Coach!"
"Good. Now, the five who didn't make this round, go to the benches. The remaining ten, divide yourselves into two groups of five. Come on, move! You've got five minutes to rest."
The players began moving towards their respective positions.
Ava, who had disappeared halfway through the practice, hurried back into the stadium carrying a bucket of drinks and a few shopping bags. She had gone to the school supermarket to buy refreshments and had barely returned before the coach announced the break.
She first approached the five players who hadn't made the selection.
"Here."
She handed each of them a can of expensive chilled juice and a piece of cake bread.
One of the boys immediately opened his drink.
"God, I'm starving."
"Damn, Ava. Being the assistant coach is great!" another exclaimed, already tearing into his cake bread. "I get to eat such expensive snacks."
Ava clicked her tongue.
"Stop acting as though you can't afford a thousand-CU snack."
"Easy for you to say. That's twenty thousand Zen!" one of them protested. "And you know nobody can stop after trying just one."
The others laughed as they settled down to eat.
Ava moved towards the ten selected players next. She handed each of them a small can of chilled water and a piece of cake bread.
" fail next time, and you can get drinks too if not chilled water is all you get," she added teasingly.
She then made her way towards Matthew, who was sitting on one of the benches beside Rick. Both boys were eating their bread.
"You still have the scarf around your neck," Ava remarked.
She paused when Matthew turned his eyes towards her.
His glare made her lips twitch. She giggled quietly, then produced a small can of sliced rare fruit and a chilled peach drink, placing them beside him.
Rick looked at the special treatment and sighed.
"Honestly, your crush always gets something better than the rest of us."
"Obviously. He's my handsome man."
A hand suddenly smacked the back of Ava's head.
"The fuck, Ava—"
She turned, ready to complain, only to find Luna standing behind her.
"Babe!" Ava's eyes widened. Her expression immediately changed into a cute smile.
"Where's mine?" Luna asked, stretching out her hand.
Ava blinked, then reached towards Matthew's snacks.
Before she could take anything, Matthew's voice stopped her.
"So, after kissing me and marking me, you're going to give what you gave me to someone else?" he asked quietly.
His eyes had darkened.
"Ava, are you testing my patience?"
Ava swallowed.
"No, no! I would never." She shook her head quickly. "I was just wondering if you wanted me to feed you."
Matthew sneered faintly and returned to eating, completely ignoring her explanation.
Rick chuckled around a mouthful of bread, thoroughly entertained by the exchange.
"Ava," Luna called again.
Ava straightened and burst out running as luan age chase. The two disappeared from the stadium together.
---
A few moments later, Nyra and Mary entered the basketball stadium carrying several dessert packages.
"We bought snacks!" Nyra announced cheerfully.
A few heads turned towards the entrance.
She smiled and walked towards the players, stopping in front of her childhood friend. He was sitting with the others, drinking from one of the cans of water Ava had distributed.
"Look what I bought. Want some?"
Her childhood friend smiled and reached towards the package.
Before he could take it, one of Aiden's friends scoffed.
"You know you're on Aiden's team, right? And you want to eat heavy food? Are you trying to make yourself too lazy to move on the court?"
The boy's smile faltered.
He glanced towards Aiden, who was sitting in one of the audience seats with a can of water in his hand. Aiden looked completely relaxed, almost as though he might fall asleep at any moment.
"It's just a little snack. Why can't we eat?" the boy replied. "Nyra is doing her best for us. Do you want the food to go to waste? Besides, we're already eating what Ava bought. Does that mean we can't eat what Nyra brought?"
Rick, who was still seated with Matthew, looked towards them.
"Ava is the assistant coach. What exactly is Nyra?" he asked lazily, a grin spreading across his face.
He took another bite of his bread before continuing.
"If you know what's good for you, carry her out of the court before the coach comes back from the locker room. You know he doesn't like anyone who isn't part of the basketball team, the cheerleading squad or the staff inside the court."
His eyes briefly moved towards the audience seats, where some of the cheerleaders were still sitting after their practice.
"Those cheerleading members are allowed to stay because they've just finished practising. Does Nyra think she's above the rules, or are you all just pretending not to understand them?"
Nyra's smile slowly disappeared.
Mary tugged lightly at her clothes.
"Nyra, we should go to the audience seats. I told you earlier that we should wait until they're done. Why don't we share the snacks with the cheerleading team first? Then, after their practice, we can offer some to the players."
Nyra looked at her childhood friend, then at the other boys.
"I only wanted to say hello. It's fine. I don't want to cause an argument, especially when you guys are already eating. I thought one more snack wouldn't be a big deal."
She lowered her eyes towards the refreshments in her hands.
"They don't even have much sugar. I didn't know Ava would only buy you cake bread and water."
"Say that off the court," Aiden's friend cut in.
Another player glanced at the dessert packages.
"It's just a simple snack. Something to help us maintain our energy. There's nothing wrong with that."
"You know why the rules are so strict today? It's practice day. Almost everyone in the school is at home enjoying the Friday holiday. The only people here are the security guards, maintenance and working staff, the basketball team, the cheerleading team, their coaches and Ava, who's the assistant coach."
One of the players glanced towards Nyra and Mary.
"Two girls just walking into the stadium with shopping bags full of snacks. Don't you think that's a little weird?"
His friend burst out laughing.
"Exactly! And she even bought that much food. Who does she think she is?"
" I don't know her very well, but I heard she's close to that guy. Apparently, they're childhood sweethearts."
The whispers continued, some louder than others.
Nyra bit her lips, pretending not to hear any of them. She turned away and headed towards the audience seats, telling Mary to distribute the snacks.
Mary approached the cheerleaders with the packages, but none of the girls even glanced in their direction.
She stood there awkwardly for a moment before returning to Nyra.
The shopping bags suddenly felt much heavier.
---
Virtue's Residence — Her Bedroom
Virtue sat on her bed, staring at her phone.
She had been checking it repeatedly, waiting for a call or message from Ella.
Nothing.
No confirmation that Ava had been dealt with. No news that Ella had escaped. Not even a message saying something had gone wrong.
She had no idea what was happening.
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
Virtue practically jumped off the bed and snatched it up.
A message had arrived from one of the people she'd instructed to keep an eye on Ava and Matthew whenever they appeared at school.
They're at school. Both of them are at practice.
Virtue read it once.
Then again.
Her blood turned cold.
She immediately typed a reply.
Are they acting normal? Are they looking for anyone?
The response arrived shortly.
No.
Another message followed.
Why would they be looking for you?
Virtue stared at the screen, her expression tightening.
She slammed the phone onto her dressing table and began pacing around the room.
"What's going on?"
It didn't make sense.
It was unlike Ava to remain quiet if she knew something was wrong. If Ava had discovered anything, she would have come looking for her. She wouldn't simply return to school and continue with her usual activities as though nothing had happened.
Was Ella lying?
Had she failed?
Or had she somehow escaped?
Virtue stopped pacing and hurried back to the dressing table. She picked up her phone and opened her messages with her bodyguard.
Find out if anything happened after Thursday's event. Check whether Ava and Matthew's car was hijacked, whether they were taken anywhere, or if they drove somewhere unusual. I want to know everything.
After sending the message, she opened her conversation with Ella.
The last message was still there.
My men got Ava, but someone else was in the car with her. A guy named Matthew. I'll make him take the blame.
And then nothing.
Virtue's expression twisted.
"Fucking stupid bitch. Can't you do anything right? Fuck! Fuck!"
She threw the phone onto the bed and dragged both hands through her hair.
A few minutes later, her phone rang.
It was her bodyguard.
Virtue snatched it up.
"What did you find?"
"Nothing unusual happened after Thursday's event," he reported. "Yesterday, Ava and Matthew left the venue and drove home. They didn't make any stops or go anywhere else."
Virtue remained silent for a moment.
"Got it."
She ended the call.
What she didn't know was that the entire crime scene had already been cleared. The evidence had been erased, the traces removed, and the men responsible had been dealt with. Matthew's people had also been instructed to shut down anyone who attempted to investigate the incident.
Virtue had received a clean report because there was nothing left for her bodyguard to discover.
She had fallen into another trap without even realising it.
After the call, Virtue gradually calmed down.
There were only a few possibilities. Ella had been talking nonsense, they had somehow escaped, or Ella had actually switched team was now keeping quiet.
It didn't matter which explanation was true.
Virtue couldn't afford to have Ella become a loose end. If the woman was still alive, she could expose her. If she had been caught, she might already have revealed something.
Either way, Virtue needed to cut off Ella and every possible lead connecting them.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another notification.
She picked up her phone.
This time, it was Paul.
Paul: Come to this hotel. Room number attached. I want to see you. Now.
Virtue stared at the message.
Her expression changed.