Chapter 3: The Secret He Wouldn’t Tell
Security found him near the back entrance.
Trying to leave.
“Wait!” Emily’s voice echoed down the hall.
The boy froze.
She ran—ran—toward him, her steps uneven but determined.
“You can’t just go,” she said, breathless.
“I have to,” he replied.
“Why?”
He didn’t answer.
The father approached slowly, this time without anger.
“You helped my daughter,” he said. “At least let me repay you.”
The boy shook his head. “I don’t need anything.”
“That’s not how this works,” the father insisted.
“It is for me.”
Emily stepped closer. “Then stay… just for tonight.”
For a moment, it seemed like he might agree.
But then his expression changed—like he heard something no one else could.
“They’ll come if I stay too long,” he said.
“Who?” Emily asked.
The boy looked at her, something almost like sadness in his eyes.
“People who don’t like what I do.”
May you like
And before anyone could stop him—
He slipped into the night.
