Adrian placed the photograph flat on the desk.
Nobody touched it.
The image showed the three students outside the dojo six nights earlier. Lena remembered that evening. Training had ended late. Rain had started just before ten. Thomas had walked with her to the bus stop.
Daniel had remained behind.
At least, that was what she remembered.
Now she studied the photograph.
The angle was wrong.
Whoever took it had been standing across the street.
Behind the glass door, the interior lights of the dojo reflected faintly.
There was something in that reflection.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Stop."
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed to the lower corner.
A fourth person stood inside the doorway.
Only part of the body was visible.
A shoulder.
A hand.
A dark sleeve.
Lena stared.
"Who is that?"
Adrian took the photograph.
"I don't know."
Marcus looked at him.
"You're sure?"
Adrian did not answer immediately.
Then he said, "No."
That single word changed the room.
Lena stepped backward.
"You know who it is."
"I said I don't know."
"But you recognized the night."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Adrian placed the photograph down.
"Because Thomas asked me to meet him that night."
Lena's face went pale.
"You never told me."
"He asked me not to."
"Why?"
"Because he believed someone was watching him."
Marcus looked at the picture again.
"What did Thomas tell you?"
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
"He said he had found something."
"What?"
"I never found out."
Lena stared.
"You met him and didn't ask?"
"I did ask."
"And?"
"He changed his mind."
"About what?"
"He said he couldn't trust the person he had been speaking to."
Silence.
Marcus looked toward the training floor.
"Daniel?"
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Adrian's eyes settled on Lena.
She immediately understood.
"You think it's me."
"No."
"You looked at me."
"Because Thomas mentioned you."
Lena's voice sharpened.
"What did he say?"
Adrian hesitated.
"He said someone was using your name."
The room seemed to lose all its air.
Marcus turned toward her.
"Using your name for what?"
"I don't know."
Adrian opened another drawer.
He removed a small notebook.
"This belonged to Thomas."
Lena reached for it.
Adrian stopped her.
"There's something you need to understand first."
She waited.
"Thomas did not disappear."
"What?"
"He contacted me yesterday."
Marcus stared.
"Then why did you tell us he was sick?"
"Because I was trying to keep him safe."
Lena looked furious.
"You let me believe he was missing."
"I let you believe he was avoiding the dojo."
"Why?"
"Because if the wrong person knew he was still talking to me, he would have been in greater danger."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Where is he?"
Adrian looked at the closed office door.
"Somewhere he believes nobody will look."
Lena's voice dropped.
"Where?"
"At his sister's apartment."
She closed her eyes.
"Then why isn't he answering me?"
"Because he was told not to."
"By whom?"
Adrian looked down at the notebook.
"Me."
Lena laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"You've been making decisions for everyone."
"I've been trying to prevent this from becoming worse."
"It already is worse."
Adrian did not argue.
Marcus opened the notebook.
Most of the pages contained training notes.
Numbers.
Names.
Dates.
Then he saw something strange.
Several names were written in columns.
Beside Lena's name was a circle.
Beside Daniel's name was a line.
Beside Thomas's name were three question marks.
Below them was a sentence:
The person who changes the records controls the story.
Marcus read it aloud.
Lena looked at Adrian.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"Since when?"
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks?"
Adrian's voice remained quiet.
"I thought it was someone trying to manipulate team selection."
"And now?"
"Now I think it may be about something outside the competition."
Marcus flipped another page.
There was a list of dates.
Each date corresponded to an incident.
A broken locker.
A missing wallet.
An argument between students.
A damaged motorcycle.
A false injury report.
Lena remembered all of them.
She had dismissed them as ordinary problems.
Now they looked connected.
"These weren't random," Marcus said.
"No."
"Who was blamed?"
Adrian pointed to the names.
"Different people every time."
Marcus frowned.
"But every incident benefited Daniel."
Lena looked at him.
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"Some benefited him."
She pointed to one entry.
"That one benefited Thomas."
Then another.
"This one benefited me."
Marcus stared.
"So whoever is doing this doesn't want Daniel to win."
Adrian nodded.
"They want all three of you divided."
Lena's face tightened.
"Why?"
Adrian had no answer.
The office door rattled.
All three turned.
Nobody was outside.
Marcus walked to the door and opened it.
The training floor was empty.
Then he heard a faint metallic sound.
From the equipment room.
He moved quickly.
Lena followed.
Adrian came behind them.
The equipment-room door stood open.
Inside, one of the lockers had been forced.
Thomas's old locker.
Marcus looked at Lena.
"You said he stopped using it."
"He did."
Inside was a single training shoe.
Nothing else.
Adrian crouched.
He touched the floor.
There were fresh marks in the dust.
Someone had been kneeling there.
Marcus noticed a small black thread caught on the locker hinge.
He pulled it free.
"Same fabric as the person in the photograph."
Adrian looked at it.
"Maybe."
Lena stared at the empty locker.
"What was Thomas hiding?"
Nobody answered.
Then a phone vibrated.
Lena's.
Unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
No response.
Only breathing.
She looked at Marcus.
"Who is this?"
A voice finally spoke.
"Ask Adrian why Thomas was afraid of him."
The call ended.
Lena lowered the phone.
Marcus looked at Adrian.
Adrian's face had gone pale.
"What did they say?"
She repeated it.
Adrian closed his eyes.
"I knew this would happen."
"What?"
He walked to the desk.
Opened the bottom drawer.
And removed a sealed envelope.
"I should have given this to you yesterday."
Lena stared.
"What's inside?"
"Thomas's statement."
"About what?"
"About the person he believed was changing the records."
Marcus felt his pulse quicken.
"Who did he name?"
Adrian looked at him.
"He didn't."
Lena frowned.
"Then why keep it?"
"Because he left a clue."
Adrian opened the envelope.
Inside was one sheet of paper.
Only one sentence had been written.
If anything happens to me, look at the person who never needs to enter the room.
Marcus read it twice.
"It could mean anyone."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Then what does it mean?"
Adrian looked toward the security camera mounted above the training floor.
"The person behind this doesn't need to be here."
Marcus followed his gaze.
"The cameras."
Adrian nodded.
They checked the security system.
Most recordings were intact.
Except for one night.
Six nights earlier.
The exact night in the photograph.
The footage had been deleted.
Lena's stomach tightened.
"Who can delete it?"
Adrian pulled up the access log.
A username appeared.
The system administrator.
Marcus looked at Adrian.
"That's you."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"I know."
Lena stepped away from him.
"You told us someone was manipulating the records."
"Yes."
"Now the camera footage was deleted using your account."
"I didn't do it."
"But your account did."
Adrian's face tightened.
"Then someone has my password."
The office suddenly felt unsafe.
Marcus looked at the door.
"What if they're still inside?"
Lena whispered, "They're not."
"How do you know?"
She pointed toward the hallway.
A faint red light blinked above them.
The emergency camera.
Someone had turned it on.
Adrian looked up.
Then the light went dark.
His phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice said only four words.
"You chose the wrong student."
The call ended.
Adrian lowered the phone.
Lena stared at him.
"Which student?"
He did not answer.
Marcus realized the question was not about Daniel.
It was about her.
Or Thomas.
Or someone else entirely.
Then the front door of the dojo slammed shut.
Click Here to continue read next: PART4: With the Dojo Locked From the Inside, Lena Finally Learned Why Daniel Had Been Provoking Her and What Thomas Had Discovered
When the Quietest Student Reached for His Wrist, the Entire Room Realized Something Had Gone Terribly Wrong
Part 3 of 16
