BEFORE 18: The boy from the plane

She didn't steal it.
But the moment the grading sheet went missing... the entire school decided she did.

At an elite academy where reputation decides everything, one silent accusation is enough to erase a future. Suddenly, she becomes the center of an investigation that doesn't add up-because nothing about it is supposed to make sense.

Not the timing.
Not the evidence.
Not the way every path seems to lead back to her.

And especially not him.

She didn't take it.
But now... everyone believes she did.

At an elite academy where reputation is everything, one missing grading sheet turns her life into a nightmare. Suddenly, she's the prime suspect in a case that doesn't make sense-and the only thing more dangerous than the accusation... is who is behind it.

Because someone is watching her.
Someone is rewriting what people see.
And someone is always one step ahead.

Alaric doesn't deny the chaos around her.
He just controls it.

He edits what people believe.
He appears when she's already trapped.
And every time she thinks she understands him... he proves she doesn't.

But Alaric isn't the only one hiding something.

Bianca knows more than she says-and she hates her for reasons she won't admit.
Ethan is always in places he shouldn't be.
And the school itself feels less like a campus... and more like a system built to contain something.

Then comes Role Day.
Where everyone becomes someone else.

Which means no one can be trusted.

Not the people chasing her.
Not the ones protecting her.
Not even the ones who claim they love her.

And when the truth finally starts to surface...
She realizes something terrifying:

This was never about what she did.

It was about what they needed her to believe.

And Alaric?
He's not just part of the game.

He's the reason it exists.