The Trials

For decades, Helix Academy has stood above every university in the world.

Its graduates become presidents, billionaires, CEOs, judges, and global leaders. But behind its prestigious image lies a secret known only to a select few.

Every twenty-six years, the Academy holds The Trials.

A brutal competition where only one student can rise to the top.

The winner inherits unimaginable wealth, influence, and the right to become the next ruler of Helix Academy after the current Principal retires.

Twenty-six years ago, Principal Evelyn Blackwood won The Trials.

Now she is preparing to step down.

But before choosing her successor, she announces a shocking change:

This year's Trials will be harder than any before.

There will be no second chances.

No safety nets.

And no guarantee that everyone will make it out alive.

As students begin competing, alliances are formed and destroyed overnight. Secrets become weapons. Blackmail circulates through anonymous messages. Strange accidents start occurring across campus.

Then a contestant is found dead.

The Academy claims it was suicide.

The students know better.

Determined to uncover the truth, Vanila Meriss finds herself drawn to the mysterious and dangerously intelligent Pisces Mendez, another top contender for the throne.

Neither trusts the other.

Both have reasons to lie.

Yet together they uncover evidence suggesting that someone is recreating the events of a forgotten Trial twenty-six years ago-one that ended in multiple deaths and a cover-up.

Now every contestant is a suspect.
And the closer Vanila gets to the truth, the more she realizes something terrifying:

The greatest threat may not be another student.

It may be the Academy itself.