Chapter 43
Luna
Jasper and I are back at the school archives, and it’s colder than I remember. The last time we were here, he didn’t have the right tools, but he says he came prepared this time.
He pulls out a slim toolkit and peels back the casing around the reader. “If I fry the biometric,” he murmurs, “the system defaults to key card priority. I just need sixty seconds.”
I pace behind him, heart hammering against my ribs.
It’s been a week since Serene disappeared, and no one has seen or heard from her.
Zayden doesn’t know I’m here. He would have stopped me if I told him.
He made me promise I wouldn’t do anything reckless.
But I need to know what the fuck is going on.
A few minutes later, the scanner flashes green. Jasper opens it slowly and pulls out the metal drawer with rows of thick folders. For a second, we just stare at them like we expect them to blow up like a bomb. My heart’s beating rapidly in my chest.
I kneel in front of it and sort through the folders. They’re labeled with codes: MC101, MC102, and up to MC110. My guess is MC stands for Midnight Challenge.
I grab the folder labeled MC110, which is the most recent one, and flip it open. It is filled with papers, betting slips, pairings, handwritten notes, and more. I pull one out.
Midnight Challenge Report: MC110
Date: Redacted
Final round.
Location: Ice Arena D.
Participants: E. Vaughn vs A. Hawkins.
Odds: 3:1 (E. Vaughn favored)
Wagers:
Bettor initials –wager – player chosen
Z.A. – Bet 60,000V on A. Hawkins — Win
M. R – Bet 10,000V on E. Vaughn — Loss
K. D – Bet 3,500V on E. Vaughn — Loss
R.B. – Bet 5,000V on E. Vaughn— Loss
K.B – Bet 10,000V on A. Hawkins— Win
Outcome: E. Vaughn did not finish. A. Hawkins declared winner.
Fatality? Yes, E. Vaughn.
Cause of incident: Skate failure.
Internal review: Inconclusive.
No further investigation.
Payout: Approved by C.Z.A
Verified by D.Z.A. Access restricted!
Hawkins? Why does that name sound familiar?
I look at the bet log, but none of it makes sense.
“I don’t get it,” I murmur. “If they placed the larger bet on Hawkins…wouldn’t they want him to lose? Wouldn’t they lose money if he won?”
“No, not if they’re the house?”
I blink. “The what?”
“The house. The ones running the bets. The ones holding the money. If Ellias was the favorite, most people, especially outsiders, would’ve bet on him to win. But if someone knew Ellias was gonna lose, they’d bet on Hawkins.”
“Because they were gonna make him lose,” I whisper.
Jasper nods. “Exactly. Think about it. If Ellias wins, they pay out thousands to everyone who bet on him. But if Ellias loses? The house keeps the pot. The few people who bet against him get the biggest cut.”
“And three to one?”
“For every dollar you bet, you would win three dollars if you bet in favor of Hawkins.”
“C.Z.A.?”
“Coach Zayn Aldenhurst, Zayden’s father, and if I’m right, D.Z.A is for Director Zander Aldenhurst, Zayden’s grandfather,” Jasper says.
“No, no. You think the school director is part of it?”
I feel sick, nauseous. A lump builds in my throat. I blink, willing the tears to stay away, but they’re already stinging.
“What happened to the winner?”
“Give me a sec. If he was registered here, I should be able to find him.” He pulls out the tiniest laptop I’ve ever seen and moves toward a small desk in the corner, and I follow him. I glance between him and the betting sheet, his fingers moving rapidly across the tiny keyboard.
“Holy shit.”
“What?” I lean over his shoulder.
His voice drops. “A. Hawkins… is Aidan Hawkins.”
“Wait, the center forward on the national team?”
“Yeah.” He turns the screen toward me. “Look.”
Name: Aidan Hawkins
Age: 23
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 195 lbs
Status: ACTIVE
Position: Center Forward
Current Team: Valcérre Polar Bears
Previous program: Valcérre University Hockey Division
Accepted into Valcérre’s NHP Program post-academy challenge victory. Exceptional discipline and top-tier skating control.
Debut: Valcérre Polar Bears, following NHP placement.
Suddenly, I’m freezing and burning all at once. My chest’s too tight, like something alive is clawing its way out. The archive walls feel like they’re closing in, like the whole university is closing in on me.
“That’s…two months after Ellias…”
Jasper nods slowly. “They fast-tracked him. Right into NHP.”
I grab another folder.
Midnight Challenge Report: MC109
Date: Redacted
Final round.
Location: Redacted
Participants: M. Lavigne vs D. Lavaune
Odds: 3:1 (D. Lavaune favored)
Outcome: M. Lavigne won
Fatality? No.
Payout: Approved by C.Z.A
Verified by D.Z.A.
Both files are similar; the house bet on the player they knew would win, but there was no fatality. What happened with Ellias? Did he refuse to throw the game? Or was it something else?
Jasper looks up M. Lavigne and discovers he is the current captain of the Lyonnaise Icehawks and has a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal.
We keep flipping through, and every challenge report, it’s the same. The MC108 winner J. Rousseau plays for the Swiss.
Midnight Challenge Report: MC107
Date: Redacted
Final round.
Location: Redacted
Participants: F. Belanger vs (redacted)
Odds: 2:1
Outcome: Win by Forfeit
Notes: Opponent withdrew due to “injury.”
This one is different. The opponent name is redacted. Did they erase him, pay him off, or threaten him?
“Wait, Belanger? That’s the head coach for the Saint-Aulaire team’s last name.”
“The team you played against last time?”
Jasper nods.
If I thought I was shocked before, I wasn’t ready for what I’m looking at right now.
Midnight Challenge Report: MC106
Date: Redacted
Final round.
Location: Redacted
Participants: E. Vancourt vs Z. Aldenhurst
Odds: 2:1
Outcome: fatality? Yes. Incident classified.
Winner: Z. Aldenhurst.
What the fuck?
Bile rises in my throat with the words I don’t want to say out loud. “So, someone else died…before Ellias.”
I wait for Jasper to say something, anything, to help with the pressure in my chest, but he looks as shocked as I am.
“This whole time,” I whisper, “Zayden thought it started with Ellias. But it didn’t. It started with his father.”
This thing is older than any of us.
“I’m uploading them to my backup drive,” Jasper says as he takes pictures of everything as quickly as possible. “We need to go, like right now. We’ve been down here for too long.”
It has been over an hour. Once he’s done taking the pictures, I put everything back the same way we found it. Jasper adjusts the lock mechanism on the cabinet door, making sure it seals with a soft click. The biometric panel resets.
“Luna…we have to tell Zayden.” He pulls off his gloves as we step away from the cabinet. He’s right, Zayden deserves to know how deep this goes, although he already suspected it.
“I’ll tell him. Tomorrow at lunch.” I pull off my own gloves, glancing around the room one more time—checking that every folder is back in place, every drawer closed the exact way we found it. No fingerprints. No signs we were ever here.
“Okay. But you guys can’t keep sneaking out like this. Someone will notice.” He’s not scolding, just worried about what would happen if they find out we’re together.
“I know,” I say, and I hate how small my voice sounds.
Jasper sighs, then pulls me into a quick, protective hug. “He really cares about you, you know,” he murmurs.
“I care about him, too.” My throat burns, and I blink again before it gets worse. “Okay. Let’s go before I get sappy or something.” I chuckle.
Jasper grins. “Yeah. Let’s go before we get caught.”
All I wanted was to belong here. To prove I deserved to stand on this ice, in these halls, at this school that was never built for girls like me. But if this is what it means to belong at Valcérre, I don’t want it.
I want to expose the truth, and their skeletons buried beneath the ice.
I want to burn the whole thing down.