Chapter 42
Kyle
Kyle: Were you able to talk to your brother? How did everything go?
Lily: Yes, he finally trusted me enough to talk. Everything went well.
Kyle: Finally.
I arrived home with my mind racing at a thousand miles per hour. No matter how hard we'd tried, Lily and I hadn't been able to accomplish anything in the past month to change the course of events. Things had happened again exactly as they had before, just with minor variations.
But there was still time to save our loved ones. This week was crucial. We couldn't afford to make another mistake. We had to plan our next steps with precision. I had to stop Oliver’s death. It wasn’t too late yet.
I went up to my room and cleared one of the walls.
I searched through my desk drawers and pulled out papers, photographs, and anything else that might be relevant, then began arranging them on the blank wall.
I needed a clear visual representation of all the events leading up to Oliver's death, starting with the video that had set everything in motion.
Unlike the first time around, I now had much more context about all the enemies Oliver had made, all his manipulative actions, and everything that had transpired after his death.
The knowledge I'd gained from living through the aftermath gave me insights I'd never had the first time.
Now I was certain I could prevent the catastrophe; I simply needed to identify who had committed the crime.
I spent hours in my room, writing theories on sticky notes, drawing connections with red string like some conspiracy theorist, marking suspects and motives on the wall.
I was so absorbed in the work that I didn't even realize my family had come home until Aria knocked on my door to ask if I'd eaten dinner.
"I'm fine," I called through the door, not wanting to break my concentration.
I couldn't take a break or rest until I knew exactly who I needed to stop. I picked up Oliver's phone from my desk and tossed it up and down repeatedly, wondering how this small device had managed to cause so much destruction in so many lives.
I must have fallen asleep on the floor at some point because when I woke up, I was still wearing my school clothes, and my neck was stiff from having an awkward angle. I grabbed my phone to check the time—2:00 AM.
I scrolled through my missed messages. There was one from Lily telling me she thought Leo would be okay after their talk, one from Mike asking if I'd done the math homework, and one from Jared wondering why Oliver wasn't answering his texts.
The last message gave me pause. Of course, Oliver wasn't answering; his phone was sitting on my desk. But more than that, it reminded me that to everyone else, this was just another normal day. They had no idea what was coming.
I went to the bathroom to splash water on my face, then headed down to the kitchen, where I found a plate of food still sitting on the table, covered with foil. My mom had saved me dinner. I ate mechanically, my mind still turning over the puzzle pieces I'd been arranging all evening.
After finishing the cold pasta and chicken, I returned to my room to get ready for bed. But before changing into pajamas, I took one last look at my investigation board.
I read through each theory I'd written, each motive I'd identified, and each timeline I'd constructed. The connections were all there: the jealousy, the betrayal, the desperation, the opportunity.
And then, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle suddenly clicking into place, I understood everything.
The person who had been watching Oliver's actions. The person who knew about his manipulative tendencies. The person who most wanted Oliver to stop being a douchebag. The person who had the means and the motive. The person who felt the worst after everything happened.
I knew who had killed Oliver.
Now I just have to figure out how to prevent it from happening again.