**(Dora's POV – The Night of the Fall)**
The rooftop door slammed open.
*"Dora, don't!"*
Callum's voice was raw, his hands outstretched—not with pity, but with a *key.* The one to Locker 47.
*"It's a trick,"* he panted. *"Tyler's family *wants* you to jump. The ledger needs a new name every decade, or the whole school pays."*
Wind whipped Dora's hair as she teetered on the edge. Below, the pavement yawned.
*"Then why did you let me forget you?"* she whispered.
Callum's face shattered. *"Because I thought you'd be safer not knowing!"*
A shadow moved behind him—Tyler, smiling.
Dora closed her eyes.
And stepped back.
---
**(Elle's POV – Present Day, Knox Mansion)**
Tyler's family home was a tomb of old money and older secrets.
Elle crept past oil portraits of Knox ancestors, their eyes seeming to track her. In the study, a glass case held the *original* ledger—thicker, its pages crammed with names dating back to 1947.
*"Looking for something?"*
Tyler leaned against the doorframe, holding a fireplace poker like a bat.
*"Why Dora?"* Elle demanded.
*"Wrong question."* He smirked. *"It's *who's next?*"*
The case's lock clicked open on its own.
The ledger flew into Elle's hands, its pages flipping wildly—before stopping on a fresh entry:
**ELLE SANTIAGO**
Inked in what looked like blood.
---