Chapter Four: Pieces of the Puzzle
The floor feels colder than it should. Maybe it's the shock. Or maybe it's the betrayal sinking into my bones.
Because the person in the video wasn't Liam.
It was… Cami.
The girl I've shared a dorm with for almost a year. The one who's held me through my nightmares. The one who promised to help me find the truth.
She was there.
At the bridge.
The night Chloe died.
---
I lock the door.
Sit on the edge of my bed, phone clutched like a weapon.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was a trick of the light, or someone who looks like her.
I rewind the video again.
Pause.
Frame by frame, I study the profile—the curve of the jaw, the cropped hair, the hoodie with the red graphic print Cami wore just last semester.
My stomach twists.
It's her.
But… why?
I try to breathe, but every inhale feels like glass. How could I not have known? How could she lie to me—for this long?
Unless…
She didn't think I'd find out.
Unless she thought I'd never remember.
---
I don't sleep.
I fake a migraine and stay in bed the next day. Cami leaves for class, and the moment the door clicks shut, I grab my laptop and phone.
First, I save the video. Then I forward it to myself, plus a backup email I made months ago.
Next, I reopen my file: The Night She Fell.
I add a new header:
"Suspect: Cami Ellison"
I list everything I know:
Chloe and Cami weren't close.
Cami avoided the bridge topic until I brought it up.
She told me not to dig too deep.
She never mentioned seeing Chloe that night.
She was at the bridge.
And yet… part of me hesitates.
Cami has been there for me through everything. Could she really kill Chloe?
Why?
---
That evening, I act normal.
We eat instant noodles again. Cami scrolls through TikTok. I pretend to laugh at the videos she shows me.
But inside, I'm studying her.
The way her smile twitches when I ask about the past.
The slight tension in her hands when I say Chloe's name.
Finally, I ask casually, "Did you ever talk to Chloe? Like, before she died?"
Cami looks up, surprised. "Not really. Why?"
"I don't know. Just curious. You never mentioned her."
She shrugs. "We weren't friends. We had a class together once. She seemed… intense."
I nod slowly. "Yeah. She had secrets."
Something flickers in Cami's eyes. Guilt? Fear?
"I guess," she says. "But don't we all?"
---
That night, I get another message.
Unknown Number: "The lie is close to home."
No file. No explanation.
But I don't need one.
I already know.
I scroll through photos on my phone. Me, Cami, Chloe. One catches my eye—taken weeks before Chloe died. We were all at a party. Cami was in the background, arms crossed, glaring at Chloe.
At the time, I thought nothing of it. Now, I wonder if that was the start of something darker.
---
I decide to meet with Jesse again.
We sit at the park near campus.
"I found something," I say.
He eyes me. "How bad?"
I show him the video.
He watches in silence. Rewinds. Plays it again. Then leans back, whistling low.
"That's your roommate."
I nod.
"Damn. You gonna go to the cops?"
"Not yet. I need to know why first."
"Be careful, Ava. She knows where you sleep."
---
Back at the dorm, Cami's gone.
I sit at my desk and pull out Chloe's locket again.
The note is still inside: "Don't let them erase me."
I flip it over.
There's something faint written on the back—barely visible.
I hold it to the light.
It's a number.
"C-126-B"
A code?
A locker?
A classroom?
I type it into the campus database.
C-126-B = Cold storage archives, basement level.
My blood runs cold.
Chloe must've hidden something.
---
The next day, I skip class again and sneak into the building. The basement smells like dust and secrets. I pass stacks of old books and boxes.
Finally, I find Locker B.
It's locked.
But I remember something—Chloe's old bracelet. The one I kept.
It has a tiny pin hidden in the clasp. We used it to pick locks in high school, just for fun.
My hands tremble, but I get the lock open.
Inside is a folder.
I pull it out.
Newspaper clippings. Photos. Notes. And a flash drive.
The top clipping reads:
"Local Professor Involved in Campus Scandal: Sexual Misconduct Allegations Surface"
Underneath: Chloe's handwriting.
"He threatened me. Said if I talked, I'd disappear."
I feel like vomiting.
The professor in question is still teaching.
I skim her notes. Chloe had been gathering evidence. Recording conversations. Documenting everything.
She was planning to expose him.
And someone found out.
Someone silenced her.
---
Back at the dorm, Cami is waiting.
She looks up as I walk in, eyes sharp.
"Where were you?"
"Library."
She doesn't believe me.
"I called. You didn't pick up."
"Phone died."
She stands. Walks closer. "You're hiding something."
I meet her gaze. "So are you."
Silence crackles between us like lightning.
"Chloe was going to expose him," I say.
Cami stiffens. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"She had a file. I found it."
Her face goes pale.
"So that's what this is about," she whispers. "You think I killed her?"
I don't answer.
She steps closer, voice shaking. "I was at the bridge. She called me. Said she needed help. I went."
"And then?"
"She was scared. Crying. Said she couldn't trust anyone. That people were following her. She begged me to take the file and keep it safe."
"Did you?"
"I didn't even get the chance. Liam showed up. They argued. I left before it got worse."
"But you never told me that."
"I thought it was over. I thought… if I stayed quiet, no one else would get hurt."
I shake my head. "Someone already did."
Cami's eyes well with tears. "I didn't kill her, Ava. But someone did. And we're both in danger now."
---
I don't know if I believe her.
But I know one thing for sure:
The truth is out there.
And someone's willing to kill to keep it buried.
---