Chapter 1 - The Shattered Glass
The hallway fell into a sudden, suffocating silence.
Leo stared down at the glossed photo resting in his trembling hands.
The picture didn't just show a smiling girl from another school.
It showed Maya standing beside a boy with a distinctive burn mark on his right wrist—Leo’s older brother, Julian, who had vanished three years ago without a trace.
Even worse, the date printed at the bottom corner of the photo was dated just three weeks prior.
Leo’s heart hammered violently against his ribs.
His best friend, Marcus, who had just kicked Maya's crutches, leaned over his shoulder with a cruel smirk.
"What are you looking at, bro?" Marcus sneered, trying to grab the photo. "She’s just a broken freak trying to get attention."
"Touch this photo, and I swear to God I’ll break your hand," Leo hissed, his voice lethal and cold.
Marcus recoiled in shock, his laugh instantly vanishing.
Maya looked up from the cold tile floor, tears streaking through the dirt on her pale cheeks.
"Give those back to me," she whispered, her voice shaking violently.
"Where did you take this picture?" Leo demanded, his eyes wide with desperate panic. "Tell me where Julian is!"
May you like
Maya pulled her backpack toward her chest, shielding her prosthetic leg.
"He told me never to trust anyone in this school," Maya sobbed. "Especially you."
