All that warmth, all that fussing. If I hadn't already lived through what comes next—if I hadn't seen exactly who they really were—I never would have believed these two were the ones feeding me to the wolves.

I forced a smile.

"Perfect timing. I was just getting hungry."

"Let me wash my hands first, then I'll dig in."

I grabbed my phone and left the library.

I never went to the restroom. I ducked around the corner and held still. Through the gap in the doorway—there it was. The second Clara thought I was gone, her phone was out, aimed straight at my outline on the desk. Click.

I'd braced myself for it. Told myself I already knew. But watching her hands move, watching the screen flash—something still cracked open in my chest that I couldn't quite swallow back down.

Huh. My dear sister. My precious childhood sweetheart.

I got back to the dorm at ten-thirty.

The second I walked in, my roommates were talking about Geoffrey.

I leaned over for a look. It was a photo.

Three hands raising cans of Coke in a toast.

Caption: *Fed and taken care of by the big sisters~*

I recognized Clementine's hand and Clara's hand immediately.

When did they get that close? I'd had no idea.

I didn't feel much of anything anymore.

I made up my mind on the spot: I wouldn't go home until the contest was over. If they couldn't even find me, they'd have nothing left to feed Geoffrey.

I could finally write in peace.

At last, just before the deadline, I finished the novel.

All I had to do now was submit the file.

I exhaled, long and slow—and Geoffrey's social media account updated.

*My contest entry is officially submitted! Thanks, everyone, for the support these past few weeks.*

Attached was a screenshot of the document. Most of it was blurred out.

But I recognized the first few lines.

Word for word. Every single word identical to the novel I'd just finished.

And the timestamp on his post was ten minutes *before* I'd even completed mine.

I lost it. I was clawing at my scalp, going in circles, and none of it made sense.

I'd already cut myself off from Clementine and Clara.

No matter how many times they tried to reach me during that stretch, I never went back.

So how the hell was Geoffrey Harrington still getting every detail of my contest submission?

Part of me just wanted to lie down and rot. Let it all burn.

That was when a notification popped up on my phone.