CHAPTER 46: NAMES WRITTEN ON THE WALL.

A wave of shock and confusion spread through the room like wildfire. Chairs screeched against the floor, and students jumped to their feet. One after another, they rushed out the door, following the trail of footsteps that now echoed through the corridor.

"Should we really go? Or maybe stay out of it since we’re new students?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow, though the unease in his voice betrayed the panic blooming in his chest. "I really don’t want to get into trouble on my first day at the academy."

"You should go, of course," Leo said, leaning in to whisper into Victoria’s ear. "You’re a student of this academy now. If you don’t go, who are you planning to ask about it later?"

"Let’s go. I’m curious," Jemaila chimed in, already heading toward the hallway.

The rest of them exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement before following the stream of students out of the classroom.

****

Now gathered inside the academy’s infamous abandoned building, the students stood in stunned silence before a large wooden board nailed crudely to the wall. Scrawled in bold letters across the surface were names...Cassandra, Celine, Rachel, and Anna...all written in thick red ink.

"What the heck is going on now?" Joe muttered, his eyes widening not only at the names but at the sight of the numerous sex toys...dildos, whips, cuffs...crudely pinned and displayed across the wall.

"Forgive me of my sins, dear Allah," Jemaila whispered, quickly shutting her eyes. "I refuse to gaze upon that... that demonic display. This place is sinful...we shouldn’t be here."

Joe and Victoria exchanged glances, each letting out a scoff at Jemaila’s dramatic reaction. Still, they directed their gaze back to the board, ignoring her protests entirely.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, sharp and venomous.

"How dare you, bitch!" Celine’s voice sliced through the air, dripping with rage. She stormed forward, her glare fixed on Victoria, who stood firmly between Joe and Jemaila. "The Alphas agreed to keep this a secret! But you.. you dared to post it out here for everyone to see?!"

"So it’s true then?" another voice sneered. Nicole stepped forward from the crowd, her eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. "You were actually raped by those ugly-ass farmers during the training camp? What a pity." She scoffed. "Fine, fine...but a ruined pussy? That’s what I’d call it."

A ripple of laughter spread across the crowd. Some students clapped their hands over their mouths in mock shock. Others whispered, enjoying the drama far too much.

"I knew it. I always knew you were cursed.. an unfortunate being!" Anna yelled. Her eyes flared with rage as she lunged forward, her hand raised to strike Victoria.

Before Victoria could even react, Joe stepped in. In one swift motion, he caught Anna’s wrist and yanked it back, shoving her roughly to the floor.

"Are you this dumb?" Victoria snapped, glaring down at her. "Are you always this fucking dumb? I literally just started at this academy today...today!...with all of you. And you’re accusing me of doing this?"

Victoria exhaled slowly, arms folding over her chest. Her expression turned cold as she narrowed her eyes at the group.

"Oh, yeah? Then who did it? Huh?" Rachel shouted, her gaze darting wildly from face to face in the crowd. "If it wasn’t you...then who the hell would dare to do something like this?!"

She turned toward the other students, pointing an accusing finger at them as her voice rose higher. "Was it you?! Or you?! Who did this?!"

The crowd murmured and shifted uncomfortably, but no one answered.

"Oh, drop it, cheap-ass," someone soon sneered from the crowd. The voice, sharp with disdain, was followed by the sound of heavy footsteps as Nicole stepped forward, her eyes blazing with anger. She rolled her eyes and stomped toward the board, yanking another sheet of paper off it.

She held it up and began reading aloud with a wicked smirk curling on her lips.

This board will contain the names of various students in the future, along with their offenses especially details about their sexual lives.

Nicole chuckled, her voice dripping with malicious amusement. "This is going to be fun," she said, her gaze locking onto Victoria with a predatory gleam. "I look forward to watching all your dirty secrets come to light."

She paused and tilted her head thoughtfully, then added, "Whoever started this....bravo. I should probably thank them. Anyways, the rule is simple, no one is allowed to remove anything from this board. If anyone tries to rip off the names or hide the posts, the entire content will be made public. Sure, the Alphas tried to keep it under wraps, but someone else clearly knew the truth and decided to air it out. From now on, this board will remain just like this....forever."

Her tone turned darker as she continued, "If anyone dares go behind our backs to remove anything from this board and I or my girls find out...trust me, that person will have themselves to blame."

With a final glare at Victoria, Nicole turned on her heel and stormed out of the abandoned building. The remaining students began to trickle out one by one, whispering among themselves, leaving only Victoria, Joe, Jemaila, Dickson, and Leo behind.

"Who does she think she is?" Came Jemaila voice.

"The queen of this academy of course. Why do you think I wanted her? Anyways, shouldn’t this be reported to the school authorities?" Dickson asked, his brows furrowed in concern. "This could seriously mess with someone’s mental health. I mean, imagine seeing your name here and everyone laughing at you."

As he spoke, he approached the board and plucked off one of the dildos, then held it up mockingly and mimicked sucking on it.

Joe burst into laughter. "Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?" he said between chuckles.

"Hey, you!" Dickson added, turning toward Jemaila, who was still standing rigid with her back to them. "Stop acting all holy and pure."

"Just leave the poor girl alone," Joe replied with a light chuckle. "She’s not the one who turned you into a sex freak."

He turned his attention back to Victoria, who stood motionless, her eyes locked on the board, her expression unreadable.

"What are you looking at?" Joe asked gently. "We shouldn’t hang around here too long... or do you maybe know who’s behind this?"

Victoria finally spoke, her voice low and cold, with a smirk creeping onto her lips. "I’m afraid this entire setup was made to frame me."

Joe’s eyes widened slightly as she continued.

"Think about it," she said. "It started with the names of those twins and their friends. The whole purpose was to trigger them...to make them believe I was behind it. Whoever did this wanted the twins to come after me and yeah they knew I’ll find my way out of the mess and that’s what they wanted."

She turned around slowly to face them. "More names will appear on this board... and they’ll all somehow connect back to me. That’s the plan. Even if the students don’t believe I’m responsible now, it won’t be long before they do...especially once their names start showing up here. They’ll need someone to blame and that’s me."

Joe clenched his fists. "Why the hell would anyone want to do that?"

Dickson placed a hand on Joe’s shoulder, echoing the same question with his gaze.

Victoria’s eyes darkened as she exhaled slowly. "No one knew what truly happened at the academy except the Alphas, a few teachers, and my brothers. My parents and sisters were told a completely different story when I was sent home. They believed I was falsely accused of stealing by the same girls who plotted against me."

Leo leaned closer, his voice a whisper meant only for her ears. "Then it has to be Mirabel. That bitch always smiles in your face while stabbing you from behind."

Victoria shrugged him off without turning her head. "It’s not Mirabel," she muttered under her breath. "She may be faking the ’loving sister’ act, but if she were behind this, she’d make it harder to suspect her. She wants to keep me fooled a little longer. This is too obvious. She wouldn’t risk it."

She looked at the board again and narrowed her eyes. "The heirs wouldn’t do this either. They have far more sophisticated ways of making my life hell...this kind of drama is beneath them. And as for Nicole, she only just learned about all this."

She stepped forward, studying the handwriting and positioning of the items on the board. "Whoever did this is either someone from the training ground... or ...I don’t know."

There was a tense silence before Joe finally asked, "What are you murmuring about?"

Victoria blinked as if returning from a trance. "Nothing," she said smoothly. "Let’s head back to class. We don’t want to miss our first lecture on our first day."

Without another word, she turned and walked toward the exit.

"Wait for me!" Jemaila called, running after her.

The others exchanged glances before following quietly, their minds still spinning with questions.