I chose food.
Not Adrian, not Kai just the food. Because I was starving, and whatever game was being played here, I needed energy to deal with it.
"Fine," I said to Adrian. "You can come in. But Kai stays too."
Adrian's eyebrow raised. "A dinner party. How… cozy."
"If you've got a problem with it, there's the door," I said.
He smiled a real smile this time, not the cold one he'd used on Kai. "I like you already, Emma Chen."
The three of us sat in my tiny dorm room me on my bed, Kai at my desk, Adrian leaning against the wall and it was the most awkward dinner of my life.
Adrian had brought Thai food from some expensive place off campus, and it was delicious. But I could barely taste it because of the tension in the room.
"So," Adrian said casually, "how do you two know each other?"
"We grew up together," Kai said before I could answer. "Best friends from age six."
"And then you stopped being friends?" Adrian's gaze was on me now, curious.
"It's complicated," I muttered.
"Life usually is." Adrian took a sip of his coffee. "Emma, can I ask you something?"
"You're going to anyway."
He smiled. "Why Riverside? Why transfer here specifically?"
My heart raced. "The literature program is excellent."
"It is," he agreed. "But so are a dozen other schools. And yet you chose here. The same school your sister attended before she died."
The room went dead silent.
I stared at him. "How do you know about my sister?"
"I told you I make it my business to know who's on campus." He set down his coffee. "Sarah Chen. She was here two years ago. Brilliant student. Tragic accident. And now her little sister shows up with a full scholarship, claiming she wants a 'fresh start.'" His blue eyes locked on mine. "Except you're not here for a fresh start. You're here for answers."
Kai stood abruptly. "How the hell do you know all this?"
"Because I pay attention." Adrian didn't even look at him. He was focused entirely on me. "Emma, I'm going to be very direct with you. Whatever you're investigating, whatever you think you know about your sister's death drop it. Now. Before you get hurt."
"Is that a threat?" I asked quietly.
"It's a warning." For the first time, I saw something in his eyes that looked like genuine concern. "My family is… complicated. And if your sister was looking into things she shouldn't have been, then coming here, drawing attention to yourself it's dangerous."
"Your family?" I stood now too. "What does your family have to do with Sarah?"
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Everything."
The word hung in the air like a bomb.
"Get out," Kai said, moving between Adrian and me. "Get the hell out of her room."
Adrian didn't move. "Emma, I'm serious. Whatever you're planning"
"I said get out!" Kai's voice was dangerous now.
"It's okay," I said, touching Kai's arm. He was shaking, fists clenched. "Adrian, thank you for the food. But I think you should go."
Adrian looked at me for a long moment, and I could see him weighing something. A decision.
"Fine," he said finally. "But Emma? When you're ready to hear the truth the real truth about what happened to your sister come find me. Because I'm one of the few people at this school who will tell you."
He left, closing the door quietly behind him.
Kai turned to me immediately. "Emma, you can't trust him. The Blake family"
"I know," I interrupted. "The anonymous messages warned me about him."
"What messages?"
I pulled out my phone and showed him everything. All the texts from the unknown number. His face went pale as he read.
"Forty-seven hours," he breathed. "Emma, this is serious. Someone is threatening you."
"Or warning me," I corrected. "We don't know which yet."
"Either way, you need to go to the police"
"And tell them what? That I got creepy texts? That my sister's death two years ago might not have been an accident?" I shook my head. "They'll think I'm crazy. Grief-stricken and paranoid."
"Then let me help you. I've been researching this for a year. I have information"
"Why?" I demanded. "Why have you been researching Sarah's death? What's your connection to all this?"
Kai was quiet. When he finally spoke, his voice was raw. "Because Sarah came to me before she died. She said she was investigating something dangerous, and if anything happened to her, I should watch over you. And then she died, and I tried to reach you, and you wouldn't talk to me. So I came here. I transferred to Riverside to find out what she was investigating."
"And what did you find?"
"The Blake family," he said grimly. "Adrian's father, Maxwell Blake, runs a billion-dollar empire. On paper, it's all legitimate. But underneath? Money laundering, bribery, connections to organized crime. Sarah was gathering evidence to expose them."
My mouth went dry. "How do you know this?"
"Because my father worked for Blake Enterprises," Kai said, and the bitterness in his voice was sharp enough to cut. "He was their CFO. And when he discovered the illegal activities and tried to report them, they destroyed him. Framed him for embezzlement, had him arrested, ruined his reputation. My parents divorced. Dad started drinking. We lost everything." He looked at me, and his green eyes were full of pain. "So yeah, I have my own reasons for wanting to take down the Blakes. But Emma, I swear, that's not why I care about you. It's never been why."
I sat back down on the bed, overwhelmed. "This is insane. This is…"
"The truth," Kai finished. He knelt in front of me, taking my hands. "And I know it's a lot. But Emma, you need to be careful. If the Blakes think you're here to finish what Sarah started"
"Then I'm in danger," I whispered. "That's what the messages mean. Forty-seven hours until… what? Until they come after me?"
"I won't let that happen." His grip on my hands tightened. "I will keep you safe, Em. I promise."
I looked at him really looked at him. The boy I'd grown up with, the boy I'd abandoned, the boy who'd apparently been trying to protect me all along.
"Why didn't you tell me all this before? Why wait until now?"
"Because you wouldn't talk to me!" His voice cracked. "For three years, you shut me out completely. I tried, Emma. God, I tried so hard to reach you. But you were gone. And I didn't know if you'd believe me, or if you'd think I was crazy, or if telling you would just put you in more danger."