Page 353 of A University of Betrayal

“Larissa is going to get Miles,” Bayla answered Julie’s question.

Julie smiled as if she knew something. “Miles, who just put on a damn show with Emely?”

“Youshut up,” Bayla laughed and Julie’s lips quirked up a little too.

She looked like a ghost in the moonlight. I noticed that her eyes glistened as if she had been crying. But why would she be crying?

“You saved my life with your appearance in there. Otherwise, we could probably have had to call off the mission,” Bayla muttered, pulling my jacket tighter around her torso.

Loud voices were coming from the entrance.

“Where thehellare you always hanging around? You know we have a mission.”

“I’ve been busy,” Miles grumbled, annoyed, and our eyes met.

“Where’s Emely?”

Miles took too long to answer my question, which raised my suspicion.

“I don’t know.”

He avoided my gaze, looking around las if he had just told me bullshit.

“Everyone,focus.”Larissa beckoned us all over and we formed a circle. “So, we’ll split up as agreed. Bayla and Julie, you go to his office and look for clues. Search everything,reallyeverything, not just the desk, but bookshelves, chests of drawers, cupboards, anything you can find. Turn over every rug, every picture on the walls.” The two girls nodded and then looked at each other. “I’ll come with you to pick the lock, and then keep watch outside the door.” Then she looked at Miles and me. “Guys, you split up. Julian, guard the lower two exits of the ballroom that lead into the main building. If Alarik leaves the building, you send me a message.” I nodded and she turned to her brother. “And you guard the staircase in the main building, okay? Don’t let anyone pass, not even students.”

Miles nodded a little absently, which made me think hard about whether everything was okay with Emely.

“And remember, this is our last chance, so don’t blow it.”

We all looked at Larissa and nodded as if it was a matter of life and death.

Crime Scene Mystery Investigation

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A gunshot close by shattered the silence, and we all flinched. No one dared to say anything, and I looked in the direction from which the bloodcurdling sound had come.

“Did you hear that?” Bayla whispered under her breath.

“A gunshot,” Miles said quickly, and my body was alarmed.

The siblings’ eyes began to glow reddish.

“I smell blood, Miles.”

Larissa sounded scared.

“Me too,” Miles whispered.

And suddenly, I saw a shadow disappear into one of the porticoes of the east wing.

“Someone’s lying there!” Bayla suddenly shouted in a shaky voice as she clutched my arm.

I looked at her, following the direction of her pointing finger to the place where the shot had come from. Another oak tree and a dark shadow underneath it.

“Damn it.Someone’s lying there!We have to help them!” Bayla suddenly shouted in panic, and as if she had pressed a button in all of us, we rushed off.

When we reached the spot, the shadow became more and more clearly a human body.

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