Page 41 of The Obedient Lie
My fingerprint and location had to be lodged via the Academy app before7:00:00 PMeach evening.
And worse — the new system requiredconfirmation by a housemateto verify the biometric scan.
Without a second fingerprint, my lodgement would be flagged.
And if I failed to lodge three times, I’d be pulled from the academy.
And still, the worst part?
They hadn’t told my brother.
Yet.
I pulled up the app.
TimeLock v4.7.0
A slick navy interface with red countdown numbers:
00:04:53
00:04:52
I had less than five minutes.
I was still outside the Crow residence, hand frozen on the gate keypad.
I hadn’t walked through that front door before midnight in nearly a month.
I didn’t even know what I expected to find inside.
Rejection?
Silence?
Judgment?
Probably all three.
But none of them compared to being the firstDynasty Daughterto be expelled.
I inhaled once. Deep. Controlled.
And walked in.
The smell hit me first — that mix of cedarwood and something darker. Expensive. Dangerous. Masculine.
The way the Crow house always smelled.
It was quieter than I expected.
No shouting. No thudding footsteps.
Just the faint hum of the kitchen fridge and the buzz of the digital clock in the living room.
And then I saw him.
Cameron.
