Sid woke to an uneasy silence. The campus seemed normal. Too normal.
He didn’t trust it.
The black envelope from last night still sat on his desk.
No writing. No hint. Just the unspoken threat.
He tore it open anyway.
Inside: coordinates. Another location. Another trap.
Lee’s son is pushing harder.
Sid didn’t hesitate.
At school, every glance felt heavy.
Whispers followed him. Phones tilted to catch his face.
Some students stared with curiosity. Others with fear.
Su walked beside him. Her presence calmed something inside him, even as the threat loomed.
Her hand brushed his again. He didn’t flinch.
Focus, he reminded himself.
The coordinates led them to a rundown amusement park outside the city.
Ferris wheels rusted, carousels creaking in the wind.
Sid crouched behind a bumper car, scanning shadows.
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Three figures moved near the entrance.
Another two at the back.
And someone above, hidden.
Su gripped his sleeve.
“I’m scared,” she whispered.
Sid’s jaw tightened.
“You shouldn’t be.”
But even as he said it, his chest felt tight.
Lee’s son emerged from the shadows, a smug smile on his face.
“You’re predictable, Sid,” he said. “You always protect her first.”
Sid didn’t respond.
The attackers moved in.
Sid’s movements were instinctive. Precise. Fast.
One strike, one block, one redirection after another.
But there were too many.
A man grabbed Su from behind, twisting her arm.
Sid reacted instantly, knocking him off, spinning into another attacker.
Su stumbled, almost falling. Sid caught her, pulling her behind him.
Her face was pale, eyes wide.
“Sid… I…”
“I’ve got you,” he said, his voice low.
Keep her safe. No matter what.
The fight ended, leaving five men groaning on the ground.
But Sid didn’t feel victorious.
Lee’s son had stayed back, watching. Calm. Smug.
“Very efficient,” he said. “But this was just an appetizer.”
Sid’s hands clenched into fists.
“I won’t let you hurt her,” he said.
Lee’s son smiled. “Oh, Sid… you have no idea what’s coming.”
He disappeared into the shadows.
Su leaned against Sid, trembling.
“I… I can’t believe you do this for me,” she whispered.
Sid didn’t answer.
He didn’t allow himself to.
Because it wasn’t about feelings. Not yet.
It was survival.
Her hand brushed his again. He didn’t pull away.
This is dangerous. I can’t lose focus now.
Back at the dorm, Sid scrolled through the evidence.
Every leak, every attack, every smear campaign — it was orchestrated. Calculated. Precise.
Lee’s son wanted to break him. Not just physically. Emotionally.
And maybe… mentally.
Sid clenched his jaw.
He would not fall.
Not yet.
That night, a final warning came.
A text message.
No number.
No sender.
Just one line:
“Tomorrow, you will see the cost of protecting her.”
Sid stared at it.
Outside, Su watched him from her window.
He didn’t notice.
She felt it. The pull. The danger.
And something else — a weight she couldn’t name.
Sid didn’t sleep that night.
He planned. Calculated. Prepared.
Tomorrow, the real trap would be laid.
And he knew one thing:
No one would survive unscathed.