We grew up together, Boris and I. So close our parents had already bought the apartment, the car—everything for the wedding.
After college, we'd get married. That was always the understanding.
I got home.
And the last thing I expected happened.
The woman in the mirror was back.
Worse than before—barely hanging on, each word dragged out of her like it might be her last.
"Stella, from now until the exam is over, do not eat alone with Boris."
"He's going to drug your food."
"What?!"
My pupils contracted to pinpoints.
The cold hit all at once, so deep it didn't stop at skin or bone.
I'd made so many excuses for him.
Told myself he was just confused, blinded by Karen, not thinking straight.
We'd grown up together. Even without romance, we were still family.
But in his eyes, I was already someone who needed to be drugged into compliance.
She watched me with aching pity, each breath a struggle, her voice fading with every word.
"Stella, you have to be careful from here on out. Based on everything I know about them, they won't stop until they get what they want."
"Karen is more dangerous than she looks. And you have to watch out in the exam room—"
But before she could finish, she went limp and collapsed.
"Stella! Stella!"
I lunged at the mirror, palms slamming against the glass.
"Finish what you were saying! Watch out for what in the exam room?"
But there was nothing I could do. She was already gone.
Calm down.
I forced myself to breathe. Told myself over and over: stay calm.
Panic wouldn't solve anything.
But the fear kept spreading through me, deep and quiet.
Every time she appeared she was weaker, and now she'd cut out mid-sentence again.
The danger hadn't passed. My future hadn't changed.
My gaze drifted to the computer screen.
And something fierce and bright flared inside me.
Boris didn't know this, but a week ago I'd already received my acceptance letter from the National Justice Academy.
It was the school I'd dreamed of. But because I wanted to stay with Boris,
I'd been stupid enough to hesitate.
Not anymore. There was still time.
I took a long, slow breath and began typing my reply.
"I'm very glad to receive your acceptance letter. I will do my utmost to live up to your school's expectations."
"Additionally, I wish to file a formal report under my real name. I have evidence that individuals are organizing cheating during the national college entrance exam, and the case involves other serious crimes."
I knew this alone wasn't enough.
The evidence was still thin.
The real question was how I was going to break out of this trap myself.
The woman in the mirror hadn't finished her warning.
I couldn't afford to let my guard down. I took out every piece of stationery I owned and began inspecting them one by one.
I even held my ruler up to the light and checked every groove along the markings.
Boris's family had power—real power.
But not nearly enough to make every proctor in the exam hall look the other way.
Unless someone with a far longer reach was pulling the strings.
My phone buzzed once. A message brimming with confidence.
"Stella, tomorrow is the day you're finished!"
I smiled. Cold and thin.
We'll see about that.
The next morning, I walked into the exam hall.
I didn't sit down. I went straight to my desk and started checking it—top, bottom, every edge, every seam.
"Aw, Big Sis Stella, what are you doing?"
Karen sneered at me from her seat.
"Really? Flipping the whole thing over? What, you think you're some kind of detective now?"
The room cracked up instantly.
"Well, she *is* a top student—so nervous she's losing it. Cut her some slack. What if someone really is out to get her? Ha!"
"Please. Who'd bother?"
