The night air at Bellmont felt colder than usual. Heavy clouds loomed overhead, as if hiding secrets waiting to be unearthed.
Rossie sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at the old manuscript now resting on her lap. The pages had yellowed, some corners torn, the ink faded in places. But one thing was clear—"Alya" was written as the main character in The Silent Bell script. Later, the name had been crossed out and replaced with "Victoria."
Liam stood by the window with arms folded, staring out into the dark courtyard before turning to Rossie.
"I'm certain someone didn't want this script to be found," he murmured. "This wasn't a clerical error or some technical name change. This… was deliberate."
Rossie glanced at another torn piece of script they'd found in the costume room. A rushed handwritten note at the bottom read:
"Erase her from everything. She was never here."
Rossie swallowed. Her heart began to race.
"Who are they talking about? Alya? My mom?"
Liam sat beside her, carefully shifting one of the pages.
"There's a tiny signature in the bottom right corner. Look."
Rossie leaned in. There it was: the initials E.D.
"E.D… Evelyn Drake?" Rossie whispered.
The school's drama teacher—elegant and soft-spoken—surely it couldn't be her.
"But Ms. Drake doesn't seem like the type to hide something like this," Rossie said, trying to suppress her unease.
Liam met her eyes.
"Exactly. Sometimes the quietest people carry the deepest secrets."
Silence. Only the soft drizzle outside filled the space between them.
The next morning.
Rossie sat in the cafeteria with Nichole, trying to act normal. But her mind wandered.
Sienna and Audrey walked past. Rossie glanced up—Audrey gave her a look that was hard to read. Not mocking… almost concerned?
"I know you and Liam have been sneaking around at night," Nichole's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
Rossie froze. "You know?"
Nichole stirred her drink slowly. "I didn't report it. But be careful. Someone's watching."
Rossie frowned. "Who do you mean?"
Nichole didn't reply. She only stared toward the teachers' table.
There sat Ms. Drake, flipping through a pile of papers. But now and then, her eyes flicked toward Rossie and Nichole.
That night.
Rossie and Liam worked to piece together a timeline:
1999: The Silent Bell was performed. Alya, the original lead, was suddenly replaced by "Victoria." After the play, Alya's name disappeared completely. Rossie's mother—who she now believed to be Alya—vanished from all school records.
"We need an eyewitness," Liam said quietly. "Someone who was at Bellmont back then."
Rossie nodded. "Ms. Drake may be the only senior faculty left from that era."
But they needed more than guesses. They needed evidence.
The next day, in the library.
Rossie found something. An old Bellmont School yearbook from 1999, hidden on a dusty reference shelf. She blew off the thick layer of dust and opened it gently.
On the drama club page, there was a photo with the caption:
"Final Cast of The Silent Bell – 1999"
Rossie's eyes locked on the girl standing in the center. Wearing the same costume she'd seen in the old dressing room.
It was her mother.
But underneath, the label read:
Victoria Lancaster as Bell – Lead Role
Rossie clenched her jaw. She knew that face—it wasn't Victoria. It was Alya. Her mother.
"This photo doesn't match the name," she murmured.
Behind the photo, faded marker writing said:
"They will never know."
Rossie's hands trembled.
Later that night, in the faculty office.
Liam snuck into the teachers' lounge during a school-wide open night event.
He found a locked drawer engraved with the initials E.D.
Using a bobby pin, he unlocked it. Inside was an old folder. He opened it—inside was an unsent recommendation letter for "Alya S."
Behind it, another document. He carefully pulled it out.
"I hereby approve the removal of Alya Singgih from the official drama club list, and her lead role to be replaced for the sake of the school's reputation."
Signed: Evelyn Drake, Head of Arts Department
Twist at the end of the chapter:
That night, in the empty auditorium, Rossie and Liam met behind the stage curtain.
They heard footsteps.
"I know you're looking for Alya," a cold voice echoed through the dark.
They turned.
Standing in the doorway was Ms. Drake. Her expression was calm… far too calm.
"Stop before you uncover something your mother never wanted you to know," she said, eyes locked on Rossie.