Chapter 6 - The Brother's Burden
Caleb backed away from his brother, clutching the leather ledger tightly against his chest.
"You work for them?" Caleb asked, his heart breaking into a million pieces.
Marcus lowered the baseball bat and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"I don't work for them, Caleb, I am a victim of them," Marcus confessed quietly.
He explained that five years ago, Harrison had framed him for selling narcotics on campus.
To keep Caleb and their parents safe from the false charges, Marcus agreed to leave silently and act as their outside enforcer.
"They told me if I did not stop you tonight, they would ruin your life just like they ruined mine," Marcus said.
Caleb walked forward and placed a comforting hand on his older brother's shoulder.
"We do not have to be afraid of them anymore, Marcus," Caleb promised, holding up the ledger.
"This book proves everything, and we are going to expose them at the Founders' Day Gala tomorrow."
Marcus looked at the ledger, a glimmer of real hope finally returning to his tired eyes.
They snuck out of the school together, carefully locking the fake safe behind them.
They drove to Chloe's basement, where they spent the entire night scanning every page of the book.
Chloe built an encrypted upload sequence designed to hijack the school's massive audiovisual system.
"When the principal gives his speech tomorrow, this ledger will be projected onto every screen in the building," Chloe confirmed.
They finally had a foolproof plan to tear down the entire corrupt administration.
Caleb went home at dawn to change into his formal suit for the prestigious gala.
He walked up his driveway, feeling a profound sense of impending victory.
But as he reached the front porch, he noticed the heavy oak door was slightly ajar.
He pushed the door open, calling out nervously for his parents.
The living room was completely destroyed, with furniture flipped and glass shattered everywhere.
Nailed to the center of the drywall was a single, bloody piece of paper.
It was a printed screenshot from the library security cameras, showing Caleb, Malik, and Chloe's faces.
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Written beneath the picture in dark red ink was a terrifying ultimatum.
"Bring the original ledger to the boiler room tonight, or your parents will never come home."
