Chapter 5: The Morning Gate

The morning air outside St. Jude’s Academy carried the sharp, damp scent of autumn leaves and exhaust fumes from idling sedans. I stood across the wide tarmac street, half-hidden behind the gray stone pillar of a bus stop, clutching the strap of my canvas handbag so tightly my knuckles turned white. Across the street, the wrought-iron gates of the academy stood open, swallowing lines of children in navy blazers and plaid skirts. Among them, small and bundled in a dark blue windbreaker, was Leo. He carried his backpack slung over one shoulder, kicking a stray pebble across the pavement as he walked with a classmate.

My chest tightened with every breath. Even though Julian’s note had promised safety, the memory of Vivien’s voice—*unless you want your son to disappear from school tomorrow*—ran on a loop in my mind. Every passing black car made my pulse spike. I watched for uniform changes, for strange adults, for any sign that the threat had bypassed the desk guards and found its way to the schoolyard.

A heavy black sedan slid silently to the curb five yards from where I stood. It didn't belong to the school parents, nor did it match the ordinary neighborhood traffic. The tinted window of the rear passenger door lowered two inches. Inside, a man in a dark suit nodded once toward me, his reflection catching the morning glare. It was one of Julian’s security detail—the same quiet presence that had monitored the service corridors earlier that week.

My phone vibrated sharply against my palm. I pulled it out, my thumb trembling as I unlocked the screen. A single text message from an unknown number glowed in the morning light:

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Sector secure. The boy is inside his homeroom. Go back to the estate.

I looked across the street one last time. Leo had reached the main entrance steps, turned to wave vaguely toward the bus stop—though he couldn't possibly see me in the shadows—and then disappeared through the heavy oak doors into the building. The threat had not materialized. The invisible machinery Julian commanded had locked the gates against any intrusion. I let out a long, ragged breath that I felt all the way down to my shoes, turned away from the school, and walked toward the subway station.