Chapter 4

The night before graduation, I sat in my dorm room.

The small space felt like a pressure cooker.

I set up my laptop, angled the camera to get a good view of me and the door.

Clicked 'Go Live.'

The viewer count started climbing. Ten. Fifty. A hundred. Then thousands.

The Valedictorian, live. The one everyone was whispering about.

My face filled the screen. Pale, determined.

"Hi everyone," I started, my voice surprisingly calm. "Most of you know who I am. Allison Thorne. This year's Valedictorian at East Coast University."

The chat scrolled wildly.

"She's crazy!"

"What is she doing??"

"Is this a suicide note preview?"

I let them talk for a moment.

Then I continued. "You also probably know about my sister, Claire Thorne. Valedictorian, three years ago."

I held up a laminated copy of Claire's note.

The camera focused on the neat, printed words.

"This is the note they said she left."

I paused.

"They said she killed herself. That she was depressed. Overwhelmed."

My voice hardened. "That's a lie."

The chat exploded.

"OMG!"

"What is she saying?!"

"Proof? Or just grief talking?"

"My sister didn't call me Allie," I said, looking straight into the camera. "Never. She called me Allie-cat. Always."

A small detail. But it was everything.

"This note is a fake. Claire was murdered."

I took a breath.

"And she wasn't the first Valedictorian to be murdered here. And she wasn't the last."

The viewer count was rocketing. Hundreds of thousands now.

"I'm Valedictorian for one reason. To find out who killed my sister. To find out who is behind this 'curse.'"

I leaned closer to the camera.

"I know you're watching. The one who killed Claire. The one who killed all the others."

My heart hammered against my ribs.

"I'm not afraid of you. I'm waiting for you."

Then, I heard it. Faint at first, then louder.

Sirens.

Coming closer.

And a shadow fell across my doorway from the hall.

Someone was standing right behind me.