panic radiated

at like a heavy wool scarf. It was four in the afternoon. The thi

aw textbook hitting the polished oak

My hands were shaki

played on a relentless loop in my mind. He had pointed directly at me. He k

fluttering hammer

e law student aiming for a flawless 4.50 grade point average. I knew how to find buried inf

dark waters. The pressure was building. The sunlight was fa

league. I needed to see the money. The raw athletic dat

ing on my screen

. It was a massive financial engine. Millions of dol

investigative techniques my favorite professor had taught us during a mock trial se

ney. The mone

were placing massive, high risk bets against State University on specific penalty statistics. Th

a dorm room gambling ring. This was a

cold. The suffocating library heat vanished

part. The board of directors would face federal indictments. The coaching staff would

d would go to

n the roster. The prosecution would make an agonizing pub

nd my eyes. I pressed my

he doi

r the professional hockey leagues. He had the world at his feet. He had fans screaming his name

e had no

creen. A new, terrifying

it for greed? What if he

der his intense gaze told a story of sleepless nights and crushing stress. He did not look like a smug crim

eing bla

was forcing him to throw the games. They had something dangerous on him. They held a

ue crocheted beanie offered a brief moment of grounding comfort. I pulle

o repor

ency. My mother had worked double shifts in a diner for a decade just to pay for my early tutoring. She was my favorite

op menu bar. I click

hummed to life. It began spitting out the damning spreadsheets

f hard, undeni

he warm papers. They felt impossibly heavy in my hands.

thick manila folder. I sea

this folder under the dean's locked door. It would be over. The investiga

y legal textbooks into my worn leather sat

e lead weights. The anxious fluttering in my chest turned

elf. The syndicate shadow figures would probably vanish into the dark, leaving Leo

He had issued a silent challeng

in justice. Handing a blackmailed victim over to the authorities

heavy glass doors

shadows stretched ominously across the manicured gree

the manila fold

go to the de

ear him say it. I needed to know exactly how deep the d

iance reports. He skated alone at midnight. He always book

the folder. The rough p

ing to step out of the shadows. An

or's

Leo alone at midnight is a smart move or a dangerous mistake? Please leave a comment and