Chapter 10: Her mother’s daughter
Merlina’s POV
Megan tucked her hair behind her ear, casual as ever. "Yeah," she said. "My brother mentioned it."
I slowed my pace, the hallway suddenly colder. "And?"
Phoebe didn’t bother looking up from her book. "I read something online. Took my parents a while to stop freaking out."
A chill crept up my spine. I tried to keep my voice steady. "Did they ever figure out who did it? Like... officially?"
Megan gave a noncommittal shrug. "They had a suspect. Some student who was, like, obsessed with her or something. It was a big deal back then."
My stomach turned. "Do you remember his name?"
She frowned, thoughtful for a second, then shook her head. "No idea. They couldn’t charge him, lack of evidence or whatever. Rich kid. Into drugs. Belford’s golden boy."
I stared at her. "And he’s still here?"
"Probably." She said it like she was talking about an old classmate who’d failed to graduate. No concern. No weight behind the words.
He was still here. Alive. Free.