Point of view: Ressell Vargas Monteverde
I have always loathed parties—especially masquerade balls—ever since Lisbon; masks no longer represent beauty; now, they signify lies, betrayal, and death.
Carlos García’s investigation was moving slowly—too slowly for my liking.
Jessica and I spent hours reviewing documents, photographs, and testimonies; every new lead seemed connected to the Sophia Wilson case.
And as we uncovered more…
…things grew increasingly dangerous.
That afternoon, we gathered in the student council’s makeshift investigation room.
Jessica was examining photos of Gabriel and old messages, while Haruki tried to recover deleted files; Luis watched silently.
Then, new evidence surfaced: a series of messages sent from Carlos’s phone.
“I found something,” Haruki announced.
We immediately gathered around.
A deleted conversation appeared on the screen; Carlos had been exchanging messages with a woman named Megan Benavides—Emily’s sister.
Jessica furrowed her brows.
“Who is she?” Haruki opened another file.
“Megan had been secretly dating Carlos for months.”
The atmosphere grew tense.
“And Sophia?” Luis asked.
Jessica looked at a photograph.
“Sophia found out about the relationship.” Things suddenly spiraled out of control; Carlos had deceived people, Sophia knew too much, and Megan had reason to hate her.
We went to Megan’s apartment that same night—Jeremiah Jones had called the police as a precaution.
We entered cautiously; the apartment looked abandoned.
But someone had been there recently; Jessica spotted broken glass.
I found burnt documents.
And Gabriel discovered ruined photographs.
Then, we heard a voice.
“Stop it.” We all turned around.
Megan Benavides was standing in the hallway.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She looked utterly defeated.
“I don’t want to keep secrets anymore.” Jeremiah stepped forward slowly.
“Megan… what really happened?” She lowered her gaze.
“Carlos lied to me.” Silence filled the room.
“He promised to end things with the others. He promised to choose me. But he kept deceiving me.” Jessica remained motionless.
“And Sophia?” Megan began to cry.
“Sophia found out everything.” No one spoke; finally, Megan looked up.
“Yes… I argued with Carlos. But I didn’t kill him.”
The Attack: Before she could explain further, an explosion shook the building.
The lights flickered.
And shots were fired from outside.
“Get down!” Jeremiah shouted.
Everything happened so fast—windows shattered, people scrambled, and then I saw Luis collapse.
“Luis!” Jessica immediately ran to his side. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Luis had a deep wound on his shoulder.
Blood was already beginning to stain his clothes.
“I’m okay…” he tried to say.
But he could barely breathe.
Jeremiah called 911, and Christian Reyes began tending to him while we waited for the ambulance.
I stared at the broken window and saw a shadow moving away into the rain.
A figure wearing a black hood—the same figure that kept appearing in our investigations, the one behind the warnings.
A few minutes later, the police arrived.
So did the ambulance.
As they were taking Luis away, we spotted something by the window: a black envelope containing a letter.
The handwriting was elegant—and all too familiar.
Jessica read it aloud.
“Carlos is merely a pawn in the game.”
My heart pounded.
Jessica continued reading.
“The masquerade ball is drawing near.” And when it begins… one of you won’t be coming home.
We remained silent, for we knew who was behind this: Mark Aquino—the man who had spent seventeen years hiding in the shadows, the man who built a criminal network, the man responsible for so many deaths.
And now…
…he had just declared war on us.