40. Devin

40

DEVIN

I burst into the house, barely able to contain the rush of adrenaline. "Guys, we have a lead!"

Tessa and Alec come out of the back bedroom, toothbrushes hanging from their mouths. They look startled by my sudden entrance. Alec shoots me a curious look while Tessa's expression shifts from confusion to cautious hope. I know how much she's been wanting answers, how much she needs something to hold on to.

I take a deep breath and glance between them before diving in. "I've been digging through every single member of Sigma Theta," I say, pacing as I talk. "I wanted to show you that I'm taking this seriously. I wasn't going to rule anyone out until I combed through everything I could find. And today…I found something."

Tessa's eyes are locked on mine, waiting for the punchline. Alec stays quiet, but I can tell he's just as interested.

"Julian," I say, the name hanging heavy in the air. "Last year, during the trial, he made this post on his private Instagram. It was weird. He was promising to get even with everyone who brought down Sigma Theta, he had a whole rant about it."

Alec frowns. "I remember how mad he was. But you think it's more than just him venting?"

"At first, I thought it was just frustration, maybe some empty threats," I admit. "But then I started looking deeper. All last semester, Matteo was constantly urging us to be cautious and not stir the pot with Tessa too much. But Julian? He was always egging us on. Pushing us to do things that made the whole situation worse. He was fanning the flames of our anger, encouraging every move we made."

Tessa's face pales as she processes the information. "So you think…Julian might be the one behind the stalking?"

"I don't know for sure," I say, my voice grim. "But after seeing that post and remembering how he handled everything last year, I can't shake the feeling that it's not just a coincidence. He might be more involved than any of us thought."

Tessa starts pacing, one hand on her back as she walks through the living room. "Julian never warmed up to me," she admits. "I remember a few times when I was at the Sigma parties or some of the events and he was always polite but distant. I didn't think much of it but now, looking back, it was kind of odd because it started before any of the stuff with us went down."

My mind races as I think this over. Maybe Tessa was right all along. She'd said very early on that she didn't think we were done cleaning house yet. I feel guilty for ignoring her and brushing her concerns aside for so long.

"I'm sorry we didn't listen to you," I say, moving forward to gather her in my arms and press my face to the side of her neck, breathing her in. "If we had, none of this would be happening."

Tessa sighs, wrapping her arms around me. "I probably wouldn't have listened to me either," she admits. "I came in acting high and mighty and ready to jump at the slightest sign of a story. I spent so long treating you guys like hostile witnesses and didn't bother to see your side."

She goes over and sits on the couch. "I mean, how would anyone feel if the same reporter that broke the scandal of their organization started showing up and asking questions again, even though they were working hard to fix the past?"

Alec shakes his head. "I know we're in a better place now but God, if we hadn't been such idiots…" He sighs. "That doesn't matter now. All that matters is confronting Julian and getting him to confess to everything."

"Shouldn't we go to the police about this?" Tessa asks, a nervous expression on her face. "I don't want him to go crazy and attack you guys."

Alec purses his lips before speaking, "Maybe, but if we go to the police, who's to say that they'll believe us? One venting social media post and some rude behavior isn't a great lead."

A long, drawn-out sigh escapes her. "Yeah, you're right. Thank you guys for finally believing me. It's nice to have someone on my side for once."

"You always have us," I remind her. "And we promise to always listen to you from now on and take your concerns seriously."

Tessa glances at her phone. "I guess we're missing class then." She turns to look up at Alec who shrugs.

"Yeah, I mean, class hardly seems important when you're in the middle of trying to figure out who wants to kill your girlfriend," he says, his tone soft despite the harshness of his words.

Tessa chews on her lip. "There's one thing that I don't get though. Julian has had ample time to come after me. He had all of last year to target me and he never did. Why is that?"

I glance at Alec but neither of us has an answer for that.

"And another thing," Tessa adds, the gears turning in her brain as I watch her think. "It makes sense that he would target me but why only me? Why not the other people involved in breaking the scandal? There were judges, lawyers, cops, and even school administrators involved in taking down Sigma Theta. Why am I the only one he's after?"

"Maybe he thought you were an easy target?" I offer.

Tessa frowns. "Maybe. Everything felt so personal though. He could have just gotten me kicked out of school or destroyed my reputation at the paper. But he went to a lot of trouble to make me question my sanity first…"

"Who knows?" Alec says. "It doesn't matter why he did it. What matters now is that we're going to put an end to his bullshit. Let's go get Jace and deal with this once and for all."

Tessa looks like she wants to stop us but sighs, resigned to the fact that there's nothing she can do. "Be careful, okay?"

"You too," Alec says. "Don't open the door for anyone but us, keep it locked at all times, and keep the blinds closed until we're back."

Tessa rolls her eyes at him. "Yes Grandfather," she says, picking up the blanket from the back of the couch and throwing it over her lap.

We both give her a quick kiss before heading out the door.

As we head to campus, Alec texts Jace to tell him what's happening. Jace texts back that he's slipping out of class and he's going to meet us at the quad.

One of the brothers put a group selfie from the common room on our Instagram and tagged Julian in it. That was twenty minutes ago so we feel confident that we'll find him at the frat house.

The tension in the air is heavy as we make our way to the quad. Jace is already there, an expression of murderous rage on his face.

"We're just going to talk to him," Alec reminds him in a low voice. "We're not going to attack him. Not unless he threatens to hurt Tessa again. We want answers."

I can't say I wouldn't mind landing a punch on that smug asshole's face myself but I refrain from commenting, knowing it would only stress out Alec even more.

Once we arrive at the frat, there's a weight of grim determination hanging over us and the three of us enter, spotting a group of brothers sitting around playing video games together.

Julian is there, hanging back and texting on his phone.

"Julian," Alec calls out softly, trying not to draw too much unnecessary attention to ourselves. "Can we talk to you?"

He glances up and frowns when he sees the way Alec is standing, his posture rigid, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, what's up? Everything okay?"

"We just need to talk about frat business," he says, his voice deceptively calm. "Come out back with us."

Julian glances at Jace and me but we're already following Alec to the small back deck. It's quiet out here since it's still chilly, so no one will be around to see our confrontation.

Once he steps outside, Julian's expression grows from confused to concerned as he realizes that the three of us have our arms crossed and Jace is blocking the way back in with his body.

"Guys, what's going on?" Julian asks, trying to go for a jovial tone. "Is this some kind of prank?"

I take out my phone and pull up the screenshot of his private Instagram post. "You recognize this, right?" I ask, holding it up so he can see. "Vowing to get revenge on everyone who brought down Sigma Theta? Ring any bells?"

Julian glances at the screen, then looks up at me, his smirk slipping for just a second before he shrugs. "So what?"

Alec crosses his arms, stepping closer. "We know you're the one behind Tessa's stalking. All the crap she's been through? You're the one who's been making her life hell."

Julian's mouth quirks into a grin, but it's cold, sinister. "You guys really think you've got it all figured out, huh?" He lets out a low laugh, his voice dripping with amusement. "Yeah, I'm part of it. I won't deny that." He throws his hands up in mock surrender. "But I'm not the mastermind here."

Jace steps forward, his voice tense. "What are you talking about?"

Julian's laugh gets louder, more bitter, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Oh man, you guys are clueless." He lowers his voice, leaning in as if he's about to share a big secret. "You think I've been doing all this alone? Nah, I'm only a lackey. Just following my orders."

I feel a chill crawl up my spine. This isn't what I expected. "Orders from who?" I demand, my pulse quickening.

Julian's grin widens as he looks each of us in the eye. "Wouldn't you like to know?"