Chapter 26: The General’s Invitation
A sharp, authoritative knock on her door broke her reverie. It was the general’s aide, carrying a formal, cream-colored envelope—an invitation to the Archives of the Fallen. The general wanted her to see the classified records, the ones that had been "lost" during the chaotic reorganization of the academy fifteen years ago. It was an incredibly risky move; the institution guarded its secrets with a zeal bordering on paranoia, and anyone approaching the archives was usually watched. She looked at the invitation, then at the medal on her desk, the bronze glinting in the dying light of the afternoon.
She realized that the ceremony in the auditorium had merely been the opening act. The real investigation into her father’s disappearance—and the systemic betrayal that had fueled the school's rapid rise to power—was about to begin. She nodded to the aide, her resolve hardening like tempered steel. She was done being the silent, grieving observer of her own tragedy. As the aide left, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine, not from fear, but from the electric thrill of knowing that the predator was about to become the prey.
