Chapter 4The Red Flag Party

The class group chat had devolved into absolute anarchy.

"Can anyone reach Seraphina?"

"Where is she?! Why did she run?!"

"Who the hell were those guys in the house?!"

"My phone is gone! I can't find my ID either!"

"Stop texting, the cops said not to touch anything!"

I scrolled up, piece by piece, reconstructing the nightmare of that evening.

At 7:30 PM, the chartered bus picked them up from the campus gates.

The driver wore a suit and claimed to be the Sterling family's private chauffeur.

There was another man on the bus who claimed to be a photography assistant, stating he needed to verify the guest list beforehand.

Everyone provided their full names and the last four digits of their social security numbers.

He told them the gated community had strict security protocols and required registration.

When they arrived, Seraphina was standing at the grand entrance to greet them.

She wore a pristine white dress, her hair elegantly pinned up, smiling much warmer than she ever did on campus.

The living room was adorned with floral arrangements, a dessert bar, and racks of designer dresses.

The lighting was immaculate.

Soft, ambient music was playing.

Everyone truly believed they had stepped into a scene from a high-budget movie.

At 9:00 PM, Seraphina brought out a heavy, wooden lockbox.

She announced, "The offline challenge officially starts now. No one is allowed to check their phones tonight."

A few people hesitated.

She joked, "If you don't put it in, it means you don't trust me."

The rest of the group started cheering and pressuring the holdouts.

Eventually, every single phone was dropped into the box.

Chloe later told me that she did put a phone in the box.

But she had two phones.

She had her daily driver, and an older iPhone she used strictly for filming TikToks and storing B-roll footage.

She couldn't bear to miss out on filming such a gorgeous location, so she had hidden her old phone inside the lining of her dress.

Around 10:00 PM, Seraphina started pouring drinks.

For those who didn't drink alcohol, she poured juice.

Harper mentioned her drink tasted oddly bitter.

Seraphina smiled and said, "It's a custom blend from a vineyard in France, it's supposed to have a complex flavor profile."

Avery only drank half a glass of orange juice, but quickly complained of feeling incredibly sleepy.

Chloe didn't drink much, but she also started feeling dizzy, her legs going weak, and her vision blurring.

And then, the doorbell rang.

It wasn't a cleaning crew, and it wasn't the promised photographer.

It was a group of strange, heavily built men.

Someone sent a long, frantic, typo-ridden message in the group chat, clearly typed through tears.

"After those guys came in, Seraphina was talking to one of them."

"She told him everyone was here, except Mia."

"The guy cursed and said they were short one girl."

"Then Seraphina went upstairs to 'change,' and sneaked out the back door."

Reading that, my fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.

Except Mia.

Short one girl.

I stared at the screen, my mind completely blank.

I thought I had merely dodged a slightly uncomfortable, awkward social obligation.

But the truth was, that trap had a specific spot reserved entirely for me.

Chloe finally called me.

When I answered, all I heard was her sobbing.

It took a long time for her to choke out a single sentence:

"Mia, I'm so scared."

I didn't dare ask for details.

I only asked: "Are you safe right now?"

"I'm at the hospital. The police are here too."

"What about Harper and the others?"

"They're all here. A few of them haven't woken up yet. Avery won't stop crying, she's terrified her parents are going to find out."

I closed my eyes, a crushing weight pressing down on my chest.

"Where is Seraphina?"

Chloe's voice suddenly turned ice-cold.

"She ran."

She told me that by the time the police arrived, the mansion was completely trashed.

A few of the men didn't manage to escape in time and were arrested on the scene.

Several others fled out the back.

Seraphina was gone.

And her luggage was missing too.

"Mia," Chloe said suddenly. "I used to think you were just being a cynical buzzkill for not coming."

She sobbed, struggling to catch her breath.

"Now I realize... you were right."

My throat tightened.

I didn't say, "I told you so."

Because I hadn't told them so.

I had only saved myself.