<h4>Chapter 500: The Secret Group (I)</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    I stared at River, waiting for him to repeat himself because surely I had misheard.


    I couldn’t believe he made us wait hours just to mess with us by ying a joke of this kind. He’s not the type to do that. And yet, I couldn’t believe he was being serious right now.


    "Money?" I asked again, louder this time, because my brain absolutely refused to ept it.


    River only nodded.


    Rowan looked just as stunned as I felt, jaw slightly dropped, eyes wide. Kieran was the only one who lookedposed, though even he had a faint crease between his brows... his version ofplete disbelief.


    "Money," River confirmed again, running a tired hand down his face.


    I blinked. Twice. Then a third time.


    "Are you trying to say the so-called ’offerings’ turned out to be money?" I asked, my voice climbing higher with each word.


    "Apparently so," Oscar replied from where he sat slumped on the couch, looking like he could fall asleep mid-sentence.


    It was nearly half past two in the morning. Yet none of us had even thought about sleeping. Tonight’s operation had started at six in the evening, and only now... hourster... River and Oscar had returned after handling the capture, questioning, and initial sweep.


    My brain was still stuck on that one ridiculous revtion.


    Money.


    <i>The Great Evil</i> was extorting pocket money from students.


    If I weren’t so tired, I might haveughed. Or cried. Or screamed. Possibly all three.


    Instead, I let out a long, defeated sigh and shook my head. "I just can’t believe this."


    Kieran took the lead, leaning forward slightly. "What have you found out so far?"


    That was River’s cue.


    "It turns out," River said, his eyes narrowing in irritation, "that the student who acted as the ’leader’ of the group - Marcus Lee - has been collecting offerings from the members of this secret group ever since Carson’s soul death incident."


    "How much?" Rowan asked.


    River didn’t even blink. "So far... the number has crossed Millions."


    My mouth fell open.


    Millions.


    From students.


    Kieran stiffened beside me. "How in the realms were they getting that kind of money?"


    Oscar answered with a snort. "Stipends, saved allowances, money taken from home without permission, extra cash they got from bullying weak wolves during weekends..." He shrugged. "And some from actual wealthy families."


    Rowan looked horrified. "Why were they paying him? What did he tell them to make them pay so much as offerings?"


    Oscar leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Because somehow this Marcus guy convinced them that by giving offerings, they wouldn’t end up like Carson."


    I stared at him, stunned all over again.


    "And they believed that?" I asked, incredulous. "He just... told them, and they believed him?"


    River shook his head. "He didn’t just tell them. He made sure they would."


    The tone of his voice snapped all three of our attentions toward him.


    "What did he do?" I asked slowly.


    River exhaled. "The students confessed that Marcus was the one who told them about Carson’s soul death."


    I frowned. "But Carson’s case was immediately kept confidential. The Academy never released details."


    "Exactly," River said. "Which made Marcus’ ’insider information’ even more believable. Especially since most of the students in that secret group were convinced Carson was dead because of what they had seen that night."


    "That... night?" Rowan prompted.


    Oscar nodded. "Just to let you all know, this secret student group has been around almost as long as the Academy - six years. It started as a small club for rule-breaking and mischief. Sneaking out, ditching sses, pranks... teenage stupidity."


    His gaze shifted to me as he continued, "Originally, there were only seniors in this group. But in recent years, more and more students joined. They liked the thrill."


    I frowned. "What does this have to do with Carson?"


    River leaned back before he revealed what he and Oscar had learned from the students.


    "On the evening of Carson’s soul-death incident, Marcus and Carson sneaked out. They were supposed to bring booze for a secret party nned for the next night. Kind of a routine for the group. But when Marcus returned around midnight, he was panicked... babbling that Carson was dead."


    I stiffened. Rowan’s expression darkened.


    "At first," River continued, "the others thought Marcus was joking. Or ying a prank to mess with them. But then they realized he was genuinely terrified."


    Oscar took over. "A few senior-year and third-year students followed Marcus to the forest. To where he said he had left Carson’s body."


    I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.


    "But when they got there," Oscar said quietly, "patrolling warriors had already found Carson."


    "The students panicked," he continued. "They ran back to the Academy, making a pact not to say a word. They waited for the Academy to announce Carson’s death... but obviously that didn’t happen."


    "So they assumed," Rowan said slowly, "that the Academy covered it up."


    River nodded. "And because they were already involved in sneaking out, breaking rules and all that stuff- they didn’t try to find out what happened. They were scared. Guilty. And they stayed silent."


    "That exins why no one came forward despite knowing about his incident," Kieran muttered.


    I rubbed my temples. "But how did this lead to Marcus extorting money?"


    "That’s the part," River said, "that gets interesting."


    He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, the tension in the room rising as he continued.


    "The secret group almost disbanded after Carson’s incident. Members were scared. And ording to them, their secret meetingspletely stopped after that incident. There were no more rule-breaking. Most wanted to forget it ever happened."


    He paused.


    "But then..." he said, his voice turning low, "during the third week of the new term, they received a message."


    My breath caught. And I felt a cold hush settle in the study.


    Kieran’s expression hardened. Rowan crossed his arms, jaw clenched.


    I asked, barely above a whisper, "What message?"


    River’s eyes met mine.


    "A message summoning the group for a meeting."