Chapter 8 - The Bells Underground
Westbridge Academy had only one bell.
An iron bell installed above the original library in 1928.
It had not rung in forty years.
Jasmine studied the school’s architectural history and found a second reference: during construction, workers reported hearing bells beneath the foundation.
The story had become a local legend.
Students called them the buried bells.
According to school folklore, hearing them meant someone would disappear.
Sofia found the practical explanation.
“Railway signal bells,” she said. “Old tunnels used mechanical warning systems. Some could be underground.”
The cut sections of Aaron’s map formed a path when aligned with the original railway survey.
The route began at Westbridge, passed beneath the town courthouse, and ended near St. Augustine’s abandoned children’s hospital.
The hospital had closed nineteen years earlier.
Its basement records were sealed after a fire.
Victoria messaged Jasmine from a temporary number.
MY MOTHER MOVED THE HEARING TO FRIDAY MORNING.
Jasmine replied.
WHAT HAPPENS FRIDAY?
Three minutes passed.
Then:
SHE REMOVES THE LAST WITNESS.
WHO?
Victoria did not answer.
At school, public opinion had turned vicious.
Edited videos showed Jasmine arguing with Victoria at the quarry. Anonymous accounts claimed she had designed the dangerous route to gain attention. Someone leaked her father’s disappearance report and suggested criminal behavior ran in the family.
Daniel posted his own video defending her.
Within an hour, his account was suspended for violating school media rules.
Mr. Park attempted to release a statement confirming Jasmine’s original plan, but the district placed him on administrative leave.
Celeste was removing allies one by one.
Dr. Mercer requested a private meeting with Jasmine Thursday evening.
He chose a crowded café.
“I cannot protect you inside the school,” he said.
“You gave me the basement map.”
“I gave your mother a blank suspension form.”
“You put the map in my hand.”
Dr. Mercer stirred his untouched coffee.
“If I admitted that, Celeste would remove me before Friday.”
“Why is Friday important?”
“The board is approving a campus expansion.”
“That’s the public reason.”
He looked toward the window.
“Beneath the new science building is the last junction connecting Crossroad’s northern and southern routes. Construction will destroy the old evidence and replace the network with a digital system.”
“And the last witness?”
Dr. Mercer’s hand stopped.
“Who told you that phrase?”
“Victoria.”
He leaned closer.
“Have you spoken to her alone?”
“Yes.”
“Do not trust her.”
“She was a child when my father disappeared.”
“She is not a child now.”
“She admitted changing my map.”
Dr. Mercer looked genuinely surprised.
“She told you?”
“She said someone altered it again.”
“That may be true.”
“You believe her?”
“I believe Crossroad never allows one person to know the entire route.”
Jasmine placed Evelyn’s school photograph on the table.
“Is she alive?”
Dr. Mercer closed his eyes.
“I saw Evelyn after the night your father disappeared.”
“Where?”
“In a vehicle beneath the courthouse.”
“Was she injured?”
“She was sedated.”
“Who was driving?”
Dr. Mercer hesitated.
Jasmine saw the answer before he spoke.
“Your mother.”
The café noise seemed to fade.
“No.”
“Elena was working with Aaron.”
“My mother said Celeste intercepted him.”
“Elena drove the vehicle.”
“To save Evelyn?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I have lied for seven years. That part is true.”
Jasmine stood so abruptly that her chair struck the floor.
Dr. Mercer grabbed her wrist.
“Listen to me. The hearing is a distraction. Celeste expects you to fight the accusation. While everyone watches the screen, Crossroad will move something beneath the school.”
“What?”
“The witness.”
“Evelyn?”
Dr. Mercer released her.
“I don’t know her current name.”
The café lights went out.
Customers groaned.
Emergency lamps activated.
Jasmine looked toward the table.
Evelyn’s photograph was gone.
Dr. Mercer was staring at the dark window.
Across the street, Elena stood beneath a streetlight.
May you like
She held the missing photograph in one hand.
In the other, she held a black Crossroad key.
