Jess was shocked by Angie’s revetion. “Wait, you’ve been helping us this whole time?”

  Angie nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been keeping Jess away from certain individuals and trying to protect you, in my own way. That being said, I don’t want yall to think I’m suddenly your best friends. Also, two of you here have a bill with me.”

  Michigo and Roselle exged gnces momentarily before small smiles came to their face. Roselle spoke up first, “We uand that, but you helped us, Angie. reciate it, even if you’re not doing it out of the kindness of your heart.”

  Michigo chimed in, “Yeah, we’ll honor our debt to you, Angie… “

  “Alright, here’s the pn,” Angie began. “We know they want te Roselle and Risebelle into oy, right? But they also o capture Risebelle to make it work. We’re going to use that against them.”

  Angie tinued, “We’ll set a trap for Shadowcroft, making it seem like Risebelle is an easy target. We’ll use Roselle as bait, and Michigo, you’ll act as her protector.”

  Roselle nodded, uanding the pn. “And when they e for Risebelle, we’ll be ready to catch them by surprise. But how do we ensure our safety in all of this?”

  Angie smirked, “That’s where I e in. I’ll be monit everything from a distance, ready to step in if things get too dangerous. You t oo have your backs.”

  Michigo raised an eyebrow, “And what about Jess? She’s beeing closer to Risebelle. Won’t she be in danger?”

  Angie’s face darkened. “Jess may be more involved in this thahink. I’ll keep an eye ooo, but you two o be careful around her until we figure out her true allegiance.”

  Jess’s eyes narrowed. “Shittalker Angie… you’ve always been trying to make me look like the bad guy. You’re just trying to turn everyone against me, aren’t you?”

  Angie’s face remained calm, almost smug. “Oh, I beg to differ, Jess. Jess, I’m n to make you look bad. But your clothes speak for themselves. They scream ‘I’m up to no good.’ A’s be ho, we all know what kind of pces those dark clubs lead to.”

  Jess crossed her arms defiantly. “Proof? Show it. Show everyone how I’m doing something that would hurt them.”

  Angie smirked. “There’s o provide proof. Your attire speaks for itself. Where else would you go dressed like that? Dark clubs, hanging out with bad guys, using your body.”

  Jess growled. “You think just because I wear these revealing clothing that I’m a slut? Well, guess what? It takes more than just a pretty fad a tight dress to get me into bed.”

  Risebelle stepped forward and pce a hand on Jess’ arm and then turo fagie. “Angie, you ’t just accuse her based on her clothes. We need facts, not assumptions.”

  Jess’s anger fred. She pushed Risebelle’s arm away and stepped up into Angie’s face. “You’re not fooling ah your calm act, you little bitch. I know you’ve got something against me. You’re using this situation to take it out on me! Don’t even try to deny it!”

  Angie remaioic. “Jess, this isn’t personal. I’ve got my reasons for being cautious. We’re dealing with a dangerous anization here, not kids from door, you know.”

  Jess’s anger fred even more. “Isn’t personal my Ass! You judged me just by how I looked a while ago! Do you really think I’m gonna believe that shit!?”

  Angie, unfazed, popped a lollipop into her mouth and leaned back casually. “You know what, Jess? You o chill out.”

  Jess shouted, “Stop being so smug, Angie! You’re always ag like you know everything!”

  Aook another leisurely lick of her lollipop. “Here’s what you need,” she said, and before Jess could react, she shoved the same lollipop into Jess’s mouth.

  Roselle’s eyes widened in horror as Angie shoved the lollipop into Jess’s mouth. She quickly got up and put herself between them. “Jess, calm down! Angie, you really shouldn’t be doing things like this. We’re trying to work together, e tensions!”

  But Jess, already at her breaking point. Her eyes bzed with fury, and she growled, “That’s it. I’ve had enough of your bullshit!”

  Without another word, Jess lu Angie. Angie barely flinched a a smirk on her face. Michig into a, trying to intervene, but the two were already in motion.

  Jess’s fury intensified wheiced Angie’s calm demeanor. With urained aggression, Jess reached for the game devigie’s pocket. She squeezed the game until it shattered into pieces that would then fall the floor.

  Angie’s eyes fred with sudden, intense fury “Oh, you bitch!” she shouted loudly.

  The two began exging blows.

  Risebelle, witnessing the esg chaos, stood up with her eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, she stepped forward. In one swift and powerful motion, Risebelle grabbed both Jess and Angie. With a forceful push, she sent Jess and Ao opposite ers of the room.

  Risebelle folded her arms. “Enough!” she decred. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. We have a bigger issue to deal with, and bickering among ourselves won’t help! Angie, if you’re here to help, fine, but don’t accuse Jess without evidence!”

  Roselle quickly moved to hold Jess back. Michigo did the same with Angie. Despite Risebelle’s words, the tensioween Jess and Angie remained.

  Roselle shouted, “Stop it! This isn’t helping anyone!”

  Angie poi Jess with a trembling finger. “Do you know how much that game e? 256! And you just rui!”

  Roselle shook her head. “I’ll buy you a new one, Angie. Just calm down.”

  Angie’s fury began to fade while processing Roselle’s offer. Risebelle stepped forward and said, “Roselle, I’ll handle buying the game back fie.” She then walked over to Jess and pced her hands on her sides. “Jess, I’m very disappointed in you.”

  Jess’s anger seemed to evaporate the moment Risebelle stood infront of her. Her shoulders slumped, and she turned away, frowning deeply.

  Risebelle looked between Angie and Jess with her arms folded. “Alright, now both of you o apologize to each other. This nonsense has to stop.”

  Aook a deep breath and tried to pose herself. “Fine. I apologize for singling you out, Jess. It was a mistake to judge you based on appearances and not the facts.”

  Jess responded relutly. “And I’m sorry for shing out at you, A wasn’t right to destroy your stuff, even if I was mad.” She turo Risebelle and took on a more sione. “I caused trouble for everyone here. Risebelle, I’m sorry. You’ve been so lovely trying to keep us all together. you five me, darling?”

  Risebelle nodded.

  “You may tinue, Angie,” Harty said.

  Angie nodded. She took a deep breathe and then said, “Back to the pn. We’ve got some advantages on our side. Risebelle has already seen a doppelganger of herself, so we assume Roselle might have a simir experience soon. This could be our ce to find out more about these doppelgangers and maybe even Shadowcroft’s operations.”

  She paused for a moment to let her words sink in before tinuing, “I’ve already tacted some of my gamer friends who specialize in hag and gathering information. They’ll help us keep tabs on any digital traces Shadowight leave behind.”

  Angie gnced around the room at her audiend cluded, “Our mission is to stay vigint, gather information, and, most importantly, protect Roselle and Risebelle from being the victims of this shadowy anization.”

  Aook a deep breath and then handed out slips of paper to the group, each taining a web address and a chatroom password.

  “Here’s how we’ll stay in touch during this operation,” Angie expined. “Use the web address to access our encrypted chatroom. It’s a secure ptform, and only those with the password will be able to join our discussions. This way, we share information, coordinate our efforts, and stay oep ahead of Shadowcroft.”

  She looked around at the group, making sure they all uood the importance of this unication el. “Remember, this is crucial for our safety and success. Don’t share this information with aside of this group. We ’t afford to have any leaks.”

  The group nodded in agreement. Ahen spoke, “Now, let’s all ehe chatroom with your assigned usernames when you get home.”

  Roselle, Michigo, and Hashta remained behind, along with Harty and Angie.

  “None of what we discussed today had anything to do with Tina,” Miarked with slight frustration in tone.

  Angie, now casually chewing on a lollipop, eyed Roselle with a knowing look. “Tina is a sensitive subject, I know. I wasn’t sure if Roselle would want that brought up, given what she’s been through.”

  Roselle looked away. The memories of Tina and the photos she had received were still troubling her.

  Harty stepped in. “I heard Roselle received some photos from a pyer named Alex. Angie mao beat him in a game of Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows, and those photos might tain valuable clues about Tina’s whereabouts.”

  Roselle’s gaze flickered with hesitation. “I’m not sure if I want to give them up just yet. It’s...um…”

  Harty’s tone softened. “Roselle, I uand this is difficult. But those photos could be crucial in finding Tina. Please, trust me. We need every piece of information we get.”

  Roselle’s fingers brushed against something in her pockets. She pulled out the photos of Tina. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Wait a minute. How did these get here?”

  Harty leaned forward. “What’s wrong, Roselle?”

  Roselle replied. “I have the photos on me, but I don’t remember putting them in my pockets when I was getting ready today. It’s like they just appeared.”

  Michigo’s face became flushed. She stepped forward and spoke. “I’m so sorry, Roselle. When I was helping you with your outfit earlier, I kind of slipped those photos into your pocket. I thought they might be useful for the iigation, and I didn’t want t them up because I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

  Roselle’s eyes widened. Her face showed a slight hint of anger. “You... put them in my pocket without telling me...?”

  Michigo pced her hands together. “Please don’t be mad. I just wao help! I thought it might be better if you had them with you in case they turned out to be important.”

  Roselle stared at the photos and a few memories of Tina surfaced. She took a deep breath, gatherihoughts. “Finding Tina is more important than w about how these photos ended up in my pocket.”

  She turo Harty and handed him the pictures. “Here, take the photos. I’m handing them over to you. But I o warn you—some of these are quite graphic. I just want to make sure you’re prepared for what you might see.”

  Harty accepted them with a solemn nod. “Thank you, Roselle. “

  Harty g Roselle before turning his attention to the photos. Roselle gave him a nod of encement, and Harty began flipping through them His face darkened more and more. There was anger which became visible on his face.

  Angie leaned over casually. “I’ve seen worse,” she ented nontly. Her eyes flickered over the images. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she reached out to take one of the photos from Harty’s hand. “Is Tina taking—”

  Before she could finish, Harty’s hand shot out, snatg the photo away. “Not one word, Angie,” he snapped.

  Angie’s eyes widened slightly. She raised her hands in the air. “Hey, hey, don’t get mad at me. ”

  Harty’s mind was rag with the information from the photos. The disturbing images had triggered a new perspective. With fidence, he spoke up. “I think I have a lead, something that might sound a bit off, but it’s all we have. Alex, the guy who sent these photos, his as don’t add up. He’s been seen with Sarah, Roselle’s friend, and Jess’s ex-boyfriely disappeared. We o sider that it could be the same person under a different name or alias.”

  Harty’s analysis tinued, “I checked with the school records, and there’s no one named Alex or Rosebelle. This guy looks nothing like Jess’s ex, but that might be part of the disguise. If he’s trying to get close to Jess, he could be trag her, which means Jess could be in danger right now. Alex might know something about Tina, especially if he’s been seen with Sarah.”

  “I should’ve squeezed more information out of Alex when I had the ce,” Atered with a hint of annoyance. Angie swiftly set to work, trag the background of the images using her mini-ptop. After a few moments of intense focus, she came back with fast results. “I’ve located the pce where these photos were taken. It seems to be a warehouse oskirts of town,” Angie announced.

  Harty sidered the options. “All right, we’ll split up. One of us o go to Jess’ house and make sure she’s safe. The rest of us will check out the warehouse and look for any signs of Tina.”

  Roselle, Michigo, Harty, and Angie hey were all on the same page.