Chapter 3: The Video Nobody Was Supposed To See
Naomi stared at the message until the words stopped looking like words.
*You think Brooke exposed you? She doesn’t even know what she recorded.*
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
For a moment, she thought about closing the message.
Ignoring it.
Pretending none of this had happened.
That was what she usually did.
Ignore.
Stay quiet.
Wait for people to get bored.
But this time was different.
This time, someone had taken something she cared about and turned it into entertainment.
Her father noticed her expression.
“What is it?””
Naomi locked her phone.
“Nothing.””
Daniel Carter gave her a look.
The same look he had given criminals during interviews.
The look that said he already knew she wasn’t telling the truth.
“Naomi.””
She sighed.
“Someone sent me a message.””
“What kind of message?””
She unlocked her phone and handed it to him.
He read it carefully.
His face didn’t change.
But Naomi knew him.
She saw his jaw tighten slightly.
“That account,” he said.
“What?””
“Do you recognize the username?””
Naomi looked.
The account name was random.
A string of letters and numbers.
“No.””
Daniel handed the phone back.
“Don’t respond yet.””
“Why?””
“Because whoever sent this wants a reaction.””
Naomi looked toward the road where Brooke had disappeared.
“You think it’s Brooke?””
“I think we don’t assume anything until we know.””
That was her father’s answer to everything.
Facts first.
Feelings second.
Naomi respected that.
But sometimes facts took too long.
Especially when everyone else was already deciding what they believed.
By the time Naomi arrived at school the next morning, she knew exactly how bad it had become.
She felt it before she even walked through the entrance.
The whispers.
The glances.
The phones pointed in her direction.
A group of students near the lockers stopped talking when they saw her.
That was worse than laughing.
Laughing meant they were not afraid to show what they thought.
Silence meant they were hiding it.
Naomi adjusted the strap of her backpack and kept walking.
Then someone called her name.
“Naomi.””
She turned.
It was Ethan Brooks.
One of the few people at school who had never treated her like she was strange.
He stood beside the science hallway, holding a notebook against his chest.
“You okay?””
Naomi forced a small smile.
“I’m fine.””
Ethan looked toward the students nearby.
“No, you’re not.””
She looked away.
“I’ll survive.””
“That’s not the same thing.””
For a second, Naomi almost smiled.
Ethan always did that.
He never accepted the easy answer.
Before she could reply, Brooke walked into the hallway.
The reaction was immediate.
People moved around her.
Not because they were afraid.
Because they wanted to be close enough to hear the latest story.
Brooke saw Naomi.
Then smiled.
A slow, satisfied smile.
“Morning.””
Naomi didn’t answer.
Brooke stopped a few feet away.
“Did you sleep well?””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Brooke.””
She looked at him.
“What?””
“You posted a video of someone getting hurt.””
Brooke laughed.
“Relax. She wasn’t hurt.””
Ethan frowned.
“That’s not the point.””
Brooke tilted her head.
“Interesting. You weren’t there.””
“I saw the video.””
“Exactly.””
She smiled.
“You saw what everyone saw.””
Naomi’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?””
Brooke lifted her phone.
“You should check the comments.””
“I don’t care.””
“That’s the funny part.””
Brooke stepped closer.
“You keep saying you don’t care. But you do.””
Naomi looked at her.
“Why are you doing this?””
The question seemed to surprise Brooke.
Not because she didn’t know the answer.
Because nobody had asked her before.
Brooke lowered her phone.
“Because you think you’re different.””
Naomi shook her head.
“No. You think I’m different.””
“And I’m tired of you pretending you’re better.””
“I never said that.””
“You don’t have to.””
Brooke walked away.
The crowd followed.
Naomi stood there, watching the hallway slowly return to normal.
Except it wasn’t normal anymore.
Ethan looked at her.
“There’s something else.””
Naomi turned.
“What?””
He hesitated.
“I saw another video.””
Her stomach tightened.
“What other video?””
“Not the lake one.””
Ethan opened his phone.
“I think you need to see it.””
Naomi stared at the screen.
The video was blurry.
It looked like it had been recorded from far away.
But she recognized the place immediately.
Willow Creek.
The same morning.
The same day.
The same people.
Except this angle was different.
The camera wasn’t pointed at Naomi.
It was pointed behind Brooke.
Naomi watched.
Brooke was standing near the chair.
Kayla and Madison were laughing.
Then Brooke said something.
The audio was faint.
Ethan increased the volume.
The hallway noise disappeared.
A voice came through.
Brooke.
“Push it harder. She’s always acting like she’s too good for everyone.””
Naomi froze.
The video continued.
Kayla laughed nervously.
“Brooke, that’s enough.””
But Brooke didn’t stop.
“She won’t do anything. She never does.””
Then the chair moved.
Naomi watched herself fall.
But the part that shocked her wasn’t the fall.
It was what happened afterward.
While Naomi was underwater, Brooke looked directly at the camera.
Not surprised.
Not scared.
She knew she was being recorded.
And she smiled.
Naomi felt cold.
Not from the memory.
From understanding.
“She knew.””
Ethan looked at her.
“Yeah.””
“She knew there was another camera.””
“Yeah.””
Naomi looked at the username that posted the video.
The unknown account.
The warning message.
Someone had captured the truth.
Someone had been watching.
“Who recorded this?””
Ethan shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
Naomi replayed the video.
Again.
And again.
Then she noticed something.
A reflection.
In the corner of the screen.
A person standing near the trees.
Holding a phone.
She paused the video.
Zoomed in.
The image became blurry.
But she could see enough.
A jacket.
A backpack.
A familiar shape.
“No way.””
Ethan looked at her.
“What?””
Naomi pointed.
“That’s someone from our school.””
“Who?””
She didn’t answer immediately.
Because she knew.
The person in the reflection wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone she had seen every day.
Someone who had been sitting quietly while Brooke controlled the entire school.
Naomi whispered the name.
“Lily.””
Ethan frowned.
“Lily Parker?””
Naomi nodded.
Lily was the quiet girl who sat in the back of class.
The girl nobody noticed.
The girl who never joined Brooke’s group.
The girl who always seemed to disappear whenever drama started.
“Why would she record this?””
Naomi didn’t know.
But she suddenly remembered the message.
*You think Brooke exposed you? She doesn’t even know what she recorded.*
Someone wanted Brooke caught.
Someone wanted Naomi to find this.
The question was why.
The school bell rang.
Students began moving again.
But Naomi stayed frozen.
Because for the first time since yesterday, she realized something.
The lake incident wasn’t just a cruel joke.
It was planned.
And someone had been waiting for the right moment to reveal the truth.
After school, Naomi went straight home.
Her father was sitting at the kitchen table reviewing paperwork when she walked in.
He immediately noticed her face.
“What happened?””
She placed Ethan’s phone on the table.
“Dad.””
Daniel watched the video.
His expression became darker with every second.
When it ended, he didn’t speak.
Naomi waited.
Finally, he looked at her.
“This changes things.””
“How?””
“Because this wasn’t just a prank.””
“I know.””
“No.””
His voice became serious.
“You know they pushed you.””
He pointed toward the screen.
“This proves someone wanted you humiliated.””
Naomi sat down.
“Can you find who recorded it?””
Daniel looked at the video again.
“Maybe.””
“Maybe?””
He leaned back.
“Naomi, whoever filmed this stayed hidden. They didn’t post it publicly. They sent it directly to you.””
“So?””
“So they might not want attention.””
“Then what do they want?””
Her father didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know.
And that worried him more than anything.
A few minutes later, Naomi’s phone buzzed.
Both of them looked.
Another unknown message.
This time, there was no warning.
No explanation.
Only a photo.
Naomi opened it.
Her breath stopped.
It was a picture of Brooke’s phone.
On the screen was a hidden folder.
A folder with dozens of videos.
And one file name that made Naomi’s heart drop.
*CARTER FAMILY SECRET.*
Underneath it was a message.
*“Brooke isn’t trying to destroy you because of the lake.””*
May you like
A second message appeared.
*“She’s afraid you’ll find out what your father never told you.””*
