Into The Lion's Den
Author: Shadow
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-22 16:20:48

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Chapter 13

Jamal sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the crumpled note he’d found tucked into his locker that morning. “Stay out of it.” Three words, scrawled hastily on plain paper, but the message was loud and clear.

He turned the paper over in his hands, the edges soft from where he’d folded and unfolded it a dozen times. His first instinct was to toss it into the trash and forget about it, but a deeper part of him—the part that had seen too much to back down—told him to keep it.

The muffled sound of his mom humming floated in from the kitchen, breaking his train of thought. He shoved the note into his backpack and headed downstairs.

“Morning, sweetheart,” his mom said without looking up as she flipped a pancake onto a plate. “Hungry?”

Jamal hesitated, torn between wanting to sit and enjoy a normal breakfast and the gnawing tension in his stomach.

“I’m good,” he said finally, grabbing an apple from the counter. “Not much of an appetite today.”

His mom turned, narrowing her e
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