CHAPTER 160: THE AUTOSY II.

Taros slipped out through the back door and ran until he caught up with the others. When they finally got far enough from the staff quarters, they stopped to wait for Slade. Taros tried calling him but he didn’t answer.

"I told you he wasn’t reliable," Hailey said with a roll of her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. No matter what the others said, she never liked Slade.

"He just saved us a few minutes ago," Alex reminded her, as if she had already forgotten. But Hailey only shrugged.

"Thank goodness you’re a girl," Alex went on. "You’ll leave for your school once we’re done with this investigation."

Hailey’s eyes widened in surprise. "Hey Alex, be nice." She hadn’t expected him to sound so ready to get rid of her.

"I don’t enjoy your company," Alex said coldly. "I wish I never traded places with Stales."

Her face fell at his words. She bit her lip and turned away, sadness in her steps as she walked off.

"You didn’t have to say that," Taros muttered, shaking his head. "You should be nicer." His phone beeped then, a message from Slade saying he had gone to handle something that came up at the dormitory. Principal Valois had gone to check on Kaito. Taros called them together.

"Slade just sent a message," he said once they all gathered. "And there’s something else. He said the autopsy result is ready."

The news made them all uneasy.

"We need to go to the school hospital first," Taros added.

"Why are we going there?" Hailey asked, still sounding confused.

"To find out about the report," Alex answered firmly.

"You could ask my sister," Hailey offered.

"So she can lie about it?" Alex shot back. He knew Principal Valois wouldn’t tell them everything. She’d hold back the truth to keep them calm and avoid panic among the students.

Hailey sighed and gave in. "Fine. Let’s go then."

When they arrived at the hospital, she told the boys she could handle it since she knew the female pathologist. The boys stayed outside while she went in.

"Do you think things are going well for the others?" Alex asked quietly. Worry hung heavy in his voice. He wasn’t just thinking about their friends’ safety. His heart was tied to Angela, and he feared the truth she might uncover about her family. Was she really a Malynster? He hoped not.

"I don’t know," Taros said, "but there won’t be a problem." Then he turned to Alex. "What’s wrong? You look worried."

Alex dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. "I don’t know why, but I keep praying for Angela. I don’t want her to be a Malynster. I want her to belong to a family with less darkness... a family that would have loved her all these years she never felt loved. I don’t want her to regret knowing who she really belongs to."

"And you think the Malynster family is like that? You haven’t even met Marcus yet. He could actually mean well for her," Taros said.

"I hope so," Alex murmured, though his voice carried doubt.

"Besides, she has us. If Angela doesn’t want anything to do with them, no matter how strong that family is, we won’t let them get close to her," Taros added with quiet certainty.

Alex gave a small nod, realizing he might be worrying too much. They waited in silence until, after about fifteen minutes, Hailey came out to meet them. She held the report in her hand and gave it to Taros. He scanned it quickly, his expression hardening.

"He died the very night he disappeared," Taros said.

"The night we went after him," Alex whispered, his chest tightening. "What was the cause of death?"

"Neurotoxin," Taros replied, looking up at them. "It was injected into him three times."

The others stared at him in confusion until he explained further. "It’s a poison that attacks the nerves. And that’s not all. They discovered a rare gene in him. They think he was a werewolf carrying a rare strain. They plan to test his parents to confirm."

Hailey’s mouth fell open. "That’s insane. No wonder things don’t add up. Why don’t we go to the academic block and check his records? There might be something useful there."

Alex actually chuckled under his breath. "Finally, you’re beginning to make sense."

Hailey hissed and rolled her eyes before following Taros as they left. The academic block was almost deserted, the air heavy with silence. The staff had gone home, and the guards must have shifted to the dormitories.

"We have to move quickly. My sister doesn’t stay out of her office for long," Hailey warned as they walked. She broke away from them, headed straight to the CCTV control room, and switched off the cameras. Returning, she waved them on. "Come on, let’s check the record room first. We can find information on any student or staff here."

"Fine," Taros said, letting her lead. They climbed the stairs and turned down the right hallway. For a moment Taros slowed, his eyes drifting toward Slade’s office door, temptation pulling at him, but he forced himself to look away and kept moving. Soon they reached the record room.

"Evan is listed as a form one student," Taros said quietly as he opened the file.

"He was," Alex corrected him softly, the word heavier than it should have been.

Taros drew in a long breath, his shoulders sinking. "I know... I just can’t accept it. I never even met him, but I feel like he deserved a chance at life. He should have been given that much."

"I found his file," Hailey said as she pulled it out from the row of neatly arranged folders on the shelf. She handed it to Taros who opened it quickly. His eyes grew wide as he scanned the contents.

"What is it? What happened?" Hailey asked, her voice tight with unease.

"He didn’t register as human," Taros said slowly, still reading. "But after the second week, his status changed to werewolf. His guardian was changed three different times... and he’s only a first year student."

Hailey frowned, confusion written across her face. "I don’t understand. Honestly, everything in this academy scares me now."

"Can you help me check something?" Taros asked. Alex pulled out his phone and started searching. "Type in Dr. Dylan. I think he is famous," Taros added. "He is a philanthropist as well."

Alex scrolled through the results, his brows knitting together. "He’s a renowned doctor, owns a hospital in... wait," he looked up, startled, "in Angela’s town. And he’s listed here as Evan’s guardian."

"Bring Angela’s file," Taros ordered.

Since Angela was in his class, Alex thought it would be easy to find. He went through the shelf of second year files, but there was no trace of hers. He searched again more carefully, this time with Hailey beside him, but even after combing through all the junior student records, Angela’s file was missing.

"Let’s check the dormitory records then. Which room is Kaito’s?" Taros asked, moving toward the section for West House.

"Room fifty four," Alex replied. He watched as Taros flipped through, but it didn’t take long to see the frustration settle on his face.

"Someone erased her information," Hailey said bitterly. "It has to be my sister."

"No," Taros shook his head firmly. "She wouldn’t have done it." His eyes dropped back to Evan’s file, scanning the strange notes again. "Check Dr. Dylan. What kind of doctor is he really?"

Alex typed quickly, then lifted his head. "He’s a genetic engineer... but there’s no picture of him anywhere online." His voice lowered as the thought struck him. "Do you think he could be Mr. Slade?"

Taros closed the file in his hands with a sharp snap and slid it back into place. His jaw tightened as he muttered, "I’m glad our minds are moving in the same direction. But the real question is... what the hell is he doing in our school?"