Wildcard [ÉLITE]

―ix.

Daniela's hands shook as she took the podium at the front of the class. She pulled up her presentation. The slide show that started out with a perfectly normal explanation of the Byzantine Empire. Her eyes met Guzmán's first. He was sitting with Nadia, and he looked so calm. He gave her the smallest nod.

She clicked to the first slide, and began her report: A Brief History of Byzantium. With each slide, her heart beat faster, and Dani felt like it must be audible to everyone in the room. When she met Valerio's eyes, she felt like she could breathe a little easier. "But the Byzantine Emperor made a mistake," she said, evenly. "He asked an outsider for help."

Dani clicked to the next slide. Marina's face appeared on the screen. Those that didn't know what was happening murmured amongst themselves. "We're blackmailing Teo," Marina said.

"Marina, does anyone know?" Dani asked, a disembodied voice off screen.

"Carla figured it out." Though it had been months ago, Dani still felt her heart sink in the long pause. "We're going to be fine, what's she going to do, sick Polo on me? Yeah, real terrifying."

Several people glanced at Polo, who was staring directly at the redhead on the screen. Daniela changed the slide, and Carla's face replaced Marina's. "He came to me right after, covered in blood. Marina's blood. I found him a new shirt, I helped him hide the evidence. I covered for him for months. I won't do that anymore."

"It's a lie," Cayetana said, standing up. "We're heard it all before. They can't prove anything."

Daniela locked eyes with Polo as she flipped to the last slide. The picture she'd taken at Cayetana's house, the trophy tucked in the back of the medicine cabinet. Beside Polo, Cayetana dropped back into her seat. "Every empire has to fall," Dani whispered.

The door opened, Ander's mother led in two police officers. "That's enough Ms. Molina." Daniela closed her laptop, but stayed at the podium as the officers approached Polo.

"Leopoldo Benavent, you're under arrest for the murder of Marina Nunier."

"Again," Carla muttered.

Cayetana was arrested too, for being an accessory after the fact. As the two were led out of the classroom, Caye turned to face Daniela. "I thought you were my friend, but you're no better than the rest of them."

"I was never your friend, you were just too desperate to see the truth," Dani told her, shaking her head. "But I do pity you. I know what it's like to feel alone." After they were gone, their teacher looked at Daniela for a moment, shook his head, and dismissed class.

Daniela joined her friends, and not-quite friends, in the hallway. "Do you think they'll go to jail this time?" Nadia asked.

Dani shook her head. "His moms will get them the best lawyers. He'll probably end up institutionalized, Caye might get off with parole. But that's the way it should be. Polo needs treatment, not a prison sentence." She glanced at Carla, who hung back from their circle. The unspoken blame still hung between them.

"Is the trophy going to be enough?" Ander asked.

"There were fingerprints on the plastic bag, both of theirs." Dani scoffed. "They're not exactly criminal masterminds."

"With the money Guzmán and Dani are putting into Christian's treatment, he doesn't need to keep his mouth shut anymore," Samuel added.

Dani bit her lip. "I'd recommend he keep his mouth shut." She glanced at Guzmán for a moment, and he nodded. "For a little bit longer at least."

As their group disbanded and went their separate ways, Valerio hung back. "You alright?"

"Better than I thought I'd be," she admitted. "It's still hard, you know. I mean I've known Polo for years, sometimes I still see that boy, not a murderer. I meant what I said, I hope he gets treatment. He's always struggled and whatever Carla did...It just broke him."