Jay's POV
Nobody answered the stranger's question.
The silence itself felt like an answer.
I looked around the auditorium one more time, hoping someone would suddenly remember something. A face. A conversation. A single moment connected to Stein.
But all I saw were confused expressions.
The stranger sighed softly before lowering his gaze. He didn't seem surprised. If anything, he looked disappointed, as if he had expected this outcome from the very beginning.
"Then let's start somewhere else," he said.
His voice immediately caught everyone's attention.
The atmosphere inside the auditorium shifted. Not much. Just enough to make my stomach twist.
Because I had a feeling whatever came next would only make things worse.
The stranger reached into his bag and carefully pulled out a folder.
A thick one.
Filled with papers.
My eyes narrowed.
For some reason, seeing that folder made me nervous.
The stranger placed it on a nearby chair and opened it.
The sound of papers rustling echoed throughout the room.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
We simply watched.
Then he pulled out a single sheet and held it up.
"This was submitted two years ago."
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
Two years ago.
The same time period connected to everything else.
The same period connected to Stein.
The stranger looked at the paper for a moment before continuing.
"It was never approved."
Felix frowned.
"What was it?"
The stranger slowly raised his head.
"A request."
The room remained silent.
"A request to leave Section E."
For a moment, I couldn't process what I had just heard.
My eyes widened.
Around me, several people exchanged confused looks.
Because that didn't make sense.
Why would anyone want to leave Section E?
We weren't perfect.
We argued.
We annoyed each other.
But nobody had ever wanted out.
At least...
that's what I thought.
The stranger carefully folded the paper again.
Then his gaze moved across the room.
Stopping briefly on David.
A chill ran through me.
Because the expression on David's face had changed again.
And this time...
it looked like he already knew exactly what was written on that page.