Nicole couldn’t imagine what she was feeling—and to be fair, after her nightmare that morning, she didn’t want to. That kind of pain would rip her to shreds until there was nothing left. She’d already been there and had zero intentions of ever going back. She slid into the chair and restarted the video.

There, at 3:14, was Francis walking with Ethan while everyone else took a group picture.

314. Just like in the nonsensical recipe. Was this what they were supposed to find?

Nicole opened her mouth, ready to call the others over, but stopped herself.

If Alex’s earlier theory was correct, Francis was Nicole’s partner—she could only win The Cruelest Jewel with him.

Was this another test—this time to see if she’d rat her partner out to the group?

Yesterday afternoon, she had chosen Francis over Stella.

Last night, he asked her to a movie, only to leave when Ethan appeared, a likely plot to set her up to be cornered by Jewel.

Nicole put her face in her hands. She was being manipulated again.

Francis had given her multiple warnings, as if he knew something the others didn’t, with no real explanation as to how he knew. Her stupid lizard brain made her gloss over those facts every time he looked at her because she liked his face. A lot.

But Stella saw through him, and had been relentless this morning, constantly questioning him.

Nicole needed answers. She watched Stella and Harlow and Luna and Alex, searching and theorizing, trying to figure out what their next step should be together. Asking them for help didn’t sit right with her.

Francis was her challenge. Not theirs. She felt the truth of it—all signs pointed to Jewel pushing them together. Before she said anything to the group, she would find out on her own.

If the videos were real, and Luna was sure they were, why was Francis in them? That’s where Nicole had to start.

And she would end by asking if he was a part of The Cruelest Jewel. Point blank.

“I don’t think anything is here,” Luna said, approaching the desk with Alex. “Maybe we should try the passageway now? What do you think?”

“Sure,” Nicole said, looking up. Her poker face was exquisite. She gave away nothing. “Let’s do that.”

“Great!” Luna laid her codex flat on the table. “Do you have your map open? What’s the official name of this room?”

“It just says Office Space,” Nicole said.

Luna flipped through the pages, scanning them quickly. “Oh, okay, here it is. Office Space Two: Misty Mountains. It says, ‘Find a tabletop with X marks the spot. There’ll be a switch underneath it. Flip it to make the keypad reveal itself on the door.’”