Professor Kane's POV
The letter burst into flames the moment I finished reading it.
I jerked backward, knocking over my coffee mug as the black ash scattered across my desk. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the remaining corner of the paper before it too crumbled away.
But I had already read enough. The words were burned into my mind like a brand: "Your daughter Emma is walking home from school right now. She's wearing her blue backpack and holding her favorite stuffed rabbit. She has no idea that three guys are following her. If you want her to make it home safely, you will cut all ties with Maya Chen instantly. Tell no one about this letter. You have one hour."
My blood turned to ice. Emma. My sweet seven-year-old Emma with her gap-toothed smile and her love of fairy stories. She always carried that stupid rabbit everywhere, even though the other kids teased her about it.
I grabbed my phone with shaking fingers and called my wife.
"Sarah, where's Emma?" I tried to keep my voice steady, but it came out as a croak.
"She's walking home from school, why? Kane, you sound terrible. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just... can you go meet her? Right now?"
"Kane, she's fine. Mrs. Peterson saw her two blocks ago. She'll be home in ten minutes."
Ten minutes. I hung up and looked at the clock on my wall. The second hand seemed to move in slow motion. Who would threaten my family? And why did they want me to stay away from Maya?
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: "Smart guy. Remember, we're always watching."
I ran to my window and looked out at the school parking lot. Everything looked normal. Students walking to their cars, teachers going home, birds chirping in the trees. But somewhere out there, people were watching my family. People who could make my daughter disappear.
Another text: "Maya Chen will come to you for help soon. When she does, you must convince her that she was always a fake. Make her believe it. Your family's safety depends on it."
I sank into my chair, my head spinning. Maya was my best student – no, she had been my best student until three weeks ago when her powers suddenly failed during the Assessment. I had spent countless hours with that girl, watching her practice spells that most students couldn't even try. She had been amazing.
And now someone wanted me to destroy what little faith she had left.
My phone rang. Sarah.
"She's home!" my wife said, and I could hear the relief in her voice. "Emma's safe. She's looking for you to help her with homework."
I closed my eyes and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Tell her I'll be home soon."
But as I hung up, I knew this was just the beginning. Whoever sent that letter had the power to watch my family, to threaten them, to make them disappear. And they would keep watching, waiting to see if I would follow.
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on my classroom door.
"Professor Kane?" Maya's voice was small and unsure. "Can I talk to you?"
My heart broke as she stepped into the room. She looked so tired, so beaten down. Her shoulders were hunched like she was carrying the weight of the world, and her eyes were red from tears. This was the same girl who used to light up my classroom with her energy and brilliant questions.
"Maya." I stood up slowly, my mind racing. I had to protect my family. But how could I hurt this child who had already been hurt so much?
"Professor, I don't understand what's happening to me." She took a step closer, and I could see the desperate hope in her eyes. "My magic is gone, and everyone says I was faking it all along. But you know that's not true, right? You saw what I could do before. You believed in me."
The words she needed to hear stuck in my throat. I wanted to tell her that something was wrong, that her magic couldn't just disappear, that she was the most naturally gifted kid I'd ever taught. I wanted to help her figure out what had happened.
But then I thought of Emma's gap-toothed smile. I thought of Sarah making dinner at home, humming while she cooked. I thought of the family pictures on my desk and the life I'd built with them.
"Maya," I said, causing my voice to sound cold and distant. "I've been thinking about your situation, and I believe I may have been... mistaken about your abilities."
Her face crumpled. "What do you mean?"
"I think you may have been using tricks to make your magic seem stronger than it was. Perhaps magical devices or enhancement drinks. It would explain why your skills suddenly failed during the Assessment."
"No!" Maya stepped forward, her hands clenched into fists. "Professor, you know that's not true! You watched me practice for hours! You saw me cast spells without any gadgets!"
Every word was a knife in my heart, but I kept going. I had to. "I've been teaching for thirty years, Maya. I've seen students try to fake their skills before. The signs were always there – I just decided to ignore them because I wanted to believe in you."
Tears started running down her face. "But you said I was talented. You said I had the potential to be one of the greatest mages of our time."
"I was wrong." The lie tasted like poison. "I let my desire to have a star student cloud my judgment. You were never as special as I made you believe."
Maya stumbled backward like I had physically hit her. "I don't understand. Why are you saying this?"
"Because it's the truth." I turned away from her, unable to look at her face. "You need to accept that your magic was never real and move on with your life. Find something else to do with your future."
"Professor, please—"
"That's enough!" I spun around, putting every ounce of authority I could muster into my words. "I don't want to hear any more excuses. You're no longer my student, Maya. You're no longer my problem."
The sound she made was like an injured animal. She stumbled toward the door, her whole body shaking with sobs.
"Maya, wait—" The words slipped out before I could stop them.
She turned back, hope flashing in her eyes for just a moment.
I almost told her the truth then. I almost explained about the letter, about the threats, about how none of this was her fault. But then my phone buzzed with another text: "Good job. Your family is safe... for now."
"Just... forget about magic," I said quietly. "It's better this way."
Maya nodded once, then ran from the room.
I sat down heavily in my chair and hid my face in my hands. What had I done? I had just destroyed the dreams of the most talented kid I'd ever taught, and for what? To protect my family from people I didn't even know?
But as I sat there in the empty classroom, surrounded by the smell of chalk and old books, I noticed something that made my blood run cold.
If these mystery people were willing to threaten my family to keep me away from Maya, what did that mean for Maya herself? What were they going to do to her?
And more importantly – what if I had just made it easy for them to hurt her?
My phone buzzed one more time. This message was different: "Phase One complete. Prepare for Phase Two. The girl must be completely separated before we can begin the real work."
I stared at the message until the screen went dark, my hands shaking. Whatever was happening to Maya, I had just helped the bad guys win. And I had no idea how to make it right without putting my family in danger.
Outside my window, storm clouds were forming, and I couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come.