Kyle let out a broken sob. “We didn’t know she’d—” Donovan turned toward him. “You didn’t know she was what? My daughter? You didn’t need to know who she was. You knew she was a person, and you helped plan her assault.” The van fell silent.
Lily clicked another tab. “Sir, there’s more.” More messages loaded. Kyle: “What are you going to use?” Troy: “Something good. Something that’ll burn.” Mason: “Dude.”
Troy: “Relax. I’ve got it handled.” Donovan leaned in. “Scroll back. Check timestamps.” Lily highlighted them. “This was sent at 7:08 a.m., before school even started.”
Something inside Donovan grew cold, a cold so sharp it could cut through steel. “Premeditation. Full intent. Coordinated behavior,” he said. “This isn’t just assault. This is conspiracy.” Mason slumped.
Kyle trembled harder, but Lily wasn’t finished. She clicked into the phone gallery. “There are deleted videos we recovered.” She opened the first. It showed Troy testing the pepper spray in a parking lot earlier that morning, laughing when it hit the air and made Kyle cough violently.
Mason covered his face. “Oh my God.” Another video loaded. Troy said, “This is going to be epic. She’s going to scream so loud.” Kyle replied, “Dude, stop recording. Someone’s going to see.”
“That’s the point, idiot,” Troy said. Donovan exhaled once, slowly. “Save all of this to the evidence server. Flag it for the federal prosecutor.” “Yes, sir.” Outside the van, TV crews were reporting live.
The crowd hadn’t thinned. If anything, it had tripled. Dozens of signs were already being held up. “Justice for Nyla.” “Stop Hate Crimes.” “Hold Them Accountable.”
Inside the van, the emotional collapse continued. Kyle buried his head in his hands, sobbing openly. “We’re done. We’re finished. This is prison-level stuff.” Mason glared at him.
“Shut up, Kyle.” “You shut up!” Kyle snapped. “This was your idea too.” “It was Troy’s idea!” Mason screamed. “Everything was Troy.”
“Enough,” Donovan said softly. But the word hit them like a hammer. Both boys fell silent. Their fear was thick, suffocating, and deserved.
Lily clicked one last recovered file. A receipt. An online purchase. Timestamped at 6:42 a.m., before any of the group chat messages. Item: Maximum Strength Pepper Spray.
Vendor: restricted self-defense equipment store. Payment method: fake ID. Troy Thompson. Pickup confirmation completed. Status: ready for law-enforcement audit.