Never Just Friends

The Final Warning

Hanna stared at her phone, the words on the screen blurring as her chest tightened.

You think you’ve won, but you haven’t. I’m just getting started.

The message felt like a cold hand wrapping around her throat, squeezing. She knew it was Ciara. The venom in the tone was unmistakable. Ciara had always been a master manipulator, but this was something else—something darker.

Hanna tossed the phone onto her bed and ran a hand through her hair, trying to steady her breathing. She had already exposed Ciara’s lies and manipulations. She had laid bare the truth for everyone to see. So what else could Ciara have left?

A knock at her door startled her, and she jumped, her heart pounding.

“Hanna?” Finn’s voice was soft, cautious.

“Come in,” she called, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

Finn stepped inside, his brow furrowed with concern. He held up his phone. “Did you get this?”

Hanna’s stomach dropped as she saw the same message on his screen.

“You think you’ve won, but you haven’t. I’m just getting started.”

She nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah, I got it.”

Finn sat beside her on the bed, his arm brushing against hers. “What do you think she’s planning?”

“I don’t know,” Hanna admitted. “But it’s not over. Not yet.”

Finn took her hand, his grip firm and steady. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”

The next morning, Hanna sat in the library with Emily and Talia, the tension between them palpable. She showed them the message, and their reactions were immediate.

“This is a threat,” Emily said, her voice sharp. “We need to report it.”

“To who?” Talia asked, crossing her arms. “The school? They’ll just tell us to let it go. The police? They won’t care unless she actually does something.”

Hanna stared at the screen, her mind racing. Reporting it felt like the right thing to do, but Talia wasn’t wrong. Ciara was careful, always staying just on the edge of plausible deniability.

“I think she’s bluffing,” Talia added, though her voice wavered. “She’s trying to scare us, make us back off.”

“What if she’s not?” Emily countered. “What if this is just the beginning?”

Hanna’s fingers tightened around her phone as she thought of all the damage Ciara had already done. She couldn’t let fear paralyze her—not now.

“We can’t wait to see what she does next,” Hanna said, her voice firm. “We need to stay ahead of her.”

That evening, Hanna met Elordi in their usual spot at the old gym. He leaned against the wall, his smirk fading when he saw her expression.

“Let me guess,” he said, pulling out his phone. “She’s not done yet.”

Hanna handed him her phone, and his eyes darkened as he read the message.

“Well, isn’t she charming?” he muttered. “This is her last card. She’s trying to rattle you.”

“It’s working,” Hanna admitted, wrapping her arms around herself.

Elordi’s gaze softened slightly, though his smirk returned. “She’s bluffing, Hanna. She doesn’t have anything left. But if you want to be sure, I can dig a little deeper.”

Hanna hesitated, her instincts warning her against trusting him completely. But Elordi had been right before, and right now, she needed every advantage she could get.

“Do it,” she said finally.

Elordi’s grin widened, but there was something dangerous in his eyes. “You’ve got it, sweetheart. Let’s see what skeletons Ciara has left.”

As Hanna lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, the weight of everything pressed down on her. The battle with Ciara had already cost her so much—her peace, her trust, her sense of safety. And now it felt like she was teetering on the edge of something much darker.

Her phone buzzed again, and she flinched before picking it up.

Another message from the unknown number:

You’ll regret crossing me.

Hanna’s heart pounded as she stared at the words. The war with Ciara wasn’t just personal anymore—it was a game of survival. And Hanna knew that the next move would be the most dangerous one yet.

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