Blood on the Map
Beneath the School Bell by Ritika Malhotra
Beneath the School Bell begins chapter 7 with a choice that feels small until it changes everything. Four students discover their elite school’s bell rings once at midnight for every secret it buries. Last night, it rang four times. The air around Ritika's characters carries the pressure of a secret waiting to be spoken, and every ordinary detail begins to look like a warning.
By the middle of the chapter, the world tightens. A friend says the wrong thing. A locked place opens. A memory returns with one detail changed. The hero follows the clue because turning away would mean accepting a life built by other people.
The chapter closes on a new question: the person they trusted most has been hiding proof that the danger started long before today. And just as they reach for the truth, someone on the other side whispers their name.