Years Ago
They never noticed Jude.
Not really.
He wasn't the fastest. Or the strongest. Or the loudest.
But he was there—every day. Watching. Listening. Taking mental notes while the others screamed for attention.
They called him the glue of the team.
But glue only matters when everything starts falling apart.
That was the first lesson he learned watching Eli.
The Resentment Begins
Eli Santana walked into that locker room like a firework that never burned out.
Every coach loved him.
Every girl stared.
Even Tyson—the alpha, the muscle, the pride of the team—gritted his teeth when Eli scored.
And Jude? Jude took the long route home.
Waited until no one saw him cry after games where he played just as hard, but got no mention.
"You're the thinker," Coach once said to him.
"Let the others lead."
But Jude never forgot that phrase.
And he started to think…
"What if thinking was more powerful than leading?"
The First Manipulation
He started small.
Telling Marco lies about Eli:
"He said you're lazy. That Coach only keeps you because you're tall."
It worked.
Then Tyson:
"He's trying to replace you, man. You've seen how Coach treats him. It's all about Eli now."
Each seed took root.
Then came the final step—Coach himself.
Jude slipped into his office early one morning and left a fake note:
"You benched Tyson. If you keep doing that, I walk." —Eli
Coach never verified the handwriting.
Tyson was never benched again.
And that night… Eli lost more than his starting spot.
The Day It Happened
Jude said nothing as it all unfolded.
He just watched from the tunnel.
Watched Marco shove.
Watched Tyson threaten.
Watched Eli fall, crack his head against the post.
And for one second—just one—Jude almost stepped forward.
But then Eli looked up, weak, dazed… and still had hope in his eyes.
That was when Jude turned and walked away.
"Even when dying… he still believed they'd save him."
"He never saw me coming."
Back to Present
Jude sat in a dark room, watching security feeds.
He could feel Rafael closing in.
But it wasn't fear.
It was excitement.
Because Jude had beaten Eli once.
And now… he wanted to see if the dead boy could win his own story back.
Anna Ramirez always smiled.
Even when the teachers yelled.
Even when the other girls whispered about her hand-me-downs and her quiet eyes.
Even when she stayed late at school waiting for her father—Coach Ramirez—to finish with the team.
But today, Anna didn't smile.
Because today, someone left a message in her locker.
Not a note.
Not a gift.
A photo.
Black and white. Slightly bent.
Of Eli, just days before the accident—standing in this very hallway.
On the back, scrawled in ink:
"Your father didn't tell you the truth."
Jude's Reach
Anna sat alone after school in the library, the photo trembling in her fingers.
Then someone slid into the seat across from her.
Jude.
Older now. Smoother. His charm worn like a disguise.
"He lied to you," he said gently.
"They all did. Especially the one pretending to protect you."
"Who are you?" Anna asked.
"Someone who knew Eli Santana. Someone who knows Rafael Cruz."
That name hit her harder than she expected.
Because Rafael had visited their house once. Quietly. Respectfully.
He never said it, but she knew he wasn't just some fan of her father's old team.
He was hunting something.
Or someone.
The Offer
Jude placed a sealed envelope on the table.
"Inside is everything your father never told you. What happened that night. What they did. What he let happen."
Anna didn't reach for it.
Not yet.
"And why would you give this to me?" she asked.
Jude smiled, the kind of smile that hid teeth.
"Because Rafael's going to come for me soon. He thinks he's the hero. But heroes… break people."
"I want you to know who you're standing beside before he burns the world down."
He stood to leave.
"One day, you'll have to choose who you believe."
And then he was gone.
Cut to: Rafael
Rafael sat in the shadows of his apartment, cross-referencing footage, messages, names.
He knew something had shifted.
Not just the trap Jude was setting—but where he was setting it.
Because Jude wasn't trying to win through fear anymore.
He was going after something more fragile than revenge.
Trust.
Rafael's phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
Just one line:
"She's reading it now."
And attached—was a picture.
Of Anna, in the library, holding the envelope.
Final Moment
Rafael stared at the image. His throat clenched.
He whispered to himself:
"He's not trying to outrun me anymore.
He's trying to turn the whole board against me."
He stood.
Because if Jude wanted war through innocence…
Then Rafael would show him what a resurrected king does to traitors who play with pawns.