The golden afternoon sun filtered through the tall, arched windows of the Viceroy library, casting long, dusty shadows over the endless rows of leather-bound books. The school was a graveyard of whispers now; the roar of luxury engines had faded as the elite students sped off to their penthouses.Ishika sat at a secluded corner table, her head buried in a mountain of textbooks. She was desperately scribbling, trying to catch up on the weeks of chemistry and math she’d missed.CHAPTER 12: THE SHADOW IN THE STACKS🕯️ THE SILENT LIBRARYThe only sound was the rhythmic scratch-scratch of Ishika’s pen and the ticking of her father's watch. She felt a chill crawl up her spine, the sensation of being watched. She didn't look up, thinking it was just the wind from an open window.

Ishika: (Muttering to herself) "$\Delta H = \sum H_{products} - \sum H_{reactants}$... focus, Ishika. Just ten more pages."