The Hollow Examination

In the rain-slicked metropolis of Nova Haven, the National Qualification Exams are not just a test of knowledge but a brutal gateway out of poverty. When a black market for fake exam papers explodes on the encrypted app PhantomChat, thousands of desperate students are swindled out of their life savings. As the scandal festers, a mysterious killer known as “The Editor” begins staging elaborate murders, each a grotesque homage to a classic work of literature. The victims are all tied to the scam. Caught between his failing career and a gnawing conscience, disgraced journalist Aidan Hale discovers that in a city where survival is the only virtue, moral superiority is the most absurd luxury of all.