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"This is the only footage we have of her," the man handed me a USB drive. "We caught it from the security cameras in the halls."
I watched as a video of my sister dressed in a party dress played. Ella wobbled on her heels with a fresh face of makeup, stepping out of the room. I didn't move as I watched her fumble in her bag and grab a small bag.
I peered closer and watched as she clumsily shook out the contents of the baggie into her hand and then threw them in her mouth.
Stunned, I sat there, re-watching the video again and again.
The man finally spoke. "She took unknown pills that night. Her autopsy report... it just disappeared."
x
Before any of us could say anything, an unsettling notification ping buzzed from the only phone in this room.
"Ranking exams are held the day after tomorrow," Helen informed as she stared down at the screen with tight lips.
Ranking exams? My confusion didn't last long because it didn't take a genius to figure out what they were.
Shannon lifted her head at Helen's declaration, cursing. "Why did they have to choose that day out of all the fucking days of this month?"
"No point whining about it," Gloria muttered, sulking sullenly on the sofa.
"Well," Cole got up to his feet, eyes running over me. The urge to cover up prickled at my skin. "We get to see where the Du Sang ranks, don't we? I really do want to see if her last name means shit."
He may be the only blue blood who didn't underestimate me.
"Leave her alone, Cole," Shannon snapped, tossing me my sweater a second later. I thanked her and remembered how she might be the only person I actually liked in this room.
Cole only smiled. "Oh, I haven't started bothering her yet."
A dark expression flitted through Shannon's expression and I remembered how she was the only one who seemed to have any control over someone like him.
Cole Asto was unreadable. I couldn't read him, no matter how much I tried. There was no crack in his cool, collected façade because Cole had his guard up. He was a genius and he might be the only person who seemed to see through Avery and I.
As if reading my thoughts, Avery shifted closer to me. Cole made him uneasy and that was enough to scare me. Everyone else seemed to be oblivious to the underlying tension and threat.
Erik was avoiding my gaze as he said, "We should all sleep. The private jet can only leave next morning but we'll make it in time."
"Fuck no," Shannon groaned, grabbing her blonde hair out of her face. "You cannot be serious. Right after I got back from Europe?"
"Well you don't see me complaining when I just got back from a conference, not tanning on the beaches in Madrid," Erik snapped, somber, as he stormed out of the room.
"At least I didn't recklessly gamble a thousands away because my ex fell in love with the one person who beats me at everything!" Shannon sneered towards his direction. I winced at her words.
Mason coughed, leaving the room. "Tomorrow at seven, the jet leaves."
Quietly, everyone started to gather out of the room and I remembered just how little anyone liked anyone.
Avery wanted to say something to me but Shannon pulled me aside, waving him away, "You can speak to her later."
"No," Avery gritted his teeth in irritation, "I can't, not when we're not sharing the same suite."
A flash of panic ran through my eyes and Avery realized he just gave us away.
"What?" Shannon demanded, and I felt the eyes and ears lingering on us. "What do you mean?"
Avery opened his mouth but he was at a loss of what to say. I quickly cut in. "He's kidding. We're... only sleeping in separate suites because we can't get any sleep if we share the same room."
My heart pounded in anxiety. Shit. Shit shit shit. At least Erik wasn't in this room but that wasn't much consolation because cunning smiles were spreading on Satin and Gloria's faces.
"Blake and I share," Helen said, slowly, curiosity in her eyes.
"Well," I gave her a tight smile, "We aren't the two of you."
Avery recovered and gave her that smooth, devastating smile. "Frankly, Helen, we trust each other."
That was a lie.
I edged closer to Avery, feeling my body heighten with awareness. What would happen if they figured out we lied to them? I wasn't sure I wanted to know because it might make them dig deep into my past...
"Waiting until marriage?" Shannon broke the tension with a snort of disbelief. I had never been more grateful for Avery's older sister. "What the hell have you done to him, Vesper?"
Kalina snorted. "Avery restrained himself?"
"Let's go, dear Vesper," Shannon said, dragging me away from all of them despite Avery's protest. "I want to shit talk my brother in private."
"We aren't doing that, are we?" I asked, once we were out of earshot.
We were going up the back stairs and curiously, Shannon chose the longer, twisting hallways that went deeper into the estate. If she hadn't grown up in this place, I knew for sure that we would have gotten lost.
Why were we taking the long way to get to our rooms?
"I like you Vesper," Shannon told me quietly, her bubbly personality ebbing away. "And I don't want you to become someone I could have prevented."
"I don't know what you mean," I responded slowly, unsure how to approach this girl who I thought naïve.
"You do," Shannon smiled faintly, looking back over her shoulders, "No matter how well you hide it. You're exactly like him."
"Who?" Second floor up.
"My brother," she tossed me a look. "But less annoying, more attractive, and kinder."
"Thanks," I muttered, "but that isn't saying much."
Shannon cracked a smile before turning serious. "It's the ranking exams. This is Queens Academy, Vesper. The rankings are the only academic thing anybody cares about. Nobody, and I mean nobody, even us, wants to place low."
"Even you guys?" I looked at her in doubt. They seemed to only care about their delusions.
"Yes. The exams are incorruptible. They just are. That's what makes them so important because they're purely based on merit and talent. There are no makeup days for these exams to ensure that every person attends. No exceptions, even if you are a Du Sang."
"That's why they're administered at a surprise date," I nodded, piecing it together with this information. "Everyone gets a one day warning."
"We all have the means to be anywhere anytime," Shannon shrugged, staring down at her manicured nails. "Perks of being rich, I guess."
"Yeah," I mumbled but found myself pulling away from her. "What are they like, these exams?"
"Nothing you'd expect," Shannon shook her head, "It's a strange balance of needing knowledge and having the ability to solve complex, abstract questions. There's no time limit, but everybody knows that spending more than eight hours is a taboo. The grading system is weird and kept private, but fair. Time deducts more points than not attempting a question."
"What do you guys rank?" I found myself asking out of curiosity.
"He hasn't told you?" Shannon looked surprised and I realized we weren't heading the right direction to my suite. "Of course he hasn't. My brother's the next valedictorian." Shannon snorted. "Well, him or Cole. No one can tell but I like to say it's my brother. The rest of us are in the top division of our grade."
"Why are you telling me all of this, Shannon?" I tilted my head, inspecting her.
She was silent for a long moment as she swayed down the halls with me. "I might not always win these games, but that doesn't mean I can't stop others from winning too."
Then it clicked. Shannon resented them, like her brother, but to a shallow degree. Clearly, something had happened to poison the blue bloods against each other. Otherwise, the spoiled and loved youngest daughter of the Dragomir family wouldn't be scheming, however sloppy she did it.
I liked her.
"How would I be a threat to any of their rankings?" I asked, wanting her immediate reaction.
Shannon only laughed. "My brother told me you were the first person who solved his riddle. That circle one."
I almost forgot about that. "On my first day?"
"When we were younger, he used to ask every new person that question, like the nerd he is," Shannon snorted, shaking her head. "Eventually, he stopped because as he grew older, more girls swarmed him. He hated the way they invaded his privacy. Besides," she glanced at me, "who the hell thinks a circle has two sides?"
I mumbled, "I know a circle has one side."
Shannon looked amused. "Point is, you're probably a genius. My brother likes those, especially if they're hot."
I couldn't help the flush that colored my cheeks. This was mortifying. "It's not... like that."
"Isn't it?" Shannon clasped her hands together as we finally stopped in front of double doors. "Well, Vesper, here we are."
"This isn't my suite," I told her, amused, when I recognized whose it was. "Are you playing cupid, Shannon?"
Shannon only laughed, the lightness back. "My brother's an asshole, yes, but he still loves you. Talk it out and then have a very, very good night, darling!"
I winced as I watched her sauntering away, wishing she didn't believe that wholeheartedly.
I stood there awkwardly in front of Avery's suite before knocking. I might as well use this time and opportunity to talk about our deal. When there was no response, I entered, expecting to wait for him in an empty sitting room but I was wrong.
Instead, as I surveyed the place, I saw something I wish I didn't through an open doorway.
A completely naked girl on Avery's bed.
I was so surprised that I stumbled backward, gaping at her and then tripping as I quickly looked away. "I- Shit, my bad- I think I'll just leave right now-"
An arm wrapped around my waist before I could fall, steadying me. He pulled me close until my back leaned against his bare chest. His hair was wet from his shower and he was only wearing boxers. As I tried to compose myself, I felt him lean downward until his lips were by my ear.
"You're not leaving," he whispered, voice low.
"But- she-" I bit my lip.
The amusement in Avery's voice was not lost on me. "This is what flusters you?"
I whipped around to glare at him, still in his arms. "No."
This whole situation just shocked me. It wasn't just the nudity. I could not believe that a girl would actually do something like this. Shannon's words came back to me and I realized that this must have happened multiple times to Avery.
Satin had already fumbled for a robe by now, cheeks red from anger or embarrassment. I averted my gaze from her. "What is she doing here? I thought you two weren't sharing?"
I wanted to leave this room as much as Satin wanted me to.
"She's my girlfriend," Avery said, leaning across the doorframe. He wasn't even surprised that his almost ex-fiancée was splayed on his bed, wearing nothing. I was feeling nauseous at this whole situation.
"Do you realize how this looks?" Satin hissed, walking up to him with her chin tilted upward. "Once I tell everyone, she'll be known as the homewrecker who ruined our engagement for years!"
"Actually," a slow smile spread on Avery's face, "no, she won't."
"Do you really think I wouldn't do it?" Satin whispered and took a step close enough to kiss him. "How could you treat me like this? I'm your fiancée and she- she's just a whore!"
Avery jerked away, disgust flashing in his eyes. "You're not my fiancée."
"Are you fucking stupid?" Satin laughed, not understanding his words. "We're engaged, no matter if you think you can go around calling this girl your girlfriend."
"Haven't you checked your phone?" Avery tilted his head, his playful demeanor never leaving.
Satin fumbled for her phone, whitening as she read words she never thought would come true. "No..." she whispered, voice rising by every word she said. "This isn't possible. This isn't possible. How is this possible?"
I couldn't help but smile. The engagement was supposed to end Friday but I pulled a few strings for it to end earlier.
"Your grandfather has pulled out of the deal in respect for another corporation," Avery smiled, glancing over to me, "The terms are clear. This secret engagement will remain a secret, as if it never happened. No one will say anything. You know the pact."
No wonder every person at the academy thought he was single. Only the blue bloods knew about this engagement. They probably knew he hated her as well.
Satin slowly lifted her chin, acid in her voice. A hint of desperation. "This isn't over, Avery."
"Yes," Avery's silver eyes regarded her coldly, "Yes it fucking is."
She whispered something I couldn't hear but judging from the way Avery clenched his jaw, it wasn't good.
Storming, she shoved past him and slammed past me and left. Satin's venomous look didn't bother me but I knew she wouldn't let this go. Why was she so possessive over Avery? Did she even love him?
"So," I said awkwardly, taking a seat on the couch. "We're still continuing this fake dating?"
Avery's eyes never left the door. "I don't think we have a choice anymore."
"Then let's talk." I recognized we had a lot of trust building to do.
Avery spoke softly, "Then tell me why they say your sister's death was a suicide."
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