Chapter 1
The sound of glass shattering downstairs pulled Elena Reyes from sleep.
Her eyes flew open.
For a moment, she lay still, staring at the ceiling.
Then came the shouting.
Again.
She closed her eyes.
Of course.
Six-thirty in the morning and her parents had already started.
“Do you think money grows on trees?” her father yelled.
“Do you think I’m the reason we’re losing it?” her mother shot back.
Elena pulled her blanket over her head.
The walls in the house were thick.
The shouting always found a way through.
It didn’t matter.
It always did.
Eventually she sat up and swung her legs off the bed.
The argument continued downstairs.
She checked her phone.
Three unread messages.
One from her best friend, Maya.
One from a class group chat.
One from her mother.
Elena stared at the last one.
Her mother was downstairs.
Less than twenty feet away.
Yet she had sent a text.
She opened it.
Don’t forget you’re meeting the principal today. Make sure you look presentable.
That was it.
No good morning.
No how did you sleep.
No apology for the screaming match happening below.
Just instructions.
Elena dropped the phone onto her bed.
Nothing new.
She got dressed in silence.
By the time she reached the kitchen, the argument had disappeared.
Like it had never happened.
Her father sat drinking coffee.
Her mother scrolled through emails.
The performance had begun.
The Perfect Family Show.
Her mother looked up first.
“You’re wearing that?”
Elena looked down.
A plain sweater.
A school skirt.
The standard uniform.
“What about it?”
“It looks wrinkled.”
Her father didn’t even glance up.
“Your mother is right.”
Of course she was.
She was always right.
Even when she wasn’t.
Elena grabbed an apple.
“I’m leaving.”
Her mother’s eyebrows lifted.
“Breakfast?”
“Not hungry.”
“You need energy.”
“I’ll survive.”
A look passed between her parents.
The kind that meant she was being difficult.
The kind that meant another lecture would arrive later.
She headed for the door before it could start.
“Elena.”
She stopped.
Her mother smiled.
A perfectly practiced smile.
“The principal meeting is important.”
Everything was important.
Grades.
Reputation.
Behavior.
Achievements.
Everything except how she felt.
“I know.”
Then she left.
Outside, the air felt lighter.
Not because life was good.
Just because she wasn’t inside.
Sometimes that was enough.
The walk to school took twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes of freedom.
Twenty minutes where nobody expected anything from her.
Twenty minutes where she could pretend she was normal.
Unfortunately, Evelyn Crest Academy was waiting at the end of the road.
And nothing about Evelyn Crest was normal.
The school looked like something out of a magazine.
Towering buildings.
Perfect lawns.
Expensive cars lining the entrance.
Students dressed like they belonged on social media feeds.
Children of politicians.
Business owners.
Celebrities.
Old money.
New money.
Money.
Money.
Money.
That was the language spoken here.
Elena didn’t belong to any of those groups.
She attended because of a scholarship.
A fact certain students never allowed her to forget.
She walked through the gates.
Immediately, she heard laughter.
Not happy laughter.
The other kind.
The dangerous kind.
A crowd had gathered near the main staircase.
Elena sighed.
Someone was today’s target.
Again.
She pushed through the students.
A boy stood in the middle of the circle.
Books scattered across the floor.
Juice dripping down the front of his white uniform shirt.
People laughed.
Nobody helped.
The boy bent down to gather his books.
Someone kicked one away.
More laughter.
Elena recognized him.
Nathan Brooks.
First-year student.
Quiet.
Shy.
The perfect victim.
“Leave him alone.”
The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
The crowd fell silent.
Nathan froze.
Several students turned.
The boy responsible smiled.
Lucas Vaughn.
Rich.
Popular.
Untouchable.
The kind of person who never faced consequences because consequences were for ordinary people.
“Excuse me?” Lucas asked.
Elena folded her arms.
“I said leave him alone.”
A few students exchanged looks.
Nobody spoke to Lucas like that.
Nobody.
Especially not scholarship students.
Lucas laughed softly.
“You’re brave today.”
“Or maybe you’re pathetic every day.”
The crowd collectively inhaled.
Nathan looked horrified.
Lucas’s smile vanished.
For a second.
Just a second.
Then it returned.
Sharper than before.
“You should be careful.”
Elena held his gaze.
“You should grow up.”
The tension stretched.
Then a teacher appeared.
And just like magic—
Everyone behaved.
Students stepped back.
Lucas smiled.
Nathan grabbed his books.
The crowd dispersed.
The show was over.
Or at least it looked over.
At Evelyn Crest, things never ended.
They waited.
They followed.
They grew.
As Elena headed toward her classroom, she felt eyes on her.
Not one pair.
Several.
Whispers started immediately.
They always did.
A confrontation before first period?
People would be talking about it all day.
She pushed open the classroom door.
Half the students were already inside.
And that’s when she noticed him.
Rowan Sinclair.
The school’s golden boy.
Top grades.
Star athlete.
Teachers loved him.
Parents loved him.
Students practically worshipped him.
He sat near the window reading a book.
Completely ignoring everyone.
Which somehow made people notice him even more.
Elena had spoken to him exactly twice.
Both times because a teacher forced them into the same project group.
Yet the rumors about them never stopped.
People saw two attractive students standing near each other and immediately created stories.
Ridiculous stories.
She moved toward her seat.
Rowan looked up briefly.
Their eyes met.
Then he nodded once.
Simple.
Polite.
Nothing more.
Yet three girls nearby immediately started whispering.
Elena rolled her eyes.
High school was exhausting.
And it was only eight in the morning.
What she didn’t notice was the boy sitting three rows behind Rowan.
The one who had been watching Rowan since he entered the room.
The one who quickly looked away whenever Rowan glanced in his direction.
The one carrying a secret that would destroy him if the wrong people discovered it.
His name was Adrian Cole.
And he was already falling in love with someone who could never love him back.
Not because Rowan was cruel.
Not because Rowan would reject him.
But because Rowan Sinclair was hopelessly, completely in love with someone else.
And neither of them knew it yet.
The year had barely begun.
The disasters were only getting started.
