Chapter 4

Everyone stared at the final rankings in shock. My name was still right at the very top—a near-perfect 1590, locked in with zero suspense.

Brock’s name, meanwhile, had dropped all the way to 200th place, even worse than his previous 84th.

The moment Brock saw his score, his face went pale. He lowered his eyes, pressed his lips into a tight line, and turned to leave with a grim look on his face. No matter how much the girls called after him, he didn't look back once.

Kaia stared at her phone, completely stunned. "How is this possible? I clung to you every single day. You didn't have any time to study..."

I looked at her with a trace of pity.

Over the past month, she had dragged me to cafes to ditch class, but I'd keep an earbud in to stream online lectures. When she dragged me into late-night voice calls to play dual-player games, I worked out calculus problems on scratch paper, mastering the art of multitasking. Even as she sat next to me saying romantic things, my earbuds were actually playing Spanish listening practice.

I patted her on the shoulder with a sympathetic sigh. "Kaia, I had a great time this past month."

Kaia froze. Then her face turned bright red from her neck up to her ears, and she kicked over a nearby trash can with a slam.

"Aiden!!!"

I ignored her and turned to leave. Behind me, the other three girls began mocking Kaia without mercy.

Finally, Myra spoke up.

"All your methods are too small-time. If you want to solve a problem, you do it once and for all." She smiled coldly, drawing her index finger across her neck in a slow throat-slitting motion.

The other three exchanged glances, their amusement fading.

Elena nodded. "If Myra is taking action, looks like he's completely done for."

The day I got my scholarship, I walked out of the classroom and called my dad. "Hey, Dad, school's out."

On the other end, Dad’s voice sounded overjoyed. "Great! My precious son got first place again! I've already set up a feast for you!"

"Right, and since it's your grandfather's 80th birthday, your uncles all flew in. Now I get to brag that my son's a genius! Hahaha!"

Just as I was about to reply, a sharp pain hit the back of my head. My vision went dark, and the phone slipped from my hand onto the floor.

In the last second of my fading consciousness, I saw Myra’s indifferent face. She looked down at me on the floor, turning to the people behind her.

"Take him and dispose of him."

From the phone on the floor, Dad's voice came through. "Hello? Aiden, why aren't you talking? Hello?"

Myra bent down to pick up the phone, originally intending to hang up. But then she had a thought.

Bringing the phone to her mouth, a cruel smile curled on her lips.

"Are you Aiden's dad? Your son crossed someone he shouldn't have, and now he's going to pay."

The line went silent for two seconds before Dad's voice came through once more. He said in a deep tone, sounding like a completely different person, "Who are you? What did you do to my son?"

Myra felt even more satisfied, leaning lazily against the car door. "You wouldn't even know what to do about it if I told you, old man. Your son is in the hands of the Clarks now."

She hung up, tossed the phone onto the ground, and got into the car.

"Drive."

The car started and rolled out of the school gates.

However, less than three minutes into the drive, the driver slammed on the brakes.

Myra, who was resting her eyes in the back seat, jerked forward from the inertia. She looked up in anger. "What's going on?"

Her henchman in the front seat stammered, "Miss Clark, we can't go anywhere."

Myra looked up, her pupils shrinking.

A fleet of black helicopters hovered overhead, blocking out the sun and completely sealing off the road. Rows of black-clad bodyguards rappelled down from the helicopters, raising their weapons.

"Everyone, stay where you are. Don't move."