Chapter 3

The pendant had shattered into three pieces. I crouched beside the flower bed and picked up the fragments one by one.

It was the only thing I had left of my father. When I was born, he'd tied it around my neck himself and told me it would keep me safe. So much for that.

And now, the entire Sterling family was about to have a collective heart attack.

My roommate, Hannah Parker, pushed through the crowd and rushed over. "Emily, your neck's bleeding!"

She tried to take off the dog collar, but a student council member shoved her away.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was outside the dorm building, ordering people around as they set up a table to display the "stolen goods".

My belongings were laid out in four rows, each labeled with the name of a Sterling brother.

The black credit card, the watch, the apartment keys, and even my own sports car were all being treated as evidence that I'd been sleeping with men for money.

A long red carpet stretched across the courtyard, with a dog bowl waiting at the far end. It was stuffed with fake cash.

Vanessa grabbed a microphone. "The four Sterling brothers will be here this afternoon to collect their things. Until then, Emily has to crawl the entire length of this carpet on her hands and knees."

Someone immediately started a poll on the university's gossip page.

The top comment read, "Eight million dollars to watch her crawl? She's getting off easy."

Hannah was trembling with anger. "We need to call the cops."

"Already did," I said.

I'd sent an emergency alert from my smartwatch while they searched my room. But until the police got here, I would have to play along.

Besides, I wanted to see how far Vanessa was willing to go.

She came over and kicked apart the pieces of the pendant I'd just put back together. "Quit stalling. Get on your knees."

I stayed where I was.

Vanessa gave two student council members a look. They grabbed me by the shoulders, one on each side.

Hannah rushed over to stop them, but someone shoved her to the ground. Her palm scraped against the steps, and blood immediately welled up.

I sprang to my feet. "Leave her out of this!"

Vanessa stepped in front of Hannah. "Want me to leave her alone? Fine. Then crawl."

She tightened the dog collar again and kicked me in the back of the knee. I dropped hard onto the red carpet.

The crowd erupted in cheers, and fake bills rained down around me.

Vanessa pinned my calf beneath her shoe and kicked the dog bowl in front of me. "Go on. Pick it up. You're so good at getting money out of men, aren't you? Crawl all the way to the end, then pick up the bowl with your teeth."

I pressed my palms against the ground, my knees aching so badly they were starting to go numb.

Just then, her phone rang inside her jacket pocket. The caller ID said "Gary Sterling".

Vanessa's eyes lit up, and she made a point of putting the call on speaker. "Mr. Sterling! Did you see the bank statements I sent you?"

A brief silence followed on the other end. "Where's Emily?"

"Right here in front of me." Vanessa gave me a smug look. "I've already rounded up everything she scammed out of your four grandsons. She's on her knees right now, thinking about what she's done."

The elderly man's breathing grew noticeably heavier. "Who made her kneel?"

Vanessa smiled even wider. "I did. Someone that greedy needs to be taught a lesson, don't you think?"

Silence fell on the other end again.

A long moment passed before Gary finally spoke. "Tell her to stay right there. I'm sending all four of my grandsons over."

He hung up, and the crowd cheered.

Vanessa bent down and patted my cheek. "Hear that? The Sterling brothers are coming to deal with you themselves."

She shoved the end of the leash toward my mouth. "Better start practicing. Wouldn't want you forgetting how to act like a dog when they get here."