Chapter 10

Oliver stood rooted to the spot, his face pale. He could only watch Sabrina walk away, with Mason glancing back just long enough to flash him a smug grin.

The crowd soon cleared out, and the sound of the ambulance siren faded into the distance.

Before long, Oliver was the only one left on the rooftop.

The cold night wind whipped around him, but he barely noticed. His mind had gone blank, and all he could think about was how everything he'd worked for had just fallen apart.

It was over. He'd lost his chance to get his mother out of this place. His chest felt so tight he could barely breathe.

Then, his phone rang. It was Mark.

Oliver answered in a daze and was greeted by Mark's excited voice. "Oliver! That scholarship we applied for? You got it!"

Oliver froze. It took him a few seconds to register what he'd heard.

"The Zero Corporation scholarship?" he asked in disbelief. "I got it?"

When Oliver had first decided to study abroad, he'd applied for a scholarship as a backup plan. After all, he couldn't rely entirely on Sabrina.

But international scholarships for undergraduate students were incredibly competitive, especially the one he'd applied for. It covered his full tuition and provided a generous living allowance on top of that.

Fewer than one percent of applicants were accepted.

He'd waited so long without hearing anything that he'd pretty much given up hope. And now he'd actually gotten it.

"That's right!" Mark said. "I know you told me you'd already worked out how to pay for college, but a full scholarship has to be better than whatever you had planned. I figured you'd want to hear the good news right away.

"There's just one catch. They want you to take a preparatory course before the semester starts, so you'll need to get there as soon as possible. Once you and your mom have your visas, you can leave."

Oliver finally came to his senses.

"I can leave right away!" he said quickly. "My mom and I already have our visas. Everything's ready. We can leave tomorrow!"

…

The next day at the airport, Oliver watched the immigration officer stamp his passport.

That was when it finally hit him. He was really leaving.

He pulled out his phone and saw that Sabrina had just posted something on social media. It was a photo of two people holding hands, matching Harry Winston rings on their fingers.

The caption read, "Even if we end up in hell, we'll be together forever."

Oliver let out a bitter little laugh. He tapped the like button, then turned off his phone, took out the SIM card, and tossed it in the trash.

He turned to his mother, gently took her arm, and smiled. "Come on, Mom. Let's go."

Together, they headed off without looking back.

Quietly, he said to himself, "Goodbye, Sabrina. Goodbye to this nightmare of a place."