Chapter 1

During our mid-morning break, our class president—Elena Rossi—suddenly announced that her Model UN keynote draft had gone missing.

The room erupted immediately.

Desks were opened, backpacks dumped, even the recycling bin overturned.

And then the shredded pages were “found” in my desk.

Elena went pale on cue, her voice quivering just enough to sound honest.

“Sofia… did I do something to you? Why would you tear up my draft?”

I froze. None of this added up.

Then she lowered her gaze, her tone shrinking into something wounded—almost intimate.

“I know you’ve always looked down on charity students like me.”

Her lips trembled.

“That speech might’ve earned me a full travel scholarship. I was counting on it for the fees… for my mom’s treatment…”

Tears collected on her lashes like she practiced them.

“For you, it’d be nothing. For me… it was everything.”

“People don’t get to choose where they’re born,” she choked out.

“I don’t steal, I don’t cheat, I work harder than anyone, and I was recruited into the Mafia Alliance Academy as a model student. So tell me—what did I do wrong?”

The entire class had already decided I was guilty.

“So this is the real Sofia—rich and cruel.”

“Having money doesn’t give you the right to humiliate a poor student.”

“If she’s so tough, why not pick on the daughter of Italy’s richest man?”

Their anger rose fast—fed by Elena’s fragile shaking, the way she folded in on herself like someone who had just been stepped on.

Every student in the room seemed to mirror her fear, her pain—

never questioning whether it was real.

I steadied my breath.

“Elena, I’ve never looked down on you. I didn’t touch your draft. I don’t know how it ended up in my desk. There has to be a mistake.”

But then—

I heard her.

Not her voice.

Her thoughts.

“Oh please. Of course you didn’t touch it—I shredded it myself.”

“Unbelievable how fast they take my side. One tremble in my voice and they’re ready to throw her off a cliff.”

“And Luca? God, what an easy mark. Future Don, zero brain.”

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

I had been able to hear her thoughts since the day she transferred—

but I never expected this… venom.

Elena Rossi put on the act flawlessly—her eyes flooded with tears, her voice cracking with feigned despair, every gesture designed to make hearts ache.

“So now you’re accusing me? I tore up my own draft and hid it in your desk?”

Her friends rallied instantly.

“Get real, Sofia. The evidence is literally in front of us.”

“You’re still denying it? That’s just pathetic.”

I forced the words out.

“Elena, you know what you did. Why are you lying? Why are you framing me?”

That was when the crowd split—

and Luca Valenti stepped forward.

My Luca.

My childhood best friend.

My fiancé.

The Valenti Famiglia’s future Don.

He didn’t even look at me first.

My smile died in my throat.

He leaned in, murmured something soothing to her, then turned to me with eyes as cold as cut glass.

“That’s enough, Sofia.”

He didn’t ask a single question—he just took Elena’s side, trusting her without hesitation.

“Funny how Elena’s draft ended up in your desk, not anyone else’s. Care to explain that?”

“If you tore it, apologize and stop turning this into a spectacle.”

“Your family didn’t raise you to punch down at someone who has nothing.”

The words hit like blows.

The whispered speculation vanished, replaced by blunt, unfiltered voices as the room broke into loud discussion.

“If Luca doesn’t believe her, why should we?”

“Who destroys someone’s scholarship chance? That’s sick.”

“Sofia always acted perfect. Guess it was a mask.”

Through it all, Elena’s thoughts purred with delight:

“Yes, good. Fall for it, you idiots. Every last one of you.”

“Look at him defending me like I’m porcelain. Hilarious.”

“Sofia, you’re so easy to ruin it’s almost boring.”

I caught her smirk—quick, sly, poisonous—just before she tucked herself behind Luca’s shoulder again, trembling for effect.

I’m not letting anyone dump their lies on me and walk away clean.

“If you think I did it, check the cameras. That’ll clear everything.”

A couple of students who weren’t completely swept up by the drama whispered,

“Sofia doesn’t look like she’s lying. There’s got to be more to this.”

“She sounds… really sure.”

“Maybe she’s telling the truth—”

But Elena immediately leaned into Luca’s side, tiny and breakable.

Then he laughed.

A low, humorless sound.

“How much did you pay the security office, Sofia? Just be honest.”

It hit me like a punch to the gut—my face burning, my mind blank.

The more I looked at him, the more alien he seemed.

The boy who once promised he’d always have my back…

was now siding with her, leaving me stranded and alone.