Chapter 3

Early the next morning, Preston uploaded a video.

It was titled [UNBOXING A CAMPUS GOLD DIGGER'S STOLEN GOODS].

I saw it on a public computer at an off-campus coffee shop.

The editing was impressive.

First came footage of me taking Nathaniel's cherries.

Then a shot of me scooping out his skincare.

Finally, a dramatic freeze-frame of the black card.

Preston added narration.

"He comes from an ordinary family but spends every day eating and living off someone else.

"To get close to the Whitlock heir, he even stole his bank card."

The comments were already a disaster.

[How did someone like this get admitted?]

[Check his admissions file.]

[Imagine stealing and still acting this shameless.]

I finished the video with one thought.

Preston was wasting his talent by not working in short-form marketing.

Every clip was real.

He'd simply cut away the context.

In the first, Nathaniel had pushed the bowl of cherries toward me.

In the second, he handed me the skincare himself after realizing he'd bought the wrong formula for his skin.

In the third, he gave me the black card and told me to go downstairs for yogurt.

By the time Preston finished editing, all three moments looked like theft.

I closed the browser and went to Campus Security.

"My luggage and laptop were taken by Student Council.

"And a bank card."

The security officer checked a logbook.

"Caleb Laurent?"

"Yes."

"Student Council filed a report yesterday. They said suspected stolen items were recovered from your belongings."

"They're mine."

He closed the log.

"Wait for the university investigation."

"I want to file a police report."

"Don't turn a student issue into something bigger than it needs to be."

He gestured toward the cameras on the wall.

"Go back and wait for notice."

I stood at the counter, looking at the entry in the log.

Preston had anticipated that I might come here.

He had already made me the suspect before I arrived.

I still didn't have a phone.

I couldn't reach my family.

Student Council had my belongings.

Campus Security wouldn't intervene.

The opening ceremony started that afternoon.

I left Security and walked directly toward the auditorium.

Near the rear entrance, Preston and Cameron were waiting.

Preston held a phone.

"Record an apology video first.

"Say you stole Nathaniel's card and forged a VIP invitation.

"After that, we'll ask the university to go easy on you."

I looked at the on the screen.

Every sentence had already been written for me.

"What if I don't record it?"

Cameron stepped into my path.

"Then you don't enter the ceremony."

Preston lowered his voice.

"You have nothing right now."

I looked toward the auditorium.

Nathaniel's parents were already somewhere inside.

If I reached them, most of this nonsense would collapse instantly.

Then Cameron grabbed my arm.

"Cooperate with the inspection."

I pulled away.

"Let go."

Annoyance flashed across his face.

He shoved me toward a maintenance corridor.

At the far end was a narrow concrete stairwell.

Toolboxes and broken light stands were stacked inside. There were no windows and barely any ventilation.

They pushed me in.

The metal door slammed.

A second later, something scraped across the outside handle.

Preston had wedged a mop through it.

"Stay in there and think."

I hit the door.

"Preston, open it!"

His voice came from the other side.

"Stay there until the ceremony is over."

"I have claustrophobia!"

"Stop acting.

"You'll survive."

Their footsteps faded.

The strip of light beneath the door felt thinner by the second.

My breathing turned ragged.

The room seemed to shrink around me.

Music from the auditorium drifted through the walls.

VIP guests were entering.

The Whitlocks were only a door away.

I found a shard of broken glass near one of the abandoned fixtures.

I struck the locking mechanism once. Nothing happened. I struck it again.

The glass sliced the back of my hand.

Cameron's voice came from outside.

"Stop hitting the door.

"Keep this up and we'll leave you in there until tonight."

I stopped.

Then I remembered the backup recorder in my pocket.

Mom had slipped it to me before I left home.

Too many people on campus, she'd said. If anything happens, record it.

I just hadn't expected to need it on day one.

I turned it on and raised my voice.

"Cameron Fitch, locking me in here is unlawful confinement.

"If something happens to me, are you taking responsibility?"

No immediate answer.

Then Preston came closer.

"Responsibility for what?

"If you were really important, you'd have found a way to call your family already."

Cameron laughed.

"His phone and identification are with us.

"He can't go anywhere."

I kept going.

"How long are you planning to keep me in here?"

"Until the ceremony ends," Preston answered.

"Nathaniel's parents are in the VIP lounge. As long as Caleb doesn't show up, Nathaniel will believe me."

Every word went onto the recorder.

I slipped it back into my pocket.

Then I started hitting the door again.

About half an hour later, I heard metal being worked from outside.

A maintenance technician had heard the noise and came with tools.

When the door finally opened, I was sitting on the floor with blood running across the back of my hand.

His face changed.

"You need the clinic."

"Later."

I stood and picked up the recorder.

The opening music had already started.

I headed straight toward the VIP lounge.

Security stopped me.

"Sorry, you can't go in there."

"My property is inside."

"Name?"

"Caleb Laurent."

The guard was still checking the list when the lounge door opened.

Preston stood inside in front of Nathaniel.

He was holding the black card and the suit.

"Nathaniel, I got your things back.

"Someone like Caleb shouldn't be allowed to stay in your dorm.

"He eats your food every day, uses your things, and tried to use your invitation to sneak into the VIP area."

Nathaniel sat on the sofa without speaking.

Nathaniel's parents had just taken their seats.

Their assistant, Owen Hale, stood nearby.

Preston hadn't noticed me in the doorway.

So he kept going.

"Poor people like that are experts at looking pathetic.

"Give them one meal and they start imagining they're part of the family.

"I'll make sure the university expels him."

I walked in.

Every head turned.

Preston flinched, then recovered.

"You still have the nerve to come in here?"

He pointed at me.

"Security, remove this thief.

"He'll break into a VIP lounge just to steal."

I stayed where I was.

"Where's my laptop?"

"Logged as stolen property."

"My invitation?"

Preston raised his chin.

"Fake. I threw it away."

He turned toward Nathaniel's parents with an eager smile.

"Mr. Whitlock, Mrs. Whitlock, this is the gold digger I told you about.

"He lives off Nathaniel.

"And today he even tried to use your family to make himself look important."

Mr. Whitlock's gaze dropped to my injured hand.

Blood was dripping from my wrist onto the carpet.

He stood so abruptly that the coffee table overturned.

"How dare you touch him?"