Chapter 9: Confrontation

When Allie burst into the lab, she found Chloe pinned to the test bench, her face contorted with fear as Felicity brandished a scalpel near her cheek.

“You think you can cozy up to Adam?” Felicity sneered, tracing the blade’s edge dangerously close to Chloe’s skin. “I could make sure he never looks at you again.”

Chloe tried to stay calm. “I wasn’t flirting with him! We’re in the same study group—it’s part of our coursework. Just because I talk to him doesn’t mean I’m interested. If I said you had doglike loyalty for following him around, would you agree?”

Felicity’s face twisted in rage. “You think you can mouth off to me? You clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

She raised the scalpel, ready to make her point more literally.

“Stop right there!” Allie’s voice echoed from the doorway.

The group turned, momentarily stunned to see her standing there, unafraid. Allie had made quite a name for herself on campus—not only for her looks, which had earned her plenty of attention, but also for her family’s influence. Her father, a media mogul, owned one of the biggest production companies in the country, making her presence both admired and feared.

Felicity, who had always dreamed of being an actress, had tried to befriend Allie in the past. But Allie had refused, and she’d even exposed Felicity’s bullying tactics in an article, almost getting her expelled. Since then, tension between them had only grown.

Felicity smirked. “Allie, this has nothing to do with you. If you’re smart, you’ll stay out of it—unless you want to settle old scores here and now.”

Allie walked forward confidently, snatching the scalpel from Felicity’s hand. “I’m making it my business. Have you forgotten what the dean said last time? One more incident, and you’re out. No amount of money or connections will save you from expulsion.”

Felicity crossed her arms, a cocky smile tugging at her lips. “The dean’s competing for a promotion. Do you think he’ll jeopardize my father’s support over a little spat?”

Allie held up her phone, the screen still recording. “How about I share this video online? I’ll make sure everyone knows what really goes on here. I guarantee that the backlash would be more than your father could ignore, and your budding career would be over before it starts.”

Felicity’s face darkened as she lunged, trying to grab the phone.

Allie stepped back, holding the phone high. “Don’t waste your time. It’s already backed up. Even if you break my phone, this will still be all over the news by morning.”

Seething with fury, Felicity grabbed another blade from the bench, pressing it close to Chloe’s face. “You think you can threaten me? Delete that video now, or your friend will pay the price. I’ll make sure she remembers this lesson for life.”

Just then, a voice cut through the tension. “What’s going on here?”

They all turned to see a tall figure standing in the doorway: Adam Sinclair, the very person at the center of all this.

One of Felicity’s friends gasped in excitement. “It’s Adam!”

For Allie, the irony was almost too much to bear—the “Ice Prince” himself, the unwitting cause of so many problems, had finally arrived to witness the chaos he’d unknowingly incited.