Chapter 2

He never got to finish.

I tipped my wrist, dumping the scalding lobster bisque and everything in it straight over his head.

"Ah!" Blake screamed. His expensive clothes were instantly soaked and stained, chunks of lobster and other ingredients clinging to his hair. He looked utterly pathetic.

The entire cafeteria went dead silent.

Everyone stared at us, stunned by what had just happened.

I slammed the empty container down over Blake's head. My cold voice carried clearly through the silence.

"You stay at my house for a few days, and suddenly you really think you're some rich kid?" I stepped closer and looked down at him. "Your family's housekeeper? Your mom is a housekeeper. You really think her salary is enough to hire one of her own?"

"You've lost your mind! Finn, you ungrateful little scum!" Fanny's shriek broke the silence. She lunged at me, furious, reaching out to shove me.

I simply watched her approach and sidestepped.

She missed me. The momentum sent her stumbling several steps before she landed hard on the floor, getting her clothes smeared with the soup dripping off her son.

"Finn, how could you do this to Blake? He's like a brother to you!" Sitting on the floor, Fanny pointed at me with a trembling finger. "I go through all this trouble to bring you boys lunch, and this is how you repay me?"

"Brother?" I let out a cold laugh, my gaze sweeping over the phony concern written across her face.

"Mrs. Livingston, I think you've forgotten who you work for. You're my family's housekeeper. My family pays your salary. Your son lives in my family's house. So why exactly is he eating better than I am?" I didn't raise my voice, but every word carried through the cafeteria.

"I... I..." Fanny faltered, momentarily speechless.

She'd never seen me like this before. I'd always been quiet and withdrawn, the type to put up with whatever was thrown at me. To her, I'd been nothing more than an antisocial rich kid who was easy to push around.

What had ever given her the right to scream at me like this?

I crouched beside her and leaned toward her ear, lowering my voice until only the three of us could hear.

"Don't forget, every dollar your son spends on food, clothes, and everything else comes from my family." I paused.

"When a dog gets fed, it should wag its tail. It doesn't turn around and bite the hand that feeds it."

Fanny's face instantly drained of color. For the first time, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.

A few classmates helped Blake to his feet. He wiped the soup from his face, his entire body trembling with rage.

"Just you wait, Finn!" he snarled through clenched teeth.

I couldn't even be bothered to look at him again. I turned and calmly walked out under the astonished stares of the entire cafeteria.

Word of the incident spread through the school almost immediately.

There were several versions of the story, but every one of them painted me as the same thing: a jealous, ungrateful jerk who'd turned on someone who treated him like a brother.

Blake, meanwhile, became the perfect victim—generous, forgiving, and somehow gracious even after being humiliated.

To save face and cement his claim that he was the heir to my family's fortune, Blake made a big announcement in front of our entire class when school let out on Friday.

"My family's having a pool party tomorrow night. You're all invited!"

He swept his gaze around the room, deliberately skipping over me as he enthusiastically invited everyone else.

The class immediately erupted in cheers.

"Finally! I've been dying to see Blake's mansion!"

"I heard his pool is bigger than the one here at school!"

As everyone showered him with admiration, Blake finally looked at me, a mixture of provocation and condescension in his eyes.