Chapter 3

The moment the call connected, unrestrained laughter came through from the other end.

"Hey, Luis, I hear your family's got a new arrival? How good's the drama this time?"

I leaned back on the living room couch, turned a page of the economics journal in my hand, and gave a flat, "Mm. Kingsley University. Pretty spirited kid."

"Oh, an honor student too?" Chelsea Leverett's tone brightened even more. "Then I have to come see for myself. Same old address? I'll be right there."

She hung up before I could answer.

Half an hour later, Chelsea's flashy red sports car pulled into the courtyard. She didn't spot her target and sounded a little disappointed.

"Where is he? Hiding?"

"Upstairs. Probably still working out how to be a proper real heir."

Chelsea burst out laughing. "My dad mentioned it. Said the kid bawled his eyes out at the dinner table and your parents didn't even glance at him?"

"Pretty much." I set down my book. "My father thought he was loud. My mother told him to learn table manners."

"That's amazing." Chelsea slapped her knee, laughing. "I knew it, an idiot who can't even act out the right. Did he really think rich parents dote on their kids like that?"

While we were talking, footsteps came down the stairs. Tyler had changed clothes, but his face still looked rough, probably still reeling from having his worldview rearranged the night before.

"And this is..." Chelsea drew the question out at me.

"Tyler."

Tyler came striding down and planted himself in front of us, his eyes fixed on Chelsea. "You're Luis's girlfriend, right?"

[Here we go, the classic wedge-driving move!]

[Female lead, get in there and smack him down!]

Chelsea raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Taking her silence as an opening, Tyler grew even more pleased with himself.

"I'd leave him if I were you. He's just a fraud who wormed his way into this family. He's not good enough for you. Once my parents kick him out, he'll be nothing. Stick with me, and the whole Wade family fortune will be ours."

I picked up my teacup and took a slow sip. Chelsea smiled, a smile both dazzling and cutting.

"Kid, have you read so many novels your brain's actually rotted?"

Tyler's face went red instantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Chelsea said, stepping closer, her heels adding to her already commanding presence, "first, I'm not his girlfriend.

"Second, even if he's a fraud, the business cases and financial models in his head are worth more than your acceptance letter.

"Third, and most importantly," she held up a finger, "you can't even tell who actually runs this house, and you've got the nerve to sell someone a fantasy? You're not even fit to carry his shoes."

Chelsea finished with a contemptuous snort and turned to sit back down beside me. "Crawl back upstairs," she added without looking back, "and stop being an eyesore down here."

Tyler glared at me for a long moment, then spun around and stomped his way back up the stairs. The living room went quiet again.

Chelsea swirled the coffee in her cup and glanced at me sideways, a mocking little smile still on her lips.

"That's the opponent you found for this game? How boring."

I looked at her, pushed up my glasses, and smiled too.

She was right. Tyler was just an appetizer. But whatever other monsters showed up after this, one thing, at least, was already certain.

In this game that was only going to get messier, Chelsea was the one ally I trusted completely.