Chapter 1

"You can dream on!"

It wasn't long before then that someone slapped me hard across the face.

Viola Mariani's boyfriend, Ettore Bianco, raised his hand and slapped me, his eyes brimming with sinister rage. "You filthy trash! How dare you lay a hand on my girlfriend!

"You'd better call your parents and tell them to get here and pay for what you've done; otherwise, I'll have my father see to it that you're driven out of Mirthaven for good!"

I fell straight to the floor from the force of the slap, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.

Marianna Pagani, the teacher, stood right there and saw it all, yet she ignored it completely. She hurried over to Ettore, bowing slightly with a fawning expression. "You don't have to get your father involved over such a trivial matter, Ettore.

"You can rest assured that the school will deal with this severely; Vittoria won't be escaping the consequences."

Having said that, Ms. Pagani turned to me and yelled, "Get your parents on the phone this instant to apologize to Viola and pay for the damages, Vittoria!"

I lowered my head, my nails biting into my skin until it stung. I was being framed. "Viola accused me of seducing Ettore, which I never did. She still refused to believe me and gathered people to harass me, Ms. Pagani."

I was interrupted by Viola's crying from the hospital bed before I could even finish defending myself. "You're lying, Vittoria! You're just bitter because I have everything—the money and the looks! I was minding my own business when you shoved me down the stairs.

"You couldn't get Ettore to look at you, so you took it out on me!"

I tried to defend myself again, saying, "You were clearly the one who—"

Ms. Pagani, however, didn't give me a chance to get a word in. "I've heard enough! It's perfectly clear what happened here—you clearly attacked Viola on purpose, Vittoria!"

She caught me by the arm and yanked me out of the infirmary after saying that. She then rifled through my pockets once we were in the hallway.

She took out my phone and shoved it hard against my face, yelling, "I'm done listening to your excuses! Get your parents on the line this second and tell them to get down here and make this right!"

Those teachers and students who were passing through the hallway all stopped in their tracks, their collective gaze heavy on me. Their expressions ranged from curiosity to the voyeuristic thrill of a scandal, with plenty of blatant gloating mixed in.

I gripped the phone that felt like ice in my hand and stared at the familiar names in my contact list, but I couldn't bring myself to call any of those numbers. I had 99 fathers, each from a different walk of life.

They used to constantly push black cards on me, ruffling my hair while saying, "If anyone ever bothers you, just tell me, Vittoria. I'll always have your back. If anyone makes life hard for you, I'll take care of them personally."

I recalled how they would head out before the sun was up and only return in the dead of night. I would sometimes see them come home with blood on their shirts and the unmistakable scent of gunpowder on their bodies.

They would just chuckle and tell me it was wine or that they had been lighting fireworks back when I was still a child.

I didn't dare cause them any trouble, nor could I afford to; after all, Ettore's father, Enrico Bianco, was a man of great influence locally.

I lifted my gaze and pleaded one last time, "It's just that my father is working in another state right now, Ms. Pagani. It's a long way away, and there's no way he'll be able to drop everything and come here."

I looked at her imploringly and asked, "Is there any way I can just write a letter of apology? I'll apologize however you want, so please don't make him come here, Ms. Pagani."

Ms. Pagani let out a derisive snort. "You can forget about that! You're a mere minor! How exactly do you plan to pay for this? You should quit stalling, get on the phone, and tell your parents to come here right now!"

Ms. Pagani eyed me from head to toe, making no effort to hide the contempt in her gaze.

I was on the verge of telling her I could afford it. I still had every black card my fathers had ever handed me, completely untouched. "How much is it? I can cover—"

It was then that Ettore walked out of the infirmary and went straight to Ms. Pagani, handing her a bank card.

"I have two million dollars in here to pay for some upgrades to the school's facilities. I only have one condition—get her parents down here to pay for what she did and confess. If not, I'm calling the police and pressing assault charges right now!"

Upon hearing that, Ms. Pagani's eyes instantly brightened. She whipped around to face me, snarling, "You heard him, Vittoria! You've been warned!

"You can either call your parents to come here and pay for your actions, or I can hand you over to the authorities. You ought to know that a criminal record means your dreams of getting into Harwick will be over, Vittoria!"

I felt a jolt of panic shoot through me the moment I thought about getting the authorities involved. I had to stay away from the authorities for my fathers' sake.

I looked at Ms. Pagani's hideous, greedy face as tears gathered in my eyes. I reached for my phone with a shaky grip and said, "Please don't get the police involved, Ms. Pagani! I'll call them right now!"