Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

That day was also my eighteenth birthday.After finding the cameras, I didn't take them down.I took out the little cake I'd bought before leaving work and set it on the table.On sale, it only cost a dollar.The white frosting had smeared against the plastic box, and a crooked "18" sat in the middle.I had no pretty candles, so I turned on my old phone's flashlight and made a wish at that little point of light.I wished for school to go well.That way, I could leave this place sooner.The moment I opened my eyes, heavy pounding came from the door."Grant! Pay up!""Open up, or we're letting ourselves in!"I flinched before I could stop myself.The debt collectors were here.This happened two or three times a month.How much Grant owed, I didn't know.Those men only ever told me that if he didn't pay, they'd sell me to an underground casino to cover it.Every time, I'd hide in the bathroom, terrified.The moment the door burst open, three men charged in.The one in front grabbed my col

The next day, my college counselor, Daniel Harris, called me into his office."Emma, congratulations!""The University of Berlin has offered you a full mathematics scholarship!"I froze for a few seconds.Only one student in the entire state received that scholarship.Candidates also needed three national math-competition awards."Tuition, housing, and basic living costs, all covered." Mr. Harris slid the acceptance letter across to me. "You've finished your credits early, so you don't have to attend next month's graduation events. As soon as your visa comes through, you can leave anytime."Leave anytime.I turned those words over in my head.Grant always said I was a burden, that without him I couldn't even cover the basement's rent.This time, I didn't need his money.Or his permission."I'll go."I signed the confirmation on the spot.Mr. Harris asked if he should contact my parents.I shook my head."Don't tell them yet. I want to surprise them myself."They had spent six years pre

From that day on, I rarely went back to the basement.After school, I worked on my visa application and looked for an apartment at the library. When it closed, I sat outside an apartment building and kept filling out forms using a convenience store's Wi-Fi.All my parents saw was me leaving early and coming home late.They assumed I was cramming for final exams.At the end of the month, Prism posted a homepage announcement.[The Six-Year Experiment Finale: On graduation day, Grant and Rachel Reed will personally bring home the daughter they raised poor.][Will she hate her parents, or thank them for making her this outstanding?]More than a hundred thousand viewers signed up to watch.The comments were all betting on my reaction.[She'll definitely cry and hug her mom.][A broke basement kid suddenly becomes a rich heiress. Who could stay angry?][Ten thousand bucks says she forgives her parents within three minutes.]I signed up too.On graduation day, they would be standing at the sc

Lily was the first to recover."If my sister doesn't want to come back, just let her go."She took Rachel's arm, the corners of her mouth twitching upward despite herself.With me gone, she was the only daughter again.But she celebrated too soon.Two men in black suits cut through the crowd and stopped in front of Grant."Grant Reed?"Grant was busy shutting off the comments, his voice sharp."Who are you?"One of the men opened a folder, showing the signature on the last page."Reed Family Media's one-million-dollar advance is now in default."The contract required me to appear in the finale in person.With the star gone and the show undeliverable, the platform had the right to immediately claw back the advance plus penalties.And Grant was the personal guarantor.Grant stared at his own signature, his face draining white."Emma set this up. She got a cut of the money too. Go after her!"The man closed the folder."The sixty thousand dollars was legally mandated compensation for six

Lily actually posted it.Two days later, the video appeared on multiple social platforms.She had cut out the parts where she jammed the door, dumped the water, and ordered the others to grab me, leaving only footage of me huddled in the stall, soaked and disheveled.The caption read: [This is what that scholarship girl who abandoned her family is really like in private.]She thought people online would mock me.But the first thing anyone recognized was the silver lily badge on her phone case.It was the emblem of her private school's student council.Someone found photos from the academic summit and quickly pieced together the full timeline.[This isn't a scandal. It's bullying.][Why was the person behind the camera stripping the victim's clothes off in a bathroom?][Already reported to the school and the police.]By the time Lily deleted the video, it had over two million views.She deleted it far too late.I had saved the original video, the recording of her blackmailing me in Berl