Chapter 4

Empathy? I almost laughed in her face.

"Ms. Gable, by your brilliant logic, banks have millions of dollars. If I walk in and rob one, should the bank show empathy because I wanted more cash?"

Ms. Gable choked, pointing a trembling finger at me without being able to string a sentence together.

Seeing her advisor falter, Hailey stepped forward to block her.

"Chloe, stop acting so damn ungrateful!"

"So what if I grabbed your stupid bracelet?! You throw money around like trash anyway! I was selling it to help out my family—I was trying to give you brownie points in front of my brother!"

Now I saw the whole picture clearly.

One was completely brain-dead; the other was utterly corrupt.

Reasoning with people like this using words was pointless. They needed a shock to the system.

Without another word, I pulled out my phone and hit 'Go Live' on TikTok.

At the same time, I dropped the live stream link directly into the campus gossip board and the freshman class group.

I aimed the camera squarely at Hailey and the furious Ms. Gable.

"Hey everyone. One month into college, and my roommate stole my twenty-five-thousand-dollar Cartier bracelet to pawn online."

"I caught her red-handed with the goods, and now our dorm advisor is telling me to 'show empathy' and pretend she just borrowed it."

"Tell me, guys—is this how campus justice works around here?"

The viewer count in the stream shot up instantly.

College kids lived online, and campus drama was pure gold.

The chat exploded:

[Holy shit?! Twenty-five grand?! That's straight-up grand larceny!]

[Who is that advisor?! She's literally covering up a felony on camera!]

[The girl is still holding the jewelry box! Caught red-handed! Call the fucking cops!]

Ms. Gable panicked instantly, lunging forward with her hands out to block the lens.

"Chloe Vance! Turn that off right this second! Do you have any idea how bad this looks for the university?!"

I sidestepped smoothly.

"Ms. Gable, weren't you preaching about being generous two seconds ago?"

"Why are you so terrified the moment the camera is rolling?"

"Does this university maintain its honors by covering up criminal acts?"

Hailey lunged at me, trying to snatch my phone.

"You bitch! How dare you film me?!"

SLAP!

I backhanded her across the cheek with a sharp crack.

"Try touching me again," I warned, my voice ice cold.

"There are tens of thousands of people watching this stream right now. Do you want to add felony assault and robbery to your charges?"

Holding her burning cheek, Hailey pulled out her phone in hysterics.

"Trevor! Get down to campus right now!"

"Your woman teamed up with outsiders to beat me up, and now she's calling the cops on me!"

Listening to her spin this insane web of lies, I nearly laughed out loud.

Perfect. I had been wondering when this mythical brother of hers was going to show up.

Might as well take out the entire trash family in one go.

Less than twenty minutes later, a greasy, heavy-set man in a dirty jacket barged through the crowd.

"Hailey! Who the hell put hands on you?!"

Hailey ran over and grabbed his arm, sobbing.

"Trevor! Her! Chloe Vance!"

"Not only did she refuse to give me money, she's streaming this so the whole internet can attack me!"

Trevor followed Hailey's pointing finger and locked his eyes on me. A greedy gleam flashed across his face as he scanned me from head to toe.

"So you're Chloe?"

"You look decent enough, but your attitude is pure poison."

"You haven't even moved into my place yet, and you're already abusing my little sister? What are you gonna do once we're married, walk all over me?!"

A collective gasp rippled through the gathered crowd.

The live chat went nuclear:

[WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! Who is this caveman?! Did he just say 'once we're married'?!]

[Did someone dig this prehistoric creep out of a swamp? What era is he living in?!]

I held my phone high, aiming the camera right into his face.

"Trevor, right?"

"Do I know you? Who gave you permission to claim me as your family?"

Hearing that, Trevor's temper flared instantly.

"Stop playing dumb, you spoiled brat!"

"Hailey already told me everything. You flaunt your money around the dorm every single day."

"What good is a woman having money? At the end of the day, your job is to get married and serve your man!"

"The fact that I even chose you is your damn blessing! Turn that damn phone off right now and pack your bags to come back to my hometown for the wedding!"

He reached out a beefy, grime-caked hand to grab my wrist.

I stepped back in pure disgust.

"Don't touch me. You're filthy."

Those two words pushed him over the edge.

With a roar of rage, he knocked the phone out of my grip, sending it crashing onto the pavement.

"You ungrateful little whore!"

"I'm gonna teach you how to submit to a real man and know your place!"

He raised his heavy palm, swinging it straight toward my face.

A few male students in the crowd stepped forward to intervene, but Trevor glared at them like a rabid dog, freezing them in their tracks.

Instead of stopping him, Ms. Gable stood by, hypocritically chiming in.

"Oh, stop it, both of you! Take your domestic disputes off campus! Don't make a scene at school!"

A domestic dispute?

Those words ignited a fury inside me.

I braced myself, ready to kick him straight in the groin.

Right before his hand could reach me, a booming voice tore through the courtyard:

"FREEZE! STEP AWAY!"