Chapter 4: Nowhere to Run

Two months later, I scraped together enough for tuition. Got into Lakeshore University.

I looked at my student records. Frowned.

My legal address was still with the Harringtons. My last name was still Evans.

When my mom married in, she updated my legal address to the Harringtons’ house.

After we got kicked out, we never had a chance to change it.

I didn’t know why Lauren, who’d inherited the business, hadn’t bothered to take me off their paperwork.

Maybe it was just like she said that night. She didn’t want to dirty her hands with my business.

I thought college would be my chance to break free. Instead, all my old wounds were ripped open again.

During orientation, I ran into a guy from my school. Marcus Ford.

"So it's you."

Marcus didn’t need a reason. He just chucked a basketball at my face in front of everyone.

We got into a fight.

We beat each other up. Got dragged to the dean’s office.

Marcus hadn’t expected me to fight back. At first, I had the upper hand. Let out all the anger I’d bottled up over three years.

I knew he was the one who spread my story. The one who led the class to ostracize me.

I’d put up with it for so long. Thought I could endure it forever.

But when that basketball hit me, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Getting into a fight on the first day. Our counselor was furious.

After talking to Marcus alone, he looked at me differently.

"Marcus's parents have been notified and are coming to the school. Have you thought about how you'll handle it?"

My face froze. Something clicked.

Marcus held his bloody nose. Glared at me. “Eli, just you wait.”

All my bravado vanished. I just stood there, stunned. Felt like my brain had been smashed with a hammer.

I'd forgotten—Marcus was part of the Harrington family.

He was Lauren’s cousin. Adopted from a branch family.

Karma really does come fast.

Before I could recover, a voice came from outside the office door.

Soft, cultured, unmistakable. My heart skipped a beat. Dread pooled in my stomach.

"Hello."

The door swung open. Lauren stepped inside. Poised, elegant, every inch the queen bee. The room seemed to shrink.

My eye twitched.

I could recognize Lauren’s voice anywhere.

"Sis!"

Marcus rushed to the door. Grabbed her hand. Complained.

He whined, pointing to his nose. “Look what he did, Sis! You have to do something!”

He glared at me, eyes full of triumph. I looked away. Refused to give him the satisfaction. The room felt too small. The air too thick.

All I could think was, this world is way too small. The Harrington family curse would haunt me forever.

Would I never escape?

Lauren patted Marcus’s back. Comforted him. Then looked at me.

The Harringtons’ eldest daughter wore a tailored, elegant dress. Tall and graceful. So poised and dignified it was hard to look at her.

Watching her approach in high heels, I felt a chill. I could take on Marcus in a fight. But facing Lauren, I was completely at a loss.

Her shadow loomed over me. Nowhere to run. That childhood terror of drowning rushed back. Suffocating.

She gently brushed Marcus’s temple. Then looked at me. Her eyes cold and deep.

She said, "Eli, you really are something."

Because I’d injured Marcus, I was on the hook for his medical bills and facing expulsion.

All for a basketball to the face. I was about to throw away my hard-won chance at college.

The counselor gave me a sympathetic look. Quietly suggested, “You should go ask Miss Harrington for help.”

He probably thought I didn’t get how connected they were. He hinted, “The Harrington Group donated two libraries to the school.”

Not someone I could afford to cross.

I knew that. But the counselor didn’t know I’d been tangled up with the Harringtons for over a decade.

The expulsion order hadn’t come down yet, but it hung over me like a blade about to drop.

I knew I wasn’t getting away this time.

And Lauren was the one holding the string.