Damien's arm was a steel bar crushing Giovanna's ribs. He held her pinned against his chest, refusing to let an inch of space exist between them.

"Oakhaven?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl vibrating against her back. "You are not stepping one foot outside those gates."

Giovanna felt the heavy, rapid thud of his heart against her spine. It wasn't anger. It was pure, blinding panic. His body was reacting to the physical threat of losing her.

She didn't fight him. She knew struggling would only trigger his predator instincts to lock her in a cage.

Instead, she let all the tension drain from her muscles. She slumped backward, letting him support her entire body weight.

She reached up, her small hands wrapping over the thick wrists caging her waist. She turned in his grip until she faced him. She lifted her hands and cupped his tense, rigid face.

"D, look at me," Giovanna said. Her voice was steady, calm, an anchor in his storm.

Damien's breathing was harsh. His dark eyes locked onto hers, bloodshot and wild, searching for the lie.

"I am going to Oakhaven," Giovanna explained softly, her thumbs brushing his cheekbones, "because Elara is going to be at the freshman assembly today. She stole what rightfully belongs to me, and I refuse to let her keep it." She paused, letting the words sink in. "I need to look her in the eye and take it back."

At the mention of Elara's name, the frantic panic in Damien's eyes paused. A flicker of cold calculation replaced it.

Giovanna's lips curved into a sharp, predatory smile. "I'm going to take back what belongs to me. And I'm going to crush her pride in front of the entire school."

Damien stared at her. The raw, naked ambition and thirst for revenge in her eyes was completely foreign to the fragile girl he thought he knew. It was intoxicating.

But his jaw remained locked. "And if I say no?" he rasped.

Giovanna sighed. She stepped closer, rising onto her toes. She opened her mouth and bit down hard on the sharp line of his jaw.

The sudden, sharp pain shocked Damien. He gasped, his grip on her waist loosening just a fraction.

Giovanna immediately looped her arms around his neck. She rubbed her nose against his, her breath mixing with his.

"You can send your most trusted driver," she ordered, her voice dripping with honey and absolute bossiness. "You can have your bodyguards follow me in the shadows."

She leaned in, her lips brushing his ear. "But you have to let me go. Because when I come back tonight, I have a surprise for you."

The heavy, sexual promise in her words, combined with the physical weight of her body clinging to him, shattered the last of his resistance.

Damien closed his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the beast inside him back into its cage.

He opened his eyes. He grabbed the back of her neck and crashed his mouth down on hers. It was a punishing, desperate kiss, branding her as his.

A minute later, he pulled back. He was breathing hard. His thumb roughly wiped the moisture from her swollen bottom lip.

He turned his head and spoke to the empty air. "Tell Ray to bring the armored Maybach around."

Victor, his personal assistant who always lingered in the shadows, materialized by the door and spoke into his radio.

Damien kept his hand on the small of her back, escorting her to the grand foyer. He personally draped a light trench coat over her shoulders.

The massive, black armored Maybach idled at the bottom of the stone steps. Ray, the driver, stood holding the rear door open.

Giovanna slid into the plush leather seat. She rolled down the tinted window and looked up at Damien standing on the steps.

"See you tonight, my dictator," she teased, blowing him a kiss.

The Maybach pulled away, tires crunching on the gravel. Damien stood frozen on the steps. He reached up, his fingers brushing the faint bite mark on his jaw. A slow, dark smile finally broke across his face.

The armored Maybach glided down the highway like a silent, black shark. Ray gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, his eyes glued to the road, terrified to even glance in the rearview mirror.

Giovanna leaned back against the buttery leather seat. She closed her eyes, letting her brain sort through the files of her past life.

In her previous life, she had used her genius-level IQ to secure an Early Decision spot at Oakhaven. But Elara had paid people to spread the rumor that Giovanna was a brainless idiot who bought her way in with Damien's money.

Worse, the prestigious honor of giving the freshman valedictory speech-an honor Giovanna had earned-was stolen by Elara through the Vang family's connections.

The Maybach slowed as it passed through the towering gothic arches of Oakhaven University. Students walking on the sidewalks stopped and stared, pointing at the multi-million-dollar vehicle.

Ray parked the car near the edge of The Quad. He jumped out and opened the door.

Giovanna stepped out. Her red-soled heels clicked sharply against the pavement. The burgundy dress hugged her curves, radiating old-money elegance and absolute power.

The whispers started immediately. Groups of students turned their heads, trying to guess which billionaire family she belonged to.

Giovanna ignored them. She walked straight toward the chaotic freshman registration booths.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and locked onto a girl struggling to hold a massive stack of folders. She wore thick black glasses and a faded sweater. Fiona Daly.

In her past life, Fiona was the only person who stood by Giovanna when the whole school turned against her. Fiona had lost her own scholarship because of it.

A tight knot formed in Giovanna's throat. She walked up behind Fiona and gently tapped her shoulder.

Fiona spun around. Her eyes widened in shock, then immediately filled with panic.

"Gio!" Fiona hissed, dropping her voice. "Why are you so late? Elara's friends are already telling everyone you're a fraud."

Before Giovanna could answer, a shrill, nasal voice cut through the noise.

"Well, well. If it isn't our famous 'donation admit'."

Skylar Finch, Elara's chief minion, strutted over. Three other girls flanked her like bodyguards.

Skylar looked Giovanna up and down, her eyes burning with ugly jealousy. "What's wrong? Your old, ugly sugar daddy husband couldn't be bothered to walk you to class?"

The students standing nearby stopped talking. They pulled out their phones, hitting record, waiting for the rich girl to cry.

Fiona's face flushed red with anger. She stepped in front of Giovanna, using her small body as a shield. "Shut up, Skylar! Gio got in on her own merit!"

Skylar sneered. She shoved Fiona hard in the chest. "Merit? Everyone knows Elara is the only genius in the Vang family."

Fiona stumbled backward, her heel catching on the pavement. The folders flew out of her hands, scattering across the grass.

Giovanna's eyes went dead. The temperature around her seemed to drop. She reached out, her hand clamping onto Fiona's arm, stabilizing her instantly.

Giovanna pulled Fiona behind her back. She took one slow, deliberate step toward Skylar. The sheer, suffocating pressure of Giovanna's presence made Skylar physically shrink back.

"What are you doing?" Skylar stammered, trying to sound tough.

Giovanna didn't yell. She casually adjusted the cuff of her trench coat.

When she spoke, her voice was loud enough to carry across the entire courtyard. "Whether my husband is old or ugly is none of your business. Especially since his company has higher standards than you could ever meet in your entire pathetic life. Now, get out of my sight."

A collective gasp, followed by a wave of brutal laughter, erupted from the crowd. Skylar's face turned the color of a crushed tomato.

Giovanna leaned in, dropping her voice to a lethal whisper meant only for Skylar. "And as for Elara being a genius..."

Giovanna straightened up. A cold, wicked smile touched her lips. "Let's see how smart she looks at the assembly in thirty minutes."

Without waiting for a response, Giovanna grabbed Fiona's hand and dragged her away from the crowd, heading straight for the massive stone library.

Giovanna pulled Fiona through the maze of towering wooden bookshelves in the main library. They bypassed the crowded study halls and slipped into an abandoned archives corner on the third floor.

Thick dust coated the floor. Massive oak shelves completely blocked them from the main aisle. It was a perfect blind spot.

Fiona was hyperventilating. She grabbed Giovanna's arm. "Gio, you can't just say that to Skylar! She's going to text Elara right now!"

Giovanna pushed Fiona down into a dusty wooden chair. She offered a calm, chilling smile. "I know. That's exactly what I want her to do."

Giovanna unzipped her Hermes bag. She pulled out her standard-issue laptop, opening the lid with practiced ease. She popped a cherry lollipop into her mouth to spike her blood sugar. Her long fingers hovered over the keyboard, then began to move in a blur of motion. The black screen flared to life. Lines of glowing green code cascaded down the glass. A hidden, encrypted login portal popped up. Giovanna typed a 32-character alphanumeric password without looking down. She hit enter. The screen flashed. In the top right corner, a completely untraceable, blank terminal interface loaded, masking her digital footprint entirely.

Fiona stared at the screen, her jaw practically hitting the floor. "Gio... what the hell are you doing?"

Giovanna didn't look up. Her fingers slammed against the digital keyboard. "Taking back what's mine. And giving you a graduation present early."

It took her exactly two minutes and forty seconds to shred Oakhaven's military-grade firewall.

She bypassed the security protocols and slipped directly into the Dean's Office central database.

She pulled up the master schedule for the freshman assembly. She scrolled down to the time slot labeled: Freshman Valedictory Address.

Next to it, typed in bold letters, was the name: Elara Vang.

Giovanna's teeth crushed the lollipop. She hit the backspace key, deleting Elara's name until the box was completely empty.

Then, her fingers flew across the keys, typing a new name into the master file.

Fiona Daly.

Fiona leaned closer to the screen. When she read the name, she shrieked and jumped out of the chair. "Are you insane?! I can't give a speech!"

Giovanna locked the database. She ran a scrubbing protocol, wiping her IP address and erasing any trace of the intrusion.

She snapped the laptop shut. She stood up, grabbed Fiona by both shoulders, and forced the panicked girl to look her in the eye.

"Fiona," Giovanna said, her voice hard and absolute. "Your entrance exam score was forty points higher than Elara's. You earned that spot. She bought it."

Fiona shook her head violently, tears welling in her eyes. "But I don't have a speech! And I'm terrified of crowds!"

Giovanna reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen twice and sent a file to Fiona's email.

"Check your phone," Giovanna commanded. "I drafted an outline for you on the car ride over. The core ideas are all there; just use your own words. It is powerful enough to make the entire faculty give you a standing ovation."

Fiona's hands shook as she pulled out her phone and opened the email. She read the first two paragraphs. The words were sharp, profound, and deeply moving. It was a masterpiece.

Giovanna stared into Fiona's terrified eyes. She poured every ounce of her own confidence into her friend.

"Stop hiding in the shadows, Fiona," Giovanna said, her voice a low, hypnotic hum. "Today, you are going to shine so bright it blinds them."

Fiona took a deep, ragged breath. She looked at the speech, then looked at the fierce, unyielding fire in Giovanna's eyes. The fear in Fiona's chest slowly morphed into a burning spark of ambition.

Fiona gripped her phone tight. She nodded once. "Okay. Let's do it."