The door to Richard's Mercedes didn't just close; it sealed.

The heavy thud of German engineering cut off the noises of the Blackwell parking lot-the shouting of boys, the revving of engines, the distant whistle of the soccer coach.

Inside, silence filled the car, immediate and suffocating.

Richard didn't look at me.

His hands were firmly gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white against the black leather.

He prided himself on staying composed, on being the calmest person in any room.

But today, the tension in his jaw made him look much older.

"Richard?" I asked, my voice small. "What happened? Is my father okay?"

He didn't pull out of the parking lot. He just sat there, staring through the windshield at the red-brick façade of the school.

"There was a fight, Jane. A disturbance at the correctional facility. Your father was... involved."

My heart did a slow, painful turn in my chest.

My father wasn't a fighter.

He was a man who read history books and often forgot to pay the electric bill.

He had always found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, or so he told me every visiting day for three years.

"Is he hurt?"

"He's in the infirmary," Richard said, finally turning to look at me.

His eyes were soft with sympathy, but there was something else-a flicker of calculation. "He's stable.

The warden called because I'm now listed as your emergency contact. Your mother was... unavailable."

A hot rush of shame spread through me.

My mother wasn't unavailable; she was likely at a spa or a charity luncheon, trying to scrub off the "prison-wife" scent to fit better into Richard's world.

She had started ignoring calls from the facility weeks ago.

"I need to see him," I said, reaching for the door handle.

"You can't," Richard said firmly. "The facility is on lockdown.

No visitors for seventy-two hours. And Jane, we need to discuss what this means for you."

"What it means for me?" I echoed. "My dad is bleeding in a prison hospital, and we're discussing my 'situation'?"

Richard sighed, rubbing his nose. "Blackwell is a small community, Jane.

People talk. If word gets out that your father was involved in a prison riot, the scholarship board and the parents will make your life impossible.

I'm doing everything I can to keep your name out of the police report, but you have to be careful. You can't be seen as a liability."

The word hit me hard-liability. Not a girl, not a daughter, but something to manage on a balance sheet.

"I understand," I whispered, though I wanted to scream.

The drive to the mansion flew by in a daze. When we got there, the house felt colder than usual.

I skipped the kitchen, ignoring my mother's voice about a new caterer she'd hired, and went to the only place where I could breathe: the back gardens.

The Hale estate was sprawling, looking more like a park than a backyard.

I walked past the infinity pool and the tennis courts until I reached the edge of the property where the woods began. There was a stone bench hidden behind a weeping willow.

I sat down and finally let the tears flow. They weren't quiet, cinematic sobs.

They were ugly, racking cries for the father I missed, for the mother I didn't recognize anymore, and for the exhausting weight of pretending I was okay.

"You're making a mess of yourself."

I jumped, nearly falling off the bench. Edmund leaned against the trunk of the willow tree, arms crossed over his chest.

He wasn't wearing his blazer anymore; his white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to reveal lean, muscular forearms.

"Go away, Edmund," I choked out, wiping my face with my hand.

"My father was idling in the driveway for twenty minutes before he came inside," Edmund said, ignoring me.

He stepped into the space beneath the willow branches, sunlight filtering through the leaves to cast shadows across his face. "He looked like he'd just lost a court case. What did he tell you?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

Edmund took a step closer. The air shifted between us as it always did. He didn't offer me a tissue or a hug.

He just watched me with intense focus.

"He told you about the prison," Edmund stated, not asking.

I froze. "How do you know about that?"

"I know how my father works. He collects information like others collect stamps.

He knew about your father's 'incident' before the warden even hung up the phone. And I know because I make it my business to learn everything that happens in this house."

"Then you know I don't want to talk to you," I said, standing up to leave.

He caught my arm. His grip wasn't painful but firm. His skin felt warm, a striking contrast to his usual icy demeanor.

For a moment, everything around us faded away.

"Wait," he said, his tone unexpectedly soft.

I looked at him, eyes still blurred with tears. "What? Do you want to tell me how this affects the Hale name? Do you want to remind me that I'm a charity case?"

"I was going to say," he began, lowering his voice to that deep pitch that resonated in my bones, "that my mother didn't just leave. She was sent away."

I stopped struggling. "What?"

Edmund looked away, staring at the distant trees. "Richard doesn't like liabilities.

When my mother started having... episodes, when she became 'difficult' for his image, he found a very quiet, very expensive place for her to live.

He tells everyone she's traveling. He tells me she doesn't want to see me."

The vulnerability I had seen in him before was back, but now it felt weaponized.

He was showing me his scars so I would understand the seriousness of his warning.

"He's doing the same to you, Jane," Edmund continued, turning back to me.

"He's wrapping you in silk so no one can see the bruises.

But the moment you become too much of a problem, the silk becomes a shroud."

I looked at him and realized his arrogance wasn't just a shield; it was a survival tactic.

He wasn't the prince of the castle; he was its most prominent prisoner.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "I thought you hated me."

Edmund let go of my arm and shoved his hands into his pockets.

The mask slipped back into place so quickly that it was almost jarring.

"I don't hate you. I just don't want to see another person crushed by this house. It's boring."

"You're a liar," I said, a small, sad smile creeping onto my lips. "You care."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he snapped, but there was no real heat in it.

"The party is still happening tomorrow. You're still going.

And you're going to wear something that doesn't look like it came from a fire sale."

"I don't have 'party clothes,' Edmund. My wardrobe is all jeans and things that belonged to my aunt."

He sighed, dramatically exhaling in frustration. "Go to your room.

There will be a box on your bed in an hour. Don't thank me. In fact, if you mention this to anyone, I'll tell the whole school you cry like a toddler."

He turned and walked back toward the house with a confident stride.

I watched him go, feeling a strange and confusing flutter in my chest that had nothing to do with my father and everything to do with the boy who was supposed to be my rival.

An hour later, I pushed open my bedroom door.

True to his word, a large, matte-black box sat on my bed.

There was no card, no ribbon.

Inside, wrapped in layers of white tissue paper, was a dress.

It was silk, the color of crushed emeralds, with delicate straps and a hemline that seemed designed to catch the light.

Beneath it lay a pair of silver heels that looked more expensive than my father's car.

I picked up the dress, the fabric feeling like water in my hands.

As I lifted it, a small piece of paper fell out of the folds.

It wasn't a note.

It was the photograph from the library, the one showing the man standing in front of the prison.

Now I saw what I had missed in the dark. On the back, in cramped, hurried handwriting, were the words: He wasn't there for your father. He was there for mine.

The realization hit me hard.

The man in the photo wasn't a stranger.

He was Richard's private investigator.

My father's "incident" wasn't just a random prison fight; it was a message.

As I stared at the green silk in my hands, I understood that the party tomorrow night wasn't just a social debut.

It was a battlefield.

I walked over to the mirror, holding the dress up against my body.

The emerald green made my eyes look darker and my skin look paler. I looked like I belonged in the Hale mansion. I looked like a girl with no secrets.

But as I gazed at my reflection, I didn't see a debutante.

I saw a girl who was finally starting to grasp the rules of the game.

Edmund was right; this house was built on secrets, and Richard Hale controlled them all.

But Richard had made one mistake. He had brought me here.

I sat on the edge of the bed, the silk dress pooling around me, and waited for the sun to go down.

The house was quiet, the type of quiet that comes before a storm. Down the hall, I heard the faint sound of a door closing-Edmund was retreating into his own fortress.

I realized then that we were two sides of the same coin. We were both playing roles we hadn't chosen, trapped in a gilded cage that was slowly closing in on us.

I reached for my phone and called the correctional facility. I didn't expect anyone to pick up, and they didn't. But I left a message anyway.

"Dad," I whispered into the receiver. "I'm going to find out what happened. I promise."

I hung up and stared at the black box. The party was in twenty-four hours.

Jessica would be there. Richard would be watching. And Edmund... Edmund would be the only one who knew that the girl in the green dress was carrying a match, ready to set the whole thing ablaze.

The wind picked up outside, rattling the heavy glass panes of my window. In the distance, a dog barked, a lonely, mournful sound echoing through the trees. I lay back on the bed, the scent of the new dress-expensive, clean, and completely foreign-filling my lungs.

Tomorrow, the acting would start in earnest. But tonight, in the dark, I allowed myself one last moment of being Jane Carter from Lincoln High.

I reached under my pillow and pulled out a crumpled wrapper from a piece of gum my father had given me during our last visit.

I held it until the crinkle of the plastic was the only sound in the room, a tiny, cheap anchor in a world of sinking gold.

As I drifted off to sleep, my last thought wasn't of the dress or the party.

It was of the photograph. If Richard's man was at the prison, it meant my father wasn't just a liability; he was a witness.

And in this world, witnesses didn't last very long.

I woke up at 3:00 AM to the sound of something breaking downstairs.

It wasn't a loud crash-more like delicate glass hitting a hard floor. I stayed perfectly still, my heart pounding against the mattress.

I waited for the sound of footsteps, for Richard's voice, for my mother's anxious chirp. But there was nothing.

Just the heavy silence of the mansion and the feeling that, somewhere in the dark, the first piece of our lives had just shattered beyond repair.

The morning of the party arrived with heavy heat that trapped the tension inside the Hale mansion.

I woke up to find my emerald silk dress still draped at the foot of my bed.

In the dim dawn light, its deep green color almost looked black.

The memory of glass breaking downstairs at 3:00 AM felt like a fever dream, but the hollow ache in my chest was very real.

When I finally made my way to the kitchen, the air smelled of expensive coffee and something metallic-the scent of a cleaning crew at work.

A woman in a gray uniform was carefully vacuuming by the library door. My eyes darted to the floor.

There, on the edge between the marble foyer and the mahogany library floor, was a faint, jagged scratch in the wood.

It was the only sign left of what had shattered in the middle of the night.

My mother was already at the breakfast bar, looking unusually pale.

She cradled a cup of herbal tea, her fingers shaking slightly around the porcelain.

"Morning, honey," she said, her voice sounding thin. "Did you sleep okay? This house has so many strange noises at night, doesn't it?"

"I heard something break," I said, sliding onto the stool next to her. "Was everything okay?"

She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. They were red, as if she had been up as late as I had.

"Just a vase, Jane. Richard accidentally knocked it over while looking for some papers. You know how he gets when he's stressed about work."

Richard wasn't the type to "accidentally" knock anything over. He moved deliberately. I looked back at the scratch on the floor. It was too deep for a vase.

It looked like something heavy had been dragged or thrown.

"Where is he now?" I asked.

"He had an early meeting at the firm. He won't be back until it's time to leave for the fundraiser tonight." She squeezed my hand. "But he told me to tell you how excited he is for you to go to Tyler's party.

He wants you to make friends, Jane. He wants you to feel like this is your home."

"He wants me to look like I belong," I quietly corrected her.

She flinched, pulling her hand away to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Is that so bad? Wanting a fresh start? Your father made choices, Jane.

Richard is offering us a way out of those choices' shadow. Just for tonight, try to be the girl who lives here, not the girl waiting for a call from prison."

I didn't answer.

I couldn't.

The "shadow" she mentioned was my father's life, and no amount of Italian marble or emerald silk could make me forget the way he used to tuck me in and say that the truth was all that mattered.

I spent the rest of the day in a daze. I avoided the library and the common rooms.

Most of all, I avoided Edmund.

I could hear him moving through the house-the occasional thump of a door, the sound of his car engine revving in the driveway before he sped off toward the school for a pre-party meeting.

Every time I thought about the photo he had left in the box, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold hand.

He wasn't there for your father. He was there for mine.

If Richard's private investigator was at the prison, it meant Richard was creating the "incident" my father was involved in.

But why?

To keep me in line?

To keep my father quiet?

The questions buzzed in my mind like vultures, waiting for me to tire out.

By 7:00 PM, the transformation began. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my room, the emerald dress fitting my curves in a way that made me feel like a stranger.

The silk felt cool and heavy, like armor.

I styled my hair in loose waves, pinned back on one side with a silver clip, and applied a dark berry lipstick that made me look older-sharper.

A soft knock at the door startled me. I expected my mother or Richard, ready to give me one last lecture about "liability."

Instead, I opened the door to find Edmund.

He wore slim-fit dark jeans and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked effortlessly dangerous.

His eyes traveled from my face down to the hem of the dress and back up again.

For a brief moment, the coldness in his gaze faltered, replaced by something dark and intense.

"You look..." He cleared his throat, the mask of indifference snapping back into place. "You look like you're ready to play the part."

"I don't feel like myself," I admitted, my hand moving to the delicate silk at my hip.

"Good. You shouldn't. The girl you were wouldn't survive tonight."

He stepped into my room, closing the door behind him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "You forgot these."

I opened the box to find a pair of diamond studs.

They weren't huge, but they were as clear as ice, catching the light and casting tiny rainbows against the walls.

"I can't take these, Edmund. They're too much."

"They belonged to my mother," he said, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "Richard doesn't know I still have them.

If you wear them, he'll think he bought them for you and forgot.

He buys so much jewelry for people he's trying to own that he loses track."

I glanced at the diamonds and then at him. "Why are you doing this? You've spent every moment since I arrived trying to make me feel unwelcome.

Now you're giving me your mother's jewelry?"

Edmund stepped closer, the scent of cedarwood and something sharp, like rain on asphalt, filling the small space between us.

He reached out, his thumb brushing against my jawline as he tilted my head up.

His touch was electric, sending a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Because," he said, searching my eyes with a desperate intensity. "If you're going into the lion's den, you should at least have something that hasn't been paid for by the lion.

Think of it as a reminder that not everything in this house is a lie."

He took the earrings from the box and, with surprising gentleness, leaned in to put them in for me.

His fingers were warm against my earlobes, his breath brushing over my neck.

I held my breath, afraid that any movement would shatter the fragile truce between us.

"There," he whispered, his face inches from mine. "Now you look like a Hale. Even if you aren't one."

He stepped back, the momentary softness disappearing. "I'm driving.

Get your bag.

We're already late."

The drive to Tyler's house was silent. Edmund drove his Audi with reckless precision, weaving through the North Shore's winding backroads as if he were trying to outrun the car itself.

I watched the moonlight dance over the dashboard, thinking about the photograph hidden in my bedside drawer.

"What did you mean?" I suddenly asked as we pulled into the long, car-lined driveway of a mansion that made the Hale estate look modest. "About the man in the photo being there for your father?"

Edmund didn't look at me. He killed the engine, and the night's silence rushed into the car. "My father doesn't just hire people to watch his enemies, Jane.

He hires them to watch his family. That man, Miller, has been following me since I turned sixteen. But lately, he hasn't been following me. He's been going to the prison."

"To see my dad?"

"To ensure your dad stays where he is," Edmund said, finally turning to face me. "Richard didn't just happen to find your mother.

He sought her out.

He needed leverage.

Your father was a witness to something in the firm's past-something that could ruin Richard.

By bringing you and your mother into the house, Richard didn't just rescue you. He took hostages."

The air in the car suddenly felt thin. "Hostages?"

"Think about it, Jane.

Why would a billionaire marry a waitress with a husband in prison? Out of the goodness of his heart?" Edmund let out a bitter laugh. "He bought your silence by buying your life. And as long as you're under his roof, your father will keep quiet to keep you safe."

I felt like I was falling, the world was spinning out of control.

My mother's "fairytale" was a kidnapping. My "scholarship" was a hush-money payment.

"Why are you telling me this now?" I gasped.

"Because Jessica is going to try to break you tonight," Edmund said, reaching across the console to grab my hand.

His grip was tight and steadying. "She knows about the prison.

She's going to use it to humiliate you. If you know the truth-the real truth-she can't hurt you.

The only way to win in this world is to know the secrets before they're used against you."

He let go of my hand and opened his door. "Wipe your eyes. Put on that mask I saw in the mirror. We're going in."

The party overwhelmed the senses.

The house was a glass-and-steel monstrosity overlooking the ocean, filled with the elite of Blackwell Academy.

Music pulsed through the floor, a heavy bass that felt like a second heartbeat.

The air was a mix of expensive vodka, chlorine from the indoor pool, and heavy floral arrangements.

As we walked through the front door, the crowd seemed to part. It wasn't just Edmund's status; it was the two of us together.

The "scholarship rat" and the "Prince of Blackwell."

I felt the weight of a hundred stares.

I spotted Jessica across the room, standing with a group of girls in silk dresses.

She held a martini glass, her eyes narrowing as she took in my appearance-the emerald dress, the diamonds, and the way Edmund's hand rested possessively on the small of my back.

"Don't leave my side," Edmund muttered under his breath.

"I can handle myself," I whispered back, although my knees felt weak.

We navigated through the crowd, with Edmund playing the bored aristocrat perfectly.

He nodded to people and exchanged brief, meaningless pleasantries while keeping me close.

I felt like a trophy, but for the first time, I didn't mind. It felt like a shield.

Then the music shifted, and the crowd moved toward the outdoor terrace for the "midnight toast."

As we stepped into the cool night air, Jessica blocked our path.

She looked stunning in a white bandage dress, her blonde hair shimmering under the patio lights.

Yet, her eyes held a venom that wealth couldn't disguise.

"Edmund, darling," she purred, ignoring me completely. "I thought you said you were done with charity work.

Bringing the help to a party? That's a bit much, even for you."

The circle of students around us fell silent. I felt heat rise from embarrassment, but I remembered Edmund's words. She can't hurt you if you know the truth.

"She isn't the help, Jessica," Edmund said, his voice smooth. "She's my sister. Or hadn't you heard the news? Our parents are making it official."

Jessica's smile didn't waver. She turned her gaze to me, her eyes scanning the emerald silk. "Oh, I heard.

I also heard about the incident at the prison yesterday. It must be hard, Jane, wondering if your father will survive the night while you're here wearing diamonds you didn't pay for."

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Someone whispered "Prison?" and soon the word spread through the terrace like a virus.

I looked at Jessica, and for a moment, she didn't seem like a queen bee.

She looked like a girl desperately trying to hold her ground in a changing world.

"My father is a good man who made a mistake," I said, my voice steady and clear in the sudden silence. "At least he's honest about who he is. Can you say the same for your family, Jessica? Or should we discuss why your father's firm is currently under federal investigation?"

The color drained from Jessica's face. She looked at Edmund, then back at me, her mouth hanging open in shock.

I wasn't sure if her father was under investigation-it was just a guess based on Riley's comments about local business gossip.

But the way she recoiled told me I'd struck a nerve.

"You... you little-"

"That's enough," Edmund interrupted, his voice cold.

He stepped in front of me, his presence imposing over Jessica. "The next time you speak to her, remember whose house she lives in. And whose name she's going to be carrying."

He turned to me, his eyes shining with fierce pride. "I think we've had enough of this party. Don't you?"

He didn't wait for my answer. He took my hand and led me back through the house, past the music, the stares, and the whispers.

We didn't stop until we were in the Audi, the doors locking with that familiar, pressurized thud.

The silence in the car felt different this time. It wasn't suffocating; it was a relief.

"You lied," Edmund said, looking at me as he started the engine. "Her father isn't under investigation. At least, not yet."

"I took a page from the Hale playbook," I said, leaning back against the seat. "I used a secret to win."

Edmund studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable.

Then he reached out and took my hand, tracing the line of my knuckles with his thumb.

"You're learning," he whispered. "But be careful, Jane. Once you start playing the game, you can't ever stop."

As we pulled out of the driveway, I looked back at the glass mansion.

I had won the battle, but I knew the war was just beginning.

As I felt the weight of the diamonds in my ears, I realized I wasn't just a hostage anymore. I was a player.

But as we drove into the dark, I couldn't shake the feeling that the most dangerous person in my life wasn't Richard or Jessica.

It was the boy next to me, holding my hand as if he were the only thing keeping me from falling.

The luxury of the Hale mansion felt stifling the next morning.

Light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the breakfast nook, showing the dust motes dancing in the air like tiny, golden intruders.

I sat at the marble island, my head resting in my hands, staring into a cup of coffee that had gone cold twenty minutes earlier.

My skin still felt the ghostly weight of the emerald silk dress, and my ears felt oddly light without the diamond studs Edmund had lent me.

I had returned them to him in the driveway last night.

Our fingers brushed in a brief, electric moment that kept me awake until the sun began to seep through the curtains.

The silence broke with the sharp, rhythmic tap of heels on the tile.

My mother entered, wrapped in a cream-colored silk robe worth more than my father's entire wardrobe.

She looked radiant, refreshed, and completely unaware that her daughter had just survived a social nightmare.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said cheerfully, kissing the top of my head. "Richard told me you and Edmund were the topic of conversation at the party.

He was so pleased. He said you looked like you finally understood what it means to be part of this family."

I pulled back slightly. "He was pleased that his son used me as a shield against Jessica?"

Mom sighed lightly. "Jane, don't be so dramatic. It's a transition for everyone.

Richard just wants us to be happy. He even mentioned taking us all to the Hamptons this weekend to celebrate the engagement being made official."

I looked at her, searching for the woman who used to share a single order of fries with me at the diner because we needed to save money.

She was gone, replaced by this polished version of herself who seemed to think happiness could be bought.

"Mom, did Richard ever explain why he really chose us?"

She hesitated, her hand hovering over the silver toaster. "What do you mean?"

"Edmund told me things last night. About Richard's private investigator. About Dad."

The toaster clicked, and the smell of burning bread filled the room, but my mother didn't move.

She stood still, her back turned to me. When she finally turned around, the "perfect" mask was starting to tremble.

"Edmund is a troubled boy, Jane. He's bitter about his mother and wants to hurt Richard. You can't listen to him.

He's trying to drive a wedge between us and the man who saved us."

"Did he save us, or did he buy us?" I asked, my voice rising.

"That's enough!" she snapped, her tone sharper than usual. "You are at the best school in the country.

You have a future now. Stop searching for reasons to be miserable and just, for once, be grateful."

She grabbed her toast and hurried out of the room, leaving me alone with the cooling coffee and the realization that my mother wasn't just a victim of Richard's charm-she was a willing participant in the lie.

I needed to get out.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the front door, but a movement in the library caught my eye.

The door was slightly open, and the scent of old paper and expensive tobacco drifted out.

I hesitated, then pushed the door open.

Richard sat behind the massive oak desk, a stack of folders in front of him.

He looked up, his expression instantly shifting to that warm, paternal smile I now recognized as a weapon.

"Jane. Just the person I wanted to see. Come in, sit down."

I didn't sit. I stayed by the door, my hand on the brass handle. "I'm heading to school."

"You have a few minutes. I wanted to talk to you about your father's situation." He leaned back, crossing his arms. "I've spoken to the warden again.

It seems your father was protecting another inmate from a nasty group. He's a hero, in a way. I've ensured he's getting the best medical care available in the facility."

The way he said "ensured" felt less like a favor and more like a reminder of his influence.

"Why was your man Miller at the prison before the fight even happened, Richard?"

The smile didn't disappear, but it became rigid. Richard's eyes, usually warm, now seemed as hard as flint.

"Edmund has been talking. I should have expected that. He has a vivid imagination when he feels neglected."

"He had a photo," I said.

"Miller is my security chief, Jane. He visits many places to protect my interests. Your father is now one of my interests. I wanted to make sure he wasn't being targeted by people who might try to get to me through him. It's a dangerous world for a man of my standing."

He stood up and walked around the desk, stopping just outside my personal space. He smelled of sandalwood and power.

"I have given your mother everything she ever dreamed of. I have given you a life that girls would kill for. All I ask in return is loyalty. Is that so much to ask, Jane? Loyalty to the man who is keeping your father alive?"

The threat was thinly veiled, but it was there. Keeping your father alive.

"I'm going to be late," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

"Of course. Have a wonderful day at school. And Jane? Tell Edmund I'd like to see him for dinner tonight. We have much to discuss regarding his behavior at the party."

I practically ran to the car.

Blackwell Academy felt different today. The whispers were no longer about my clothes or my past; they were about the photo.

I was halfway to my locker when Riley intercepted me, looking frantic.

She grabbed my arm and dragged me into an empty classroom, locking the door behind us.

"Have you seen it?" she hissed, shoving her phone in my face.

It was an Instagram post from an account called Blackwell Secrets.

It showed me and Edmund leaving Tyler's party.

We weren't touching, but the way he looked at me-and the way I looked at him-screamed intimacy.

The caption read: The Charity Case and the Crown Prince: A Step-Sibling Scandal?

"It has five hundred likes, Jane. Jessica's followers are losing their minds. They're saying you seduced him to secure your spot in the family. They're calling you a gold-digger, a social climber... worse."

I leaned against a desk, feeling dizzy. "I didn't do anything. He was just... helping me."

"In this school, helping looks like claiming," Riley said, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and excitement. "You've officially declared war on the social hierarchy. Jessica isn't just going to be mean now; she's going to be lethal. She's been the 'future Mrs. Hale' since she was in pigtails."

The door rattled. Someone was trying the handle.

"Open up! I know you're in there, Carter!"

It was Jessica's voice, filled with rage.

Riley and I exchanged glances. I felt a rush of adrenaline.

The fear I'd felt in the mansion and the intimidation from Richard transformed into a sharp point of defiance.

I walked to the door and unlocked it.

Jessica stormed in, flanked by two of her lieutenants.

Her face was blotchy, her perfect makeup ruined by what looked like hours of crying.

"You think you're clever, don't you?" she spat, stepping closer. "Using your mother's position to get close to him. You're disgusting. He doesn't love you, Jane. He's using you to annoy his father. That's all you are-a tool."

"Maybe," I said, my voice unnervingly calm. "But if I'm just a tool, why are you so scared of me?"

Jessica raised her hand, palm flat, ready to strike. I didn't flinch. I stared her down, waiting for the hit.

The hand never landed.

Edmund appeared in the doorway, catching Jessica's wrist mid-air.

He didn't look angry; he looked bored, which was even more terrifying.

"You're making a scene, Jessica," he said, his voice smooth and dangerous. "It's beneath you."

"She's ruining everything, Edmund! Look at what people are saying!"

"I don't care what people are saying," Edmund replied, dropping her wrist as if it were trash. "And neither should you. Unless, of course, you're worried that the rumors are true."

He looked at me then, a slow, deliberate sweep of his gaze that made the air feel heavy.

"Are they?" Jessica whispered, her voice breaking. "Are you really with... her?"

Edmund stepped closer to me, his shoulder brushing mine. "That's none of your business. Now, leave. Before I decide to tell my father exactly how you've been treating his guests."

Jessica let out a choked sob and fled the room, her friends following behind her like shadows.

The silence that followed was thick.

Riley slipped out the door, giving me a look that said we would talk later, leaving me alone with Edmund.

"You shouldn't have done that," I said, finally catching my breath. "You just made it a thousand times worse."

"It was already worse, Jane. The moment we walked into that party together, the fuse was lit. We might as well let it blow."

He walked over to the window, gazing out at the quad. The light highlighted the sharp angles of his face, making him look like a statue of some ancient, vengeful god.

"My father wants to see you for dinner," I said.

Edmund's jaw tightened. "I know. He sent me a text. It's not a dinner; it's an interrogation. He's realized he can't control us both if we're on the same side."

"Are we?" I asked. "On the same side?"

Edmund turned to me.

He crossed the room until he stood so close I could feel the heat coming from him.

He reached out, his fingers tracing the line of my jaw, mimicking the gesture from the night before.

But this time, he didn't stop.

He tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering.

"I don't have sides, Jane," he whispered, his eyes dark with some kind of pain. "I only have survival. But for the first time in my life, I think my survival might depend on yours."

He leaned in, resting his forehead against mine. It wasn't a kiss, but it felt more intimate than anything I had ever experienced. It was a pact.

"He's going to try to break us tonight," Edmund said against my skin. "He's going to use your father, and he's going to use my mother. We have to be ready."

"How?"

"By giving him exactly what he wants," Edmund said, pulling back to look at me with a cold, brilliant smile. "A perfect, happy family. We're going to play the role so well he'll start to believe his own lies.

And while he's focused on the mask, we're going to find the key to the vault."

I looked at him and realized I was no longer the girl from Lincoln High. I was a conspirator in a house of ghosts.

"One more thing," I said as he turned to leave. "The glass that broke last night. My mom said it was a vase. But I saw the floor. It was heavy, Edmund."

Edmund paused, his hand on the doorframe. He didn't turn around.

"It wasn't a vase," he said quietly. "It was the portrait of my mother that used to hang in the library.

Richard took it down and smashed it against the floor because I asked him where she was really staying."

He left without another word.

I stood in the empty classroom, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the hall.

The "perfect" dinner was only hours away.

I went to my locker, my movements mechanical.

As I opened the metal door, a small, white envelope fluttered out.

I picked it up.

There was no name on the front. Inside was a single Polaroid photo. It was grainy, taken from a distance.

It showed my father sitting in a wheelchair in the prison infirmary, talking to a man whose face was obscured by a shadow.

On the back of the photo, written in a hand I didn't recognize, were four words:

He's talking.

Stop him.

The chill that went through me had nothing to do with the air conditioning.

I shoved the photo into my bag and walked toward my next class, the weight of the secret feeling like a physical bruise.

The dinner wasn't just going to be an interrogation.

It was going to be an execution. And I didn't know which one of us was on the chopping block.