The police officers formed a line at the base of the stage. They ordered the guests to step back. Harrison, Victoria, and Serena were instructed to remain where they were.

Chloe walked down the side aisle. She stopped near the exit doors and leaned her uninjured shoulder against the cool marble wall of the corridor.

Inside the ballroom, the massive projector screen behind the stage flickered. The slideshow of Serena's childhood photos vanished.

A collective buzzing sound filled the room. Hundreds of cell phones vibrated simultaneously.

Dean Evans, the head of admissions for Ivy University, stood near the buffet table. He pulled his phone from his tuxedo pocket. He stared at the screen. His mouth opened. He staggered backward, his legs giving out, and collapsed into a velvet chair.

Guests around him raised their phones.

It was a push notification from the official Ivy University Twitter account.

The statement was stark black text on a white background. It announced the immediate launch of an emergency internal investigation into allegations of severe academic fraud regarding an early admission offer. The final sentence read: The university takes these claims with the utmost seriousness, has suspended the admission status pending a full board review, and is fully cooperating with authorities.

The ballroom erupted. The noise was deafening. It was no longer whispers; it was open, aggressive shouting.

Serena scrambled to her feet. She snatched Harrison's phone from his hand. She stared at the screen.

"No," Serena screamed. She threw the phone at the floor. It shattered. "She hacked them! Chloe hacked their account! It is a lie!"

Victoria wrapped her arms around Serena, pulling her tight. Victoria looked over the heads of the crowd, her eyes searching frantically for Dean Evans.

Evans refused to look at her. He stared blankly at his own phone. He had just received a separate email from the university board. He was placed on indefinite administrative leave, pending a formal hearing regarding his involvement.

Chloe stood in the corridor. She reached into the dry pocket of her jeans. Her fingers found a small square of foil. She unwrapped it and placed a piece of dark chocolate on her tongue.

The bitter taste of cocoa flooded her mouth. It grounded her. The adrenaline that had kept her moving despite the freezing water and the torn shoulder was beginning to crash. Her muscles twitched.

A group of reporters broke through the hotel security line in the lobby. They flooded into the ballroom corridor, cameras raised.

They immediately swarmed Chloe, their camera flashes erupting in a blinding, continuous strobe effect. Microphones were shoved toward her shivering face.

"Chloe! Is it true your sister stole your test?"

"Did your mother really push you into the river?"

Chloe raised her uninjured arm slightly, shielding her eyes from the aggressive glare of the flashes. "My lawyers will be handling all inquiries," she said, her voice steady despite her chattering teeth.

The young police officer stepped in front of her, using his body to create a barrier. "Back up! Let the victim through!" he shouted, clearing a narrow path toward the exit while the rest of the press surged toward the stage.

"Mr. Sterling! Is it true your wife embezzled funds?"

"Serena, did you know the score was stolen?"

Harrison shoved a microphone away from his face. The metal hit the reporter's chin. Harrison grabbed Victoria's arm and signaled to his lawyers, who were already pushing their way through the crowd.

Victoria dragged Serena down the back stairs of the stage. The camera flashes illuminated their panicked faces, turning them stark white against the dark background.

Alfred Peterson threw his body against the reporters, clearing a narrow path toward the kitchen service exit. The Sterling family disappeared through the swinging doors.

Chloe watched them run. Her face remained entirely blank.

A young police officer approached her. He held a notepad.

"Miss," the officer said, looking at her wet clothes and the blood seeping through her torn jacket. "Do you need an ambulance?"

"No," Chloe said. She swallowed the chocolate. "I need to sign a statement confirming I reported an attempted homicide."

The officer handed her a pen and the notepad.

Chloe took the pen. She pressed the tip against the paper. Her hand was steady. She wrote her name in sharp, angular letters.

Chloe Sterling.

She stared at the ink drying on the paper. Writing that surname felt like dragging a cold, rusted blade across her own skin. A bitter taste rose in the back of her throat. This is the very last time I will ever wear their name, she thought, her internal vow sealing the document more permanently than the ink itself.

The officer looked at the signature. He frowned slightly, opening his mouth to ask a question.

Chloe handed the pad back and turned away.

She pushed through the heavy glass doors of the hotel entrance. The freezing wind of the Manhattan streets hit her face. She did not look back at the grand facade of The Plaza.

She walked down the block. At the corner of 5th Avenue, an unassuming black sedan sat idling at the curb.

The headlights flashed twice.

Chloe's rigid shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. She walked to the rear passenger door and pulled it open.

She slid onto the leather seat and closed the door.

"Drive to the Sterling Estate," Chloe said to the driver. "I have something to pick up before they return."