Escaping the Elite

During the first week of the semester, I ordered a male companion service to hang out in our dorm, only to be caught red-handed by the Student Body President, Liam Vance. He swept a cold gaze over my trembling roommates, Chloe and Serena, and slammed a disciplinary expulsion slip onto my desk. “Give me the name of the ringleader, and she’ll be the only one I expel.” Just as I extended my finger, a glowing translucent comment—like a live-stream chat overlay—floated across my vision. [The female lead is so malicious! Why is she making her roommate take the fall?!] [What’s she so afraid of? Chloe is basically owned by the campus bad boy, Nate. If the female lead points at her, Nate will bully her into dropping out by tomorrow!] My fingertip shifted slightly, pointing instead toward Chloe. More chat comments started drifting past my eyes. [Picking Chloe is even worse. She’s the childhood sweetheart of the female lead’s own brother, Arthur!] [Even though Arthur is her biological brother, he’s always doted on Chloe, his little neighbor, way more than her.] [If Chloe gets expelled, Arthur will storm the campus and personally throw his sister’s belongings into the dumpster!] I frowned, deep in thought, when another comment caught my eye. [Honestly, Liam never intended to report this. He’s just jealous and wants to test the female lead’s true feelings.] [As long as she chooses to take the fall and get expelled herself rather than implicate the others, Liam will instantly soften. He might even confess his feelings to her right then and there.] Seeing that, I lowered my hand and looked Liam dead in the eye. “No need to pick. I’ll drop out myself.” That night, a massive fire—caused by an illegal electrical appliance—tore through our dorm building. When the paramedics brought me out, my bed was nothing but a charred, unrecognizable corpse. Rumor had it that the three untouchable golden boys of Princeton University broke down and cried like children in front of the ashes. But by then, I was already sitting in a first-class cabin flying down South. To find the man who actually mattered. … “Give me the name of the ringleader, and she’ll be the only one I expel.” Liam’s icy voice echoed through the dorm room. He aggressively slammed the disciplinary slip, stamped with the red seal of the Student Council, onto my desk. A suffocating, deathly silence filled the room. The two male models who had just been taking their shirts off were standing frozen by the wall, visibly shaking. Chloe and Serena were huddled in the corner, crying. Liam’s gaze bypassed them entirely, locking onto my face with overwhelming, oppressive intensity. He was wearing a crisp white dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his sharp wrists. “Mia, my patience is running thin.” He tapped his long fingers rhythmically against the desktop. “Don’t think pulling this kind of absurd stunt is going to get my attention.” I looked at his arrogant, self-satisfied face and found it incredibly comical. The reality was, Chloe had secretly hired the male companions to celebrate Serena’s birthday. I had just been lying in my bed with my noise-canceling headphones on, reading a book. I hadn’t even gotten a good look at the guys’ faces. Yet, the moment Liam kicked the dorm door open, he immediately pinned the blame entirely on me. “Speak.” Liam leaned in closer, looming over me. “Point her out, and I’ll protect you.” I lowered my eyes, just about to point at Chloe, who was on the top bunk. Suddenly, a glowing line of text floated across my vision. [The female lead is so malicious! Why is she making her roommate take the fall?!] [What’s she so afraid of? Chloe is basically owned by the campus bad boy, Nate. If the female lead points at her, Nate will bully her into dropping out by tomorrow!] My finger froze mid-air. Nate? The unhinged psycho who put a guy from the neighboring frat in the ICU just because Chloe casually complained about him? I smoothly adjusted my trajectory, slowly pointing toward Serena, who was crying the loudest. The floating text started scrolling wildly again. [Picking Serena is even worse. She’s the childhood sweetheart of the female lead’s own brother, Arthur!] [Even though Arthur is her biological brother, he’s always doted on Serena, his little neighbor, way more than her.] [If Serena gets expelled, Arthur will storm the campus and personally throw his sister’s belongings into the dumpster!] I furrowed my brow, my finger hovering in the air. So, no matter who I pointed at, I was doomed. These two roommates—one was the bad boy’s obsession, the other was my own brother’s golden girl. And me? I was just the malicious supporting character destined for ruin? As I pondered this, another line of text drifted by. [Honestly, Liam never intended to report this. He’s just jealous and wants to test the female lead’s true feelings.] [As long as she chooses to take the fall and get expelled herself rather than implicate the others, Liam will instantly soften. He might even confess his feelings to her right then and there.] Test my true feelings? I raised my eyes and looked at Liam. Hidden deep in his eyes was a faint, barely perceptible glimmer of expectation. “No need to pick.” I lowered my hand, my voice perfectly flat and devoid of emotion. “I’ll drop out myself.” The fingers Liam had been using to tap the desk suddenly stopped dead. “What did you just say?” “I said, write my name on the expulsion slip.” I pulled open my drawer, took out my student ID, and slid it across the desk toward him. “I’m dropping out. You can go report back to the administration now.” Chloe and Serena looked up in sheer shock. Liam stared intensely at the student ID. “Mia, do you have any idea what you’re saying?” He leaned in aggressively, planting both hands on the edge of the desk, lowering his voice to a dangerous whisper. “Do you think throwing a tantrum like this is going to make me go soft on you?” “You’re overthinking it.” I met his gaze head-on. “I just think playing these stupid, juvenile mind games with you is a massive waste of my time.” BANG— The dorm room door was violently kicked open from the outside. Arthur stormed in. He didn’t even glance at me; he walked straight to the corner where Serena was huddled. “Serena, are you okay?” He stripped off his jacket and wrapped it tightly around Serena’s trembling shoulders. Serena leaned into his chest and sobbed. “Artie, Mia… she… she was going to take the fall for me…” Arthur whipped his head around. “Mia, what kind of sick game are you playing now?” He marched over to me, looking down with sheer contempt. “It’s bad enough you’re a degenerate, but now you’re trying to drag Serena down with you?” “When exactly did I try to drag her down?” I stared at the man who shared my DNA, my biological brother. “My name is going on the expulsion slip. I am the one dropping out. Are you deaf, or just stupid?” “You still have the nerve to talk back?!” Arthur’s face turned livid. He raised his hand, ready to strike me. “Arthur.” Liam’s voice cut through the room like ice. “This is Student Council business. It’s none of your concern.” Arthur let out a cold scoff and lowered his hand. “Liam, you’d better just expel her. Get her off this campus before she corrupts Serena anymore.” Right then, the sound of slow, heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway. Nate strolled in. His gaze swept the room, finally landing on Chloe. “Chloe, come here.” Chloe practically sprinted over and hid behind him. Nate turned a menacing glare toward me. “Mia. I heard you were trying to make my girl take the fall for your mess?” He snapped the cigarette he was holding in half. “Do you have a death wish?” The three most untouchable, elite golden boys of Princeton University were currently crammed into my tiny dorm room. One was threatening me with expulsion to force me to submit. One wanted to crush his own biological sister into the dirt to protect his childhood crush. And one was issuing a literal death threat to protect his obsession. The translucent text was flashing frantically across my vision. [Oh my god, the tension! The female lead is totally dead!] [Serves her right. She’s always so arrogant. Now she knows she can’t mess with these three.] I looked at the three faces looming over me and suddenly felt incredibly exhausted. “I’ll sign the slip.” I picked up a pen and signed my name cleanly on the bottom of the disciplinary form. “Now, can you all take your girls and get the hell out of my room?” “Mia, don’t regret this.” Liam stared at the signed slip, grinding his teeth. Arthur guided Serena toward the door. As he passed me, he dropped a final, icy warning. “Since you’re so tough and independent, I’m cutting off your allowance this month. Figure it out yourself.” Nate wrapped his arm tightly around Chloe’s waist, letting out a mocking sneer. “Stop acting so high and mighty.” The heavy dorm door slammed shut. I calmly pulled my suitcase out from under my bed. The text overlays were still drifting past my eyes. [The female lead is putting on a brave face, but she’s probably panicking internally.] [Arthur cut off her money, and Liam has a hold on her academic records. What else can she do but beg?] [Give it three days. She’ll be on her knees begging Serena for forgiveness.] Beg? Beg for forgiveness? They really thought way too highly of themselves. The next morning, I dragged my suitcase to the Registrar’s Office. The administrator processing withdrawal requests pulled up my file, her face twisting into an awkward grimace. “Ms. Vance, your withdrawal application has been placed on an administrative hold by the Student Council.” “President Liam explicitly instructed that your academic file requires his personal signature before it can be released.” I turned around, walked out of the Registrar’s Office, and headed straight for the Student Council suites. I pushed the door open. Liam was sitting behind a massive mahogany desk, reviewing documents. When he saw me walk in, a smug, expected smile played on his lips. “So, you finally figured it out?” “As long as you admit you were wrong right now, and formally apologize to Serena and Chloe, I can pretend I never saw that disciplinary slip.” I walked up and planted both hands firmly on his desk. “Liam, do you honestly believe the entire universe revolves around you?” The smile on his face vanished instantly. “Mia, watch your tone.” “What’s wrong with my tone?” I stared directly into his eyes. “I signed the disciplinary slip. I submitted my withdrawal application. What right do you have to freeze my academic file?” Liam stood up aggressively, matching my eye level. “Because I am the Student Body President!” “Because without me, you won’t be able to take a single step on this campus!” His eyes were filled with the arrogant condescension of someone offering charity. “Mia, stop throwing this tantrum. I know you’re just jealous because I’ve been spending more time with Serena lately.” “If you just behave and listen to me, I’ll take you as my date to the alumni gala next week.” Listening to his delusional, self-important monologue, my stomach actually churned. “Liam, if you’re sick in the head, go see a doctor.” I stood up straight, glaring at him coldly. “I don’t need your charity. Keep the file if you want it so badly. I’m done with this garbage school anyway.” With that, I turned on my heel and walked out. “Mia!” Liam roared from behind me. “If you walk out that door today, even if you get on your knees and beg me later, I will never look at you again!” I didn’t even break my stride. When I got back to the dorm, Serena was sitting in my chair, drinking water out of my favorite mug. When she saw me, she panicked, her hand shaking so badly she spilled water all over my desk. Arthur was crouching on the floor, wiping a smudge off her designer sneakers. Seeing her reaction, he instantly jumped up and shoved her behind him protectively. “Mia, are you psychotic?! You scared Serena!” I walked over, grabbed the mug, and swept it, along with my electric kettle, straight into the trash can. “She touched my things. They’re contaminated.” Serena tugged nervously on Arthur’s sleeve. “Artie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to use Mia’s mug, I was just so thirsty…” “Why are you apologizing?!” Arthur whipped around, glaring at me furiously. “Mia, you ungrateful bitch! Serena drinking from your cup is a compliment!” “Apologize to her right now!” I laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. “Arthur, is your brain completely rotted?” “She used my personal belongings without asking, and you want me to apologize to her?” “You—!” Arthur was so enraged he raised his hand to strike me. I didn’t flinch. I just stared at him with eyes as cold as ice. “Do it. Hit me. The second that slap lands, whatever is left of our relationship as brother and sister is permanently dead.” Arthur looked into my dead, emotionless eyes, and a sudden, inexplicable wave of panic washed over him. But the soft, pathetic sound of Serena sobbing quickly pulled him back to his toxic reality. “Then it’s dead!” Arthur hissed through gritted teeth. “I refuse to claim a sister as vicious as you! From today onward, the Vance family will not give you a single red cent!” “Fine by me.” I grabbed the handle of my already packed suitcase. “Now move. Good dogs don’t block the road.” I shoved past Arthur. He stared at my back in absolute disbelief. “You think you’re so tough! I dare you to never come crawling back to the Vance family!” As I reached the bottom of the dorm stairwell, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t called in a very long time. After hanging up, I dragged my suitcase toward the campus gates. Before I even made it out of the residential quad, Nate and a few of his frat brothers blocked my path. “Well, well, looks like someone’s actually packing up to leave.” Chloe clung to his arm, speaking in a sickeningly sweet, fake voice. “Nate, don’t be mean. Mia’s probably just acting out because she’s angry.” “Angry? She had the nerve to try and use you as a scapegoat. She needs to learn there are consequences.” Nate stepped up to me, tapping his heavy metal Zippo lighter aggressively against the handle of my suitcase. “Mia, I warned you not to mess with Chloe.” “Now you’re getting kicked out of Princeton like a stray dog. It’s exactly what you deserve.” I looked at him, completely deadpan. “Are you done? If you’re done, get out of my way.” Nate’s face darkened instantly. He violently kicked my suitcase. The suitcase tipped over, bursting open, spilling several of my textbooks onto the pavement. “How the fuck are you talking to me?” He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, his voice a menacing growl. “Do you want me to make sure you never walk off this campus?” The translucent text was flashing wildly across my vision again. [Nate is so hot! The ultimate protective boyfriend!] [The female lead finally hit a brick wall. That’s what she gets for messing with the bad boy.] [Beat her up! Teach her a lesson!] I looked at Nate’s furious face and suddenly burst out laughing. “Nate, is bullying people smaller than you the only thing you’re actually good at?” “You really think Chloe is some innocent angel? The male models in our room last night? She paid for them using your credit card.” Chloe’s face went deathly pale in a fraction of a second, and she started screaming. “You’re lying! Nate, don’t listen to her, she’s just trying to turn you against me!” Nate hesitated for a moment, then his anger flared even hotter. “Mia, you’re about to be expelled and you’re still trying to slander Chloe?!” He raised his fist, ready to punch me. “Stop!” Liam strode over, violently shoving Nate away and stepping in front of me. “Nate, you’re trying to start a physical altercation on campus? Do you think I don’t exist?” Nate let out a dark, mocking laugh. “Liam, cut the ‘white knight’ act. If you hadn’t frozen her academic file, she would have been long gone by now.” Liam turned to look at me, his brow furrowed in deep frustration. “Mia, have you thrown a big enough tantrum yet? Come back with me.” I looked at him, finding the entire situation incredibly absurd. “Liam, I don’t want the file anymore.” I bent down, righted my suitcase, and dusted off the cover of my books. “From this exact moment forward, I have absolutely no connection to Princeton, and I have absolutely no connection to you.” I walked around them, heading straight for the main gates. By early evening, I had checked into a hotel near the airport, waiting for my red-eye flight. My phone was constantly buzzing with notifications. Arthur: [Your cards are frozen. It’s not too late to admit you were wrong and apologize.] Liam: [Your file is in my desk drawer. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, I expect to see you in my office.] I permanently blocked both of their numbers. I was just getting ready to leave for the airport when my phone rang. It was an unknown number. “Mia, you left your ruby necklace in the dorm. Do you still want it?” It was Chloe’s voice. That necklace was a family heirloom left to me by my grandmother. In my rush to pack, I actually had forgotten it. “Leave it on my desk. I’ll send an Uber courier to pick it up.” “Oh, I can’t do that,” Chloe laughed lightly over the phone. “What if it gets lost? I can’t afford to replace it. You need to come get it yourself, or I’m just going to throw it in the trash.” I checked the time. I had enough of a buffer to make a quick trip back to campus. When I pushed open the door to my dorm room, it was completely empty. The ruby necklace was sitting right in the middle of my desk. I walked over, picked it up, and was just about to turn around when the heavy door slammed shut behind me with a loud BANG, the deadbolt clicking locked from the outside. Almost instantly, the overpowering, harsh smell of gasoline seeped through the gap under the door. I threw myself against the door, pounding on it with both hands. “Open the door! Who’s out there?!” From the hallway, I heard Chloe and Serena’s hushed, malicious giggling. “Mia, you can stay in there and reflect on what you did.” “Whenever you figure out how to be a decent person, we’ll let you out.” I was shaking with rage. “Are you two insane?! This is a felony!” “Felony? We’re just playing a little prank on you.” Serena’s voice was dripping with venom. “That’s what you get for constantly bullying me and trying to steal Arthur’s attention.” Just then, a wave of blistering heat rushed under the door gap. Flames instantly ignited the pool of gasoline that had seeped inside, the fire spreading across the floor with terrifying speed. “FIRE! HELP!” I kicked the door frantically, but it was jammed tight. The giggling outside immediately morphed into horrified, panicked screaming. “Why is there a fire?! Run!” The flames grew massive, engulfing the room. I covered my mouth and nose, retreating to the small balcony, desperately looking for an escape route. Below, I could hear police sirens wailing and the chaotic shouting of students. I leaned over the railing and saw Liam, Arthur, and Nate sprinting toward the building like madmen. Arthur was the first to reach the fourth-floor hallway. He violently kicked open the already charred, warped door of our dorm room. “Serena! Serena, where are you?!” I was standing on the balcony, choking so hard on the thick black smoke I couldn’t make a sound. I could only wave my arms frantically. Arthur saw me. He froze for a single, agonizing second. Then, he turned and sprinted toward the adjacent dorm room. Because Serena was in there, crying hysterically. “Mia, just hold on a second! I have to get Serena first, she’s terrified of pain!” Arthur scooped Serena up and bolted down the hall. Nate was right behind him. He didn’t even glance in my direction. He ran straight to Chloe, who was slumped on the floor in the hallway, paralyzed with fear, and carried her away. Liam was standing on the lawn below, holding a massive megaphone, yelling up at my balcony. “Mia! Stop playing the victim! Walk down here yourself right now, and I’ll forgive you!” I looked down at the man screaming at me. I thought about Arthur and Nate’s retreating backs as they abandoned me to burn. The very last shred of warmth I held in my heart for them was completely, utterly incinerated by the flames. The translucent text was flashing rapidly through the thick smoke. [Run, female lead! The male leads are literally trying to get you killed!] [This ‘groveling’ arc is going to be brutal!] The fire was eventually extinguished by the fire department. The entire dorm building was charred black, the air thick with the acrid, suffocating stench of burnt plastic and wood. Liam stood behind the yellow police tape, his face deathly pale. Arthur, having safely secured Serena in an ambulance, rushed back to the scene, looking frantic. “Where is Mia? Did she come down yet?” He grabbed a firefighter who had just walked out of the building, his voice shaking violently. The firefighter shook his head, his eyes heavy with sorrow. “We found a charred body in Room 402. There are no signs of life.” Liam violently shoved past the police barricade, sprinting toward the building like a lunatic. “Impossible! How could she be dead?!” “Mia! Get out here right now! Stop playing these sick games!” Arthur’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto his knees in the ash and rubble. “Mia… my little sister…” “I told her to just hold on… I was going back for her…” He covered his face, letting out a primal, despairing howl. Nate stood nearby, looking as if he had been struck by lightning. The paramedics wheeled out a stretcher carrying a body burned so severely it was completely unrecognizable. Dangling from one of the blackened, charred wrists was a half-melted ruby necklace. Liam reached out with a trembling hand, trying to touch the necklace. “Mia… I’m so sorry… I was wrong…” The text overlay was scrolling at warp speed. [AHHHHH! The groveling arc has finally arrived!] [Liam is crying so hard, but honestly, it’s so satisfying!] [Arthur, what’s the point of crying now? You literally handed your sister over to the grim reaper!] [Nate must be losing his mind too, he’s been protecting Chloe, and she’s a literal murderer!] The police launched a full investigation immediately. The cause of the fire was determined to be gasoline poured outside the dorm room, and the door had been deadbolted from the outside. Security camera footage clearly showed Chloe and Serena in the hallway. Arthur watched the security footage: Serena pouring a canister of gasoline outside Room 402, and then locking the door. He turned slowly to look at Serena, who was cowering in the corner of the police station. “Serena… tell me this isn’t real…” Serena threw herself at Arthur, clinging to his legs. “Artie, I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to scare her, I didn’t know it was going to catch fire!” Smack! Arthur slapped Serena across the face with everything he had. His eyes were bloodshot red, like an enraged, wounded animal. “You killed her! You murdered my biological sister!” Nate also turned to look at Chloe, his eyes filled with disbelief and absolute disgust. “Chloe, you actually committed murder?” Chloe shook her head frantically, crying as she tried to grab Nate’s hand. “Nate, save me… I don’t want to go to prison…” Nate violently shoved her away, stumbling backward in revulsion. “Get the fuck away from me!” The three golden boys had completely, utterly broken down in front of the ruins. But meanwhile, I was already sitting comfortably in a first-class cabin, flying down South. When the fire broke out, I managed to climb over the balcony divider into the adjacent, empty dorm room. I tied the ruby necklace around the wrist of a medical cadaver that Serena had stolen from the anatomy lab earlier that week to play a prank on me, creating the perfect illusion that I was still trapped inside. While the three men were busy carrying their precious crushes out of the building, I slipped into the chaotic crowd of evacuating students and walked right out the campus gates. A few hours later, the plane touched down in a coastal city down South. I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the terminal. Standing near the exit was a man in a black trench coat, waiting quietly. When he saw me, he took long, purposeful strides toward me. “Mia.” Julian took my suitcase with one hand, and pulled me into a tight embrace with the other. “It’s been a long journey.” I leaned against his broad chest, the tension that had been winding me up tight for weeks finally, completely releasing. “Julian, I have absolutely nothing left.” I said it softly. Julian looked down, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. “It doesn’t matter.” His voice was deep and impossibly steady. “You still have me.” The climate down South was warm and humid. I settled into a life that was entirely different from the pressure cooker of Princeton. Julian didn’t ask why I suddenly dropped out, and he didn’t ask what happened that night. He just cooked amazing meals for me every day, took me for walks along the beach, and went with me to art galleries. “Mia, this dress would look incredible on you.” In a high-end boutique, Julian held up a burgundy slip dress, holding it against me to check the fit. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was glowing, my eyes were bright. The heavy, oppressive exhaustion that shadowed me at Princeton was completely gone. “Thank you.” I changed into the dress, and Julian swiped his black card without a second thought. Years ago, Julian was the undisputed prodigy of Princeton’s Computer Science department. He came from a working-class background, but by his sophomore year, he had developed a piece of software with massive market potential. Liam saw the value of the project and tried to initiate a hostile, low-ball buyout. Julian refused. So, Liam deployed his family’s massive corporate influence to crush Julian. He teamed up with Arthur, and together they systematically severed all of Julian’s venture capital funding. Ultimately, Julian was forced to take a leave of absence. He packed up his development team, left the East Coast, and moved down South. In just three short years, the startup he founded, “NovaTech,” had exploded into one of the industry’s most dominant new tech giants. “What are you thinking about?” Julian’s warm palm gently cupped my cheek. “I was just thinking… now that you’re so incredibly wealthy, can I just shamelessly become your trophy wife?” Julian let out a low, rumbling laugh. “It would be my absolute honor. All of NovaTech, and me included, belongs entirely to you.” Meanwhile. Back in the city, at the Vance family estate. Arthur was kneeling in the family’s ancestral shrine, facing the memorial plaques of generations of Vance ancestors. His back was covered in brutal, bleeding whip marks; his white shirt was soaked through with crimson. His father held the heavy leather discipline strap, shaking with fury. “You animal! For the sake of some outsider, you got your own sister killed!” “How did the Vance family produce something as cold-blooded as you?!” Arthur kept his head bowed, his tears silently hitting the cold slate floor. “Dad, I was wrong… I really know I was wrong…” Every single night, he dreamt of the fire. He dreamt of me standing on the balcony, watching with absolute despair as he carried Serena away. Whenever he woke up, his pillow was completely soaked. Serena and Chloe had been formally indicted for arson and attempted murder, and were currently being held in county jail without bail. Arthur didn’t even attempt to post bail for Serena. He exhausted every political and legal connection the Vance family had to ensure the DA pursued the maximum possible sentence. Across town, in the sprawling library of the Hayes estate. Liam sat on a massive leather sofa, surrounded by empty whiskey bottles. On the desk in front of him lay an official DNA forensics report from the police department. The report confirmed that the DNA extracted from the charred corpse was not a match to my parents. Liam violently sat up, staring at the report, a manic, explosive joy igniting in his bloodshot eyes. “She’s not dead… Mia isn’t dead!” He stumbled out of the library, screaming orders at his executive assistant. “Find her! Pull every single flight manifest, hotel registry, and international border crossing for Mia Vance!” “Even if you have to dig up the entire earth, you find her!” Nate received the intel shortly after. He grabbed his head of security by the collar, roaring: “Find her right fucking now! If you don’t find Mia, don’t even bother coming back!” The three men who had once acted like untouchable gods were now tearing the country apart like rabid dogs, desperate to find a single trace of me.

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