Elite High's auditorium was silent, as if it were holding its breath.
Veronica stood alone on stage, the spotlight fixed on her in an artificial halo. Her presence didn't waver. She stood tall, one hand at her side, the other holding a slim, black USB drive.
Behind her: the towering LED screen, still blank.
In front, every student, teacher, and administrator worth anything, packed into the grand room. Not for a play. Not for an assembly.
But for a reckoning.
They called it a "special campaign broadcast. " Victoria Ren had requested the time, but Veronica Lin stood at the center of the stage.
She spoke softly, but her voice carried like a blade across the auditorium.
"I wasn't going to do this," she said. "I wanted to play fair. To let the facts speak for themselves. To win the student body's trust with action, not spectacle."
The silence grew heavier.
"But unfortunately," she said, slipping the USB drive into the console at her podium, "not everyone shares those values."
The screen behind her flickered to life.
And then came the footage.
Flashback – Two Years Ago, Off-Campus Gala Footage
The screen showed a dimly lit ballroom, a private party, with teenagers in expensive dresses and tuxedos drinking flutes of champagne and laughing.
In the corner of the frame: Victoria Ren. Slightly younger. Flanked by older boys in varsity jackets from another school. She was laughing, but the sound wasn't joyful. It was sharp. Cruel.
Then the scene shifted.
One of the girls, sobbing, was being pushed toward the ballroom door, while Victoria looked on with a sneer.
The girl tried to resist, but was too drunk. Her designer dress was torn at the strap. Her heels were missing. The boys jeered. One reached to grab her arm.
And Victoria turned her back.
A whisper ran through the room.
The timestamp at the bottom was unmistakable. This wasn't gossip. It wasn't a deepfake.
It was real.
The school hadn't seen it before—not because it hadn't existed, but because someone powerful ensured it never reached the light of day.
Until now.
The clip ended.
Veronica didn't smile. She didn't gloat.
She simply looked out over the crowd and said, "I will not name the girl. She was transferred out of state after this party. And I don't care how long it's been—silencing victims is never excused."
Gasps. Outrage. Whispers exploding. Some students looked horrified. Others pulled out their phones, trying to confirm what they had just seen.
Veronica turned to the teachers, locking eyes with the head principal. "Elite High is supposed to represent excellence, integrity, and leadership. I ask that you review the footage and take appropriate disciplinary action."
Then she stepped back from the podium, spine straight, face unreadable.
Let them judge.
Let the school burn away its illusions.
She wasn't here for applause.
She was here to win.
Later – Student Council Office
Silence lingered long after the broadcast ended.
No one dared approach Veronica as she walked through the halls. Not even the brave ones. Not even the bold.
Lucas was waiting inside the student council room, seated behind the long desk like a judge at court.
"You went for checkmate," he said. "It was risky."
Veronica didn't sit. "It was necessary."
He studied her in the dim light of the stained-glass windows. "You could've leaked it anonymously. Let the media destroy her."
"I wanted them to know it was me." She paused. "Let them see who they're dealing with."
Lucas's jaw tightened. "You made yourself a bigger target."
"Good," she replied. "Let them aim higher. I want them desperate."
He stood and walked toward her. "You just made enemies in every corner of this school. Victoria's not the only one with powerful allies."
"I'm counting on it."
Lucas's expression darkened, but beneath it, something else flickered—respect? Worry? Maybe both.
"She'll come for blood," he warned.
"She can try."
Elsewhere –Ren Estate
Victoria sat alone in her bedroom, the doors locked. Her phone vibrated endlessly on her nightstand—calls from her PR manager, her father, the school board.
She didn't answer.
Her mother's voice echoed faintly from the hallway, shouting to someone on the phone, demanding silence, control, and damage management.
But Victoria knew the truth.
This time, she was losing.
Her reputation. Her base. Her empire of curated smiles.
And it was all unraveling because of that bitch.
Amy Lin.
Or whatever her real name was.
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"You want to play queen?" she whispered. "Fine. Let's play for blood."
Two Days Later – Front Lawn of Elite High
The media had arrived.
The footage from Veronica's broadcast had leaked online—unavoidable now. #QueenExposed was trending in five countries. Victoria Ren's management team issued statements of "deep regret," blaming "a lapse in judgment from youth."
But the damage was done.
The girl in the footage, once forgotten, was being remembered.
And now the reporters had turned their cameras on Elite High.
Students ducked their heads as they walked into school. Reporters shouted questions. Cameras flashed. Parents called the school board. Alumni issued open letters.
The school issued a formal suspension for Victoria "pending further investigation."
When the announcement came, the student body didn't cheer. They didn't clap.
They stared at Veronica Lin.
Some with awe.
Some with terror.
Some with envy.
She was more than a student now. She was a force.
Later That Day – Garden Path, Lin Estate
Lucas stood near the gate as Veronica watered her mother's garden. Her movements were slow. Focused. A rare softness touched her profile.
"You're quiet," he said finally.
She didn't stop watering.
"Everyone expects me to gloat," she replied. "To smile and wave like I've won. But it doesn't feel like victory."
Lucas stepped closer. "Because it isn't."
She looked up at him. "No?"
He shook his head. "It's a warning shot. You haven't won yet. You've just opened the real war."
Veronica's eyes narrowed.
"Then let's make sure I have the right army."
Lucas smirked faintly. "You already do."
Night – Veronica's Bedroom
She pulled out the black notebook hidden beneath the false drawer bottom. A list was written inside—names. Students. Staff. Investors.
Each was circled or underlined. Targets and allies.
She flipped to the back.
One name was written in red:
Alexis Wu.
The ghost of Elite High.
The girl in the footage.
Veronica stared at the name for a long time.
She'd exposed Victoria.
Now it was time to find the one they all forgot.
The one they buried.
The one whose story wasn't over.
Her pen scratched across the page as she wrote one word:
"Begin."