The secretary’s voice rose in protest, but it was cut short.

The doorknob to Dean Vance’s private office began to turn, slowly at first, then violently.

Dean Vance stood up from her desk, her face hardening into a mask of pure authority.

“Stay here,” she commanded me.

She walked toward the door, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor.

My phone buzzed once more in my hand.

*Meet me at the diner on 4th Street in twenty minutes,* Sean’s text read.

*Bring Arthur Pendelton if you can, but come alone if you have to.*

*They are watching me.*

I slipped the phone back into my pocket, my knuckles gripping the manila envelope containing my scholarship.

Outside the door, the lock clicked.

key to everything. It wasn’t just about saving my tuition; it was about stripping my family of the wealth they had stolen.

“Ava?” Dean Vance asked, her voice sharper now. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I might have found a way to stop them,” I whispered.

Before she could ask another question, the heavy wooden door to the outer office rattled.