Page 18 of The Ruthless Rivalry

Sutton nods, her confidence growing. “The paints we use can stain easily. If Alex was the one responsible, there would bevisible evidence on her clothes or skin. And you can already see the faint red tint on her hands. This isn’t some random project, it was deliberate.”

Alfie’s eyes suddenly widen as though a lightbulb has just flicked on above his head. “Hey, your favorite hoodie also has a red stain on it!” he exclaims, as if he’s cracked the case wide open.

“That’s because—” I begin to explain, but Chancellor Maxwell cuts me off with a sharp raise of her hand.

“I think we’ve heard enough,” she says. She just gives me that unblinking stare, the kind that makes you feel like you’re being measured for a coffin. “Your presence at the art building, your knowledge of the supplies, and now this evidence on your clothing that an eyewitness claims to have seen, it’s all quite damning.”

My father steps forward, his voice rising in indignation. “Now, wait just a minute—”

“Dad, please,” I interrupt, laying a hand on his arm, keeping him from charging in. I turn back to the Chancellor. “I understand how this looks, but I can explain everything if you’ll just give me the chance.”

Bishop, sensing a shift in the room, seizes the opportunity and adds another layer to the story. “That’s why she was at the old natatorium before her fall,” he says, his voice insistent. “She was experimenting with paints, testing their reactions with water. Sutton found the bottles she left behind when she discovered her yesterday morning. She mentioned it to the doctors—who I’m sure passed it along to you, Chancellor,” he adds smoothly, with a touch of smug assurance.

Chancellor Maxwell doesn’t respond, but the slight tilt of her head and the flicker of recognition in her eyes says enough—she had, in fact, been informed.

Shit.I felt the blood drain from my face. If Sutton had really told them yesterday, then whatever chance I had of controlling the story was already gone. I was so screwed.

“I bet if you check now, they’re still there,” Camden chimes in, eager to further cement the story. “She probably stained the pool red too.”

“I’m not some criminal,” I snap, voice steady.

I glance at Bishop, who stands there with that familiar smug look on his face. His expression is a perfect mask of innocence, but the satisfaction in his eyes is unmistakable. He’s enjoying this. Every last second.

“Chancellor, you can’t possibly be serious,” I continue, my voice louder now, the anger rising with each word. “This is a setup.”

Chancellor Maxwell’s expression remains composed, but there’s something else beneath it—regret, maybe, or calculation. She holds my gaze a moment longer than necessary, then finally speaks, her voice calm but unwavering. “At Altair, we deal in facts,” she says. “And right now, the facts we have don’t support your claim. Without concrete evidence to back you up—paired with your recent trip to the hospital, the timing of the fall, and the red still on your hands—it paints a very different picture.”

Right.Facts. Like the one she’d just accidentally confirmed without saying a word.

It’s like I’m trapped in a game where the rules are rigged, and the whole world is watching. And Bishop watches it all with that goddamn grin still plastered on his face.

“You mean there could be more…blood?” Alfie suddenly chimes in, his voice shaky. He looks at me with wide, innocent eyes before swallowing thickly.

His words hang in the air for a split second before he faintly shudders, his eyes roll back as if he’s about to faint again.

And then, just like that, he collapses—again—this time right onto my feet. I wince as his weight crushes my toes.

This place is the absolute worst.

Chapter 5

Alex

The Legacies were going to pay for this. I’d been stalking the perimeter of my room, every step laced with a fury I couldn’t shake, ever since I’d convinced my father I was alright and to go back home. The parents weekend had ended, and now I was a joke—a punchline to the whole damn school.

I already knew I was in deep. But this? This just poured gasoline on it.

I could almost see their smug faces. The Legacies—those self-righteous, arrogant jerks—strutting around campus like they owned it. And now this? The fountain. My concussion. Mymother. They had crossed a line, and it wasn’t one I was going to let them forget.

They thought they were untouchable, the superior students of this university. But they’d forgotten who they were messing with.

“Dolores, what do you think?” I asked my favorite roommate.

My beloved snake plant remained silent as always, her long green leaves stretched out toward the sky. But I knew she understood. She’d been informed of every slight, every whispered insult, since I arrived at Altair University.

“You’re right,” I muttered, reaching out to stroke one of her leaves. “Sleep first, and tomorrow we start plotting how to get back at them.”

I retaliated against them once before, covering Bishop in a heap of glitter as payback for him breaking into my room. But that was only after he had maliciously set the plumbing to burst directly above my bed in the dead of night.

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