Chapter 1

I spent an entire year grinding.

I worked day and night to finish the State Science and Innovation project all by myself.

When I won first place, I thought my future was set.

The only Presidential Scholarship spot at our school was practically mine.

I treated my best friend like family.

I shared every line of code, every data set, and every draft of my thesis with her.

But when the list was finally posted, my name wasn't on it.

Hers was.

She didn't just take the credit―she stole my entire life.

And she wasn't done yet.

1

A crowd had gathered in front of the bulletin board.

I stood on my tiptoes, pushing my way to the front.

My eyes scanned the paper from top to bottom.

State Science and Innovation Fair, First Place. Project Lead―not me.

The name printed there was “Lyra Vance.”

I froze.

I stood there for a long time, staring at those letters until they blurred.

I checked again and again, hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me.

They weren't.

I pushed back through the crowd and fumbled for my phone.

I logged into the competition portal with trembling fingers.

The dashboard confirmed my nightmare: Project Owner―Lyra Vance.

She had submitted it a full week before I did.

My blood turned to ice.

Lyra had been my best friend for all three years of high school.

We ate together, studied together, and survived every stressful exam side-by-side.

While I was building this project, she was right there with me.

She bought me coffee, helped me look up minor references, and watched me debug code every single night.

I trusted her with everything―the source code, the experimental data, the drafts, and the presentation logic.

I gave her full access without a second thought.

But she didn't use that access to help me.

She used it to create a duplicate, replaced the original info in the system, and claimed every bit of my work as her own.

I ran back to the classroom, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Lyra was sitting in the third row by the window, laughing with a girl next to her.

When she saw me come in, her smile didn't fade.

In fact, it grew even softer.

She stood up and walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Her voice was so sweet it practically dripped with honey.

“Zoe, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Lyra,” I breathed out, turning my phone screen toward her.

“The system portal―why is your name listed as the project lead?”

Her gaze flickered to the screen for a fraction of a second.

Then she looked me in the eye.

That gentle, innocent look remained perfectly intact.

She lowered her voice, sounding like she was comforting a throwing a tantrum.

“Keep it down, Zoe. Don't cause a scene in class.”

“We can talk about this in private.”

“I want to talk about it right now!” I shouted.

“You need to calm down,” she whispered.

She tightened her grip on my shoulder, her smile never wavering.

“If you make a scene now, everyone will just think you’re jealous.”

“They’ll think you're a loser trying to steal my spot. Do you really want that?”

The other students started turning their heads, whispering.

Lyra let go and stepped back, throwing up her hands in a “What did I do?” gesture.

She sat back down at her desk with a sigh.

Her deskmate leaned in to ask what happened.

Lyra shook her head sadly. “Nothing. I think the stress is just getting to her. She’s being a bit unstable.”

I stood there, my palms cold and clammy.

Three years.

I had trusted her more than anyone outside of my own family.

And she had used those three years to figure out exactly how to destroy me in a single second.