Chapter 1

My grandpa was collecting scrap cardboard by the side of the road when he accidentally brushed against the designer skirt of a billionaire's daughter.

In retaliation, she tied him to the bumper of her red sports car and dragged him to death.

When I finally recovered his body, half of his flesh had been ground away against the pavement.

A year later, that billionaire's daughter enrolled at Crestmont University.

And I became her roommate.

…

1

I returned to the dorm after finishing my shift, only to find my bed completely trashed.

Greasy fast-food wrappers, spilled gravy, used sanitary pads, and soiled tissues were piled on my mattress.

Everything was neatly arranged right where I slept.

"Well? Do you like my little housewarming gift?"

Roxy Campbell climbed down from the top bunk with an air of practiced elegance.

She held a manicured hand over her nose, her blood-red nails gleaming as she frowned in disgust.

I looked at her and forced a wide, subservient smile.

"I love it."

Without hesitation, I swept the filthy pile to one corner, kicked off my shoes, and lay down on the dirty mattress.

"I missed your call earlier, Miss Campbell, and failed to deliver your art project on time. I deserve this punishment."

Roxy froze, clearly not expecting me to actually lie down in that filth.

It took her several seconds to find her voice.

"You're really sleeping on that?"

"Get your pathetic ass up and clean it right now. Don't make this room stink!"

She scoffed, pinching her nose as she strutted out of the dorm in her eight-inch stilettos.

Once the door clicked shut, I quietly got up and began scrubbing the sheets.

Back when I wandered the streets with Grandpa, I had slept on surfaces far filthier than this.

A pile of household trash was nothing to me.

The only thing that mattered right now was keeping Roxy pleased.

I had spent too much time and energy worming my way into her inner circle.

I couldn't afford to lose her trust over something so trivial.

My mind drifted back to the start of the semester.

Back then, Roxy had thrown a massive tantrum about living in the dorms, demanding to move into a luxury penthouse.

Her family's butler spent hours trying to calm her down without success.

That was when she caught sight of the oil painting that had conveniently slipped from my luggage.

She had secured her admission to Crestmont as an elite art major.

Yet I knew all her acclaimed portfolio pieces were painted by ghost artists hired by her billionaire father.

I knew my brushwork would hook her instantly.

Everything went according to plan.

To keep me under her thumb, she started gaslighting and manipulating me at every turn.

In time, I molded myself into the exact persona she wanted to see.

Docile, obedient, meek, and utterly devoted to her every whim.

"Annie, your technique is incredible. It's almost a waste that you aren't majoring in fine arts."

Roxy was paranoid about my talent and tested my loyalty constantly.

Every time she brought it up, I looked at her with pure, unadulterated adoration.

"My true dream is to become a surgeon. Painting is just a hobby."

"It's an honor that my work can be seen by the world through your hands, Miss Campbell."

Roxy was thrilled with my answer.

What she didn't know was that my art had been taught to me by my grandpa.

And my grandpa had died at her hands.