We were orphaned as kids and raised apart after the adoption. That’s why, when we finally met again, I didn’t even recognize her at first. And she didn’t recognize me. “It’s been too long,” I said, but she just laughed.
“No,” she said. “Oh no. Everybody knows that still called dips on Lily. ”
I shook my head.
“No, no, she’s not. ”
“What does she do then? ”
We were at the academy, where the rich and the ruthless trained. My sister, Stella, had built a name here as the captain, the queen, the one everyone feared.
And I was just the new girl, trying to stay invisible. “Any other entries? ” I asked, flipping through the design submissions for the competition our father used to judge. “These designs are disgusting,” someone muttered.
“No, it’s one or the other,” I said. “You clearly don’t care about your weight. ”
Stella pulled me aside, her voice low. “Is everything all right?
”
I couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet. “I can’t drag Victoria into this. ”
“As punishment,” Stella announced to the group, “we’ll just each shoot you 100 times.
”
Someone laughed. “Lamborghini for whoever hits the most. ”
I watched them plan another prank, another humiliation, another girl left broken on the field. And I remembered the night I saw our father’s face, the night he told us we had to leave, the night everything changed.
“You haven’t eaten the bag before,” I said quietly, but Stella was already walking away. “Yeah, she’s still breathing,” someone said. “Should we call an ambulance? ”
“Uh, no.
That’ll take too long. ”
I clenched my fists. “Then why did you join us? ”
“I mean, if she can’t get up, then it’s not our problem.
”
“All right, I’m bored,” Stella said. “Why don’t you stay a while to grieve? ”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to expose them.
I had to make them pay for what they did to Bella, to me, to everyone they’d ever hurt. “These families,” I said, pulling out the file I’d been hiding, “they’ve deep ties to the mafia and nobility. Without any evidence, our hands are tied. ”
Stella looked at me, confused.
“I know it was not. Who else would behave like this, leaving someone to die? ”
“Let the games begin,” I said, and I walked away. I spent the next weeks gathering proof.
I followed Stella, recorded her conversations, saved every video of her bullying the other girls. And then I found the one that changed everything. It was the night Bella was attacked. The night Stella stood over her, laughing, as Bella screamed for help.
I felt sick. I felt rage. And I knew exactly what I had to do. “She’d probably need a sugar daddy as a form,” Stella said in the video, and I typed her name into the system, adding it to the list of those who would face justice.
“Add my name to that list,” I muttered to myself. Bella was struggling all these years, and I never even knew. I had to understand what happened. I had to find out why our father disappeared, why we were separated, why Stella became this monster.
“No, I ridiculous,” I said to myself. “No, totally. No, none of that. No olive oil, and definitely no pesto.
”
I kept practicing my cover, my lies, my plan. I had to get close to the captain. I had to become her. “Anything else?
” Stella asked, unaware of what I was doing. “So, this should be easy,” I said. “Exactly as ordered. No heat, no sauce, nothing extra.
”
“Admiral, you’re never a good liar,” she said, watching me too closely. “I have to understand what happened,” I insisted. “It can flare up at any time,” she said, tapping her wrist where the burn scar was. “Oh, no.
You explain it then. ”
“Enough, Nora,” I snapped. She laughed. “You think that just because you hang out with us that you’re one of us?
”
I had heard it all. I had heard every insult, every threat, every cruel joke. And I had the evidence to destroy her. “Heard all that?
” Stella said, moving closer. “It’ll never work. He’s all Stella’s. ”
“All right.
In three, two, wow,” I said, pressing the button on my phone. She smirked. “Yeah, you could use a tuneup. ”
“I asked her first,” I said.
“As if,” she replied. “You must have gone under the knife. ”
“It’s never too late,” I said, and I saw the flicker of doubt in her eyes. “Yeah, if you don’t, then the sisters will have to kick you out,” she warned.
That’s when I made my move. I stood up, addressed the entire academy, and called for a fair competition. For the position of captain. For the right to rule.
“Well, we never said who would do the run,” I said, looking at Stella. “As long as the Ben’s settled,” she replied. “As long as I’m here, Captain, I rule this place,” I said, my voice steady. “Well, I think that spot should be the most popular girl in the school, right?
” Stella said, smiling. “So, why don’t we just do a fair competition then? ”
“She has no charisma,” someone scoffed. “Why should she leave?
” another asked. “If she was our captain, the other schools would look down on us. ”
“Wasn’t your run yesterday enough? ” Stella asked, trying to undermine me.
I didn’t flinch. “Not only did you nail that routine, but you learned it so fast. ”
“You all right? ” she asked, noticing my hands shaking.
“No, I’m all right,” I lied. The competition was set. We would run the obstacle course, face the challenges, and whoever came out on top would be the captain. But I knew Stella wouldn’t play fair.
She never did. “If you had to switch the cuffs,” I whispered to myself, practicing my strategy, “then Stella would be captain. ”
And she would have been, if I hadn’t planned for her betrayal. “Honestly, you know, I thought it was the love at first sight,” I said to one of the girls, trying to distract myself.
“How long can you stay this time? ” she asked. I didn’t answer. I just watched Stella sabotage the course, switch the obstacles, rig the game.
And when I reached the final challenge, I saw her holding the acid, ready to throw it in my face. “Couple hits in and bam, the acid’s going to do its work,” she laughed. “I wonder how she’ll manage after that one. ”
The crowd laughed with her.
“You should be the hitter,” someone said. I stepped forward, ready to face her. “If I’d hit the ball unknowingly, then I’d be the one burned. ”
“Still, Belle, come on,” she said, using my nickname, the one she only used when she was trying to hurt me.
“If you can’t deal with that, then it’s best you leave,” I said, my voice cold. “The design competition you set up before retiring is about to start,” one of the judges announced. “The organizers were wondering if you had any last requests. ”
I looked at my father’s old sketchbook, the one he left behind before he vanished.
I opened it to the final page, and my heart stopped. My design. My exact design. “If your designs are shit, I’ll get first place, Dad,” I whispered, and I saw Stella’s eyes widen.
“If you’d actually seen what I’ve done, you’d know there’s no comparing us,” she said, sweating. “Because this looks just like mine,” I said, holding up the sketch. “That’s all my work. ”
“What is this all about?
” she demanded. “Check me,” I said, turning to the judges. “You really should start checking nobody’s watching you. ”
“How do you know that video is not fake?
” Stella snapped. The judges looked at the evidence, at the timestamp, at the original file. And then they looked at Stella. “Enough of this,” the head judge said.
I felt a tear roll down my cheek. “Bella, if only you were here to see that you’re a hit, a master of your craft. ”
After the competition, Stella cornered me. Her face was red, her fists clenched.
“Maybe you should just get it over with and tell him,” I said calmly. “No, no, there has to be another way,” she pleaded. “I’m not going to use alcohol to numb my sadness. ”
I stepped back.
“You must be the admiral. ”
She blinked. “Must be really important. ”
“No, just tell me what you want to give me that back,” she said, reaching for the file in my hand.
“Yeah, that’s all,” I said, holding it higher. “Is this enough? ” she asked, her voice cracking. I smiled.
“I want the champion title, too. Drop out of the competition and claim that you were the one who copied someone else’s designs. ”
The crowd gasped. Stella laughed nervously.
“But if he didn’t fall for me, there’s no chance he’ll go for you. ”
“So, but if I pull this off, we’d both be rid of her for good,” I said, and I saw the calculation in her eyes. “But just remember, he’s only using you for pleasure,” she warned. I shook my head.
“This is all your fault. This is all on you. ”
“I never really liked her,” she muttered. “Nearly $1.
5 million in less than two weeks,” I said, pulling out another file. “You this makes no sense. ”
Stella’s face went pale. “This was all just a setup.
Please just tell me this is a joke. ”
“Don’t come anywhere nearer,” I said, holding up the evidence. “If it’s revenge you want, then go after her. Why drag me into this?
”
“You were all there,” I said, looking at the entire academy. “You were all responsible. ”
“Josh, it has been so long,” Stella tried, reaching for me with a fake smile. “And I’ll give you $200,000.
”
“No shit,” I laughed. “I mean, shouldn’t we have some fun first? ”
She looked at her watch. “Even if I did, it wouldn’t do any good.
”
“Let someone die, you come into some money,” I said, and I saw her flinch. “Nearly $300,000 debt to the casino,” I continued. “So tell me, who else has copies? ”
She stayed silent.
“It’s not quite enough to cover it,” I said, pulling out the final video. “Obviously, it’s Jesus, why are you still awake? ”
The screen showed her laughing as Bella fell. The screen showed her taking the money.
The screen showed everything. “Got all that on video. Guess how many years you’re facing for this video and the drugs and how long before your creditors break your legs. ”
Stella’s face twisted with fear.
“You should never… you can make it up to me if you retrieve all the videos from Stella. ”
I shook my head. “It’s all here. ”
She gasped.
“300,000. ”
“You give me all the videos of you bullying Bella, and then I upload your confession,” I said. “No deal,” she spat. “It’s all on here.
Any copies? I don’t want any leaks, you know. ”
“No, I’m her sister,” I said, and the word hung in the air. “This whole time, you didn’t even realize Bella’s been in the hospital because of you.
”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while,” she said, and I saw the monster underneath. “What exactly do you want? ” she demanded. “You think you’re all that?
”
“You should worry about your own family first,” I said. Her eyes went wide. “Don’t tell me. ”
“After what you did to Bella, there’s no room for mercy,” I said, and I uploaded the video.
The entire academy watched as her true face was revealed. The bullying, the bribes, the acid attack, every sin laid bare. “It was all those bitches’ fault,” she screamed, lunging at me. “I’ll make both of them pay.
”
I caught her wrist and looked into her eyes. “You know, without your birthmark, you look exactly like Victoria. ”
“Tell me,” I said, and I forced her to look at Bella’s hospital photo. “She’ll never walk again.
”
Stella’s face crumbled. “No, this can’t be. ”
“No, I don’t want to go back then,” she whispered, and I knew the truth finally hit her. I let go of her wrist, stepped back, and looked at the academy, at the judges, at the girl who had tried to destroy me and everyone I loved.
“Not just for you or for me,” I said, my voice filled with the weight of every night I spent crying, every year I spent alone. “But for every single person who has ever been hurt. No one should ever feel alone.
”
And I turned, walked away, and left the past behind.
