Chapter 3
Ethan sat across from me in the living room, sliding an envelope across the coffee table.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Compensation," he replied.
I opened the envelope and found a bank card inside.
"Two hundred grand. That should cover your tuition and living expenses for the next few years," he said.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
In a small town, that was a fortune. For someone like me who had lived on his family's charity since age seven, it could stretch for years.
He was trying to buy me off.
Two hundred grand to purchase my admission spot, my future, and my silence.
I slipped the card back into the envelope and pocketed it. "Deal."
Ethan's brow furrowed slightly.
He probably hadn't expected me to fold so easily.
I stood up and walked toward the door.
"Luella," Ethan called after me.
I stopped.
"You don't hate me for this?" he asked.
I turned to look at him. At eighteen, Ethan was handsome in a sharp, refined way, but an unnatural exhaustion shadowed his eyes.
He had looked the same in our previous life. A deep weariness settled into his face the moment Winnie jumped, never fading again.
"What difference would that make?" I said.
I pulled the door open and stepped out.
As the door closed behind me, I caught the sound of his long, heavy exhale.
It was like a crushing weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
He got his relief, while I walked away with two hundred thousand dollars in my pocket and a past smashed to pieces.
*****
Back in my dorm, I locked the card in the bottom drawer of my desk.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
Fine. I'd take the money.
Opening my laptop, I found an unread email from the Byrne Research Institute.
The reply was only two sentences: [Dear Ms. Sutton, your applicant ID remains on our candidate roster. Please confirm your intent within five business days.]
I stared at the screen for three minutes.
Then I started typing my reply.
*****
On Monday morning, the results of the school's science and tech competition went up on the main bulletin board.
My name should have been in first place.
I had spent seven months on that neural cell regeneration project, drafting the proposal, running the lab trials, and analyzing every data point.
Yet the top spot bore a different name: Winnie Clayton.
As I stood before the board, Freya dashed up behind me, completely out of breath.
"Luella, look at this. Winnie took first place. That's your research! You've been grinding on it since the start of junior year," she said.
"I see it," I replied.
"How is this possible? Why does she get credit for your work? Are the judges completely blind?"
I said nothing, focusing on the small print beneath the award: [Advisor Nomination.]
I turned my head and saw Ryan standing not far away, looking conflicted.
He was the student representative on the judging panel.
Freya tracked my eyes and stormed straight up to him.
"Ryan, what is this? Luella wrote every single page of that submission. You know that," Freya demanded.
Ryan hesitated, darting a nervous look around before dropping his voice. "Freya, keep it down. Ethan asked for this."
Freya froze. "Ethan?"
"He went to Ms. Brown and told her it was a joint project, and that Luella voluntarily yielded primary authorship to Winnie. Ms. Brown didn't ask questions and updated the roster," Ryan said.
Blood rushed into Freya's cheeks.
She wheeled back around to me, eyes blazing.
"Did you hear that, Luella? What's your excuse now? Still gonna tell me you volunteered for this?" she said.
I stared at Winnie's name under first place. Seven months of grinding, research I had relied on in my previous life, now stamped with someone else's name.
Ethan had orchestrated it all. He needed Winnie's portfolio to sparkle. Her resume was too thin for Ashbourne, so he simply handed her mine.
As effortless as swiping my direct admission spot.
"Freya," I said.
"If you say the word 'voluntary' one more time, we're done," Freya snapped.
Seeing her tremble with indignation almost made me smile.
"Grab me hot cocoa from the cafeteria, will you? My hands are freezing," I said.
Freya glared at me for three seconds before spinning on her heel.
Two steps away, she turned back. "You owe me an explanation, Luella. And you're gonna give it to me eventually."
After Freya left, Ryan slowly walked over.
"Luella," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Look, I tried pushing back, but Ms. Brown signed off on it right away. My hands were tied."
"It's fine," I replied.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Ryan, can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"If anyone ever asks about the source of the raw experimental data, tell them you don't know. Can you do that?"
Ryan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He had no idea why I was asking, but that was fine. He'd figure it out down the road.
*****
During lunch, Winnie tracked me down in the cafeteria with her tray.
She slid into the seat opposite mine, looking uneasy.
"Ella, I heard about the science competition. Ethan told me you agreed to let me list the project for my college apps. I assumed you were in the loop. Did you not know?" she asked.
I took a spoonful of soup. "I knew."
Winnie let out a breath of relief, but then got nervous again right away.
"Freya looked furious earlier. She doesn't think I stole it, does she?" she asked.
"No."
"Ella, if you aren't okay with this, I can talk to Ms. Brown right now and have the names swapped back."
Her wide eyes were filled with absolute sincerity.
I set down my spoon and looked at her.
I still remembered the final post she made before jumping off the roof: [I'm sorry. I wasn't good enough.]
"Leave it as it is. The award belongs to you," I said.
Winnie's lips moved, like she wanted to say thank you but couldn't get the words out.
In the end, she cast her gaze down, stirring her food.
"Ella, I feel like I owe you everything. First the Ashbourne nomination, now this award. I promise I'll make it up to you someday," she said.
I smiled.
She didn't owe me anything.
She was just the girl Ethan was desperate to save, and I was the one paying the bill.