Chapter 1

When Gabriel Murray came to the university to give a speech, all the girls went crazy, shouting, "Darling!"

But Gabriel only waved at Maritza Wagner, the campus queen.

I joined in, yelling, "Hubby!" too.

But his smile instantly vanished.

"I'm your father," Gabriel said.

That same day, I got roasted all over the campus forum.

[Oh, dear, some basic girl doesn't even realize how out of her league she is compared to Maritza. Mr. Murray totally shut her down!]

[She's always coming for Maritza, and now she thinks she can leech off Maritza's boyfriend? Seriously, who does she think she is?]

Maritza's girl gang cornered me in the bathroom, made me get on my knees, and swear I'd stay in my lane.

I was a bit speechless.

I was just messing around; that was all.

Who in their right mind would catch feelings for their own godfather?

"Seriously? You think you can even try to mooch off Maritza's boyfriend?" one of them sneered.

"We're not gonna make this hard for you. Just get on your knees and swear you'll stay in your lane, and never even think about Mr. Murray. Do that, and we'll let you off today," another said.

I was shoved hard to the floor of the private room.

Maritza's crew had their phones out, filming me, and one of them forced me down onto my knees.

"What are you just standing there for? Spit it out! You think we're playing with you?" one of them snapped.

I tried to argue back.

"You guys are totally misunderstanding! I was just messing around. Gabriel is my father! Why would I ever catch feelings for him?" I protested.

Paislee Stout just stared at me for a moment.

Then she shot a look at her squad and snorted.

"Are you crazy, or do you think we are? Mr. Murray isn't even thirty yet. You really think we'd buy that he has a twenty-three-year-old daughter?" Paislee scoffed.

I was losing my patience.

"He's my godfather." I snapped.

"He and my dad are like sworn bros, even though they're years apart. My dad got wasted once and made him my godfather. You think I actually wanna call him that? We used to totally hate each other, okay?" I yelled.

Paislee kicked me square in the chest. "Cut the crap, That story is so ridiculous, you think we're idiots?

"Mr. Murray is a big shot, and you're just a nobody. You really expect us to believe your dad knows a guy like him?

"Get on your knees, swear you'll stay in your lane, and apologize to Maritza. Or else..."

She shot a look at Cecelia Horn, who instantly pulled out a box cutter and yanked me by the collar.

"We'll rip your clothes off and carve 'I was wrong' right into your skin!" Cecelia threatened, her voice cold as ice.

The blade pressed against my chin, and a chill ran down my spine.

I swallowed hard.

"I'm not making this up! My dad's the CEO of the Newman Group. You can look it up! Gabriel gave this brooch to me the day my dad got him to be my godfather. It's got his custom mark on it. Just look at it, you'll know I'm telling the truth..." I stammered.

Paislee smacked the brooch aside, her expression turning stormy.

She said, "Are you done with your nonsense yet? First, you play the wife, then you play the daughter. What's next?"

"You think we're here to play house with you?" Paislee snapped.

"Since you won't cooperate, don't blame us for getting rough! Get her!" Paislee ordered.

A bunch of them pinned me to the floor, and I heard the buttons on my shirt snap off.

"So you won't apologize? Fine, we'll do it for you," Cecelia sneered.

A sharp, bone-chilling pain tore through my back as Cecelia carved the word "slut" into my skin.

"You... Gabriel won't let this slide!" I snapped, clenching my fists.

Instead, they just burst out laughing.

"You really don't get what a total wife simp Mr. Murray is, do you? Trust me, he'd probably thank us for teaching some clueless nobody a lesson," one of them sneered.

I snorted coldly, gritting my teeth. "Gabriel's not even dating your precious Maritza. Some people just assume that because he's bankrolling her, it means she's his girlfriend."

"How dare you!" Paislee shouted.

She grabbed the box cutter from Cecelia, her grip tight.

"Pin her down! Don't let her move an inch!" Paislee barked.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

I heard a familiar voice. "What is it that you absolutely have to show me?"

It was Gabriel.

My body froze for a second, then somehow I managed to break free and shoved them off me. I sprinted toward the door.

"Gabriel!" I yelled, but before I could say anything else, Paislee slapped her hand over my mouth, muffling my words.

The rest of her crew immediately pinned me down again.

Paislee looked completely stunned.

"Weren't they supposed to be on the eighth floor? Why are they on the sixth?" she hissed.

Cecelia glanced at her phone, her face drained of color.

"The eighth floor's under maintenance!" she muttered.

Paislee was freaking out, sweat beading on her forehead.

A few seconds later, she whipped around. "Tie her up! Gag her! Make sure she doesn't make a peep!"

Just as the rag was about to be shoved into my mouth, my eyes went wide.

"Gabriel! Help!" I tried to yell, but before I could get the words out, the rag was jammed in my mouth, muffling me.

"Wait, did you guys hear that?" Gabriel whispered.

Outside, the footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

And then, Maritza's voice cut through the silence.