Chapter 3

The police summoned everyone who'd associated with Rosalie for questioning, even a poor little thing like me, who'd been bullied by her year in and year out.

But they couldn't get a thing out of me. After all, I was just a weak, helpless victim of her bullying.

"She didn't bully me that much. It wasn't like what the other students were saying, okay? Is she not coming back?" I said.

Finally, the police asked one last question. "What were you doing at that time that night?"

"I was cleaning," I said.

The police nodded right away. "So you weren't at the scene then."

They hadn't even asked a handful of questions before I burst into tears, and they quickly lost their patience.

I was never a key figure in Rosalie's social circle, anyway. This school was no stranger to bullying. It happened all the time.

The most crucial person, of course, was Ryan, Rosalie's last boyfriend.

Ryan slouched in his seat across from the police, looking totally unbothered. "She did come to see me that night. But when she saw I had other girls around, she stormed off in a huff.

"You know how girls are. Was I supposed to grovel and beg her to stay? Beats me where she went after that. I was at my villa all night. Plenty of people can vouch for me.

"Can't you guys do your jobs properly? I'm a law-abiding citizen. My dad pays a fortune in taxes to this city every year, you know. Besides, I'm the victim here. Who knows how much she charged to my cards?"

The police didn't buy a word of his nonsense. "Cut the crap and tell the truth. Or we'll keep you here until your butt's glued to that chair."

Ryan curled the corner of his mouth, clearly not the least bit intimidated. His father wielded enormous influence in this city, and it wouldn't be long before he pressured the police into letting him go.

Besides, the cops were only grilling him this hard because they had zero solid evidence against him.

"Take it easy, officer. Why don't you go look somewhere else? You can't convict someone on guesswork, you know," Ryan said in a viciously teasing tone.

They searched the villa where Rosalie was last seen over and over again, but found nothing concrete. And just like that, Ryan walked out of the police station scot-free.

He even whistled as he stepped outside, showing his taunt that the police couldn't touch him. He caught sight of me walking out at the same time and grinned at me. "Sheesh, what a waste of my time. I've got a hot date waiting for dinner."

I was walking back to school from the police station when Ryan circled around from the other direction, pretending to run into me by chance.

A playful smirk tugged at his lips as he flicked his lighter and lit a cigarette. "Thanks. You got bullied by that bitch a lot, didn't you? Look at your head. Did Rosalie bash it open?"

He continued, "I really spoiled her rotten, let her run wild like that. Let me apologize to you on her behalf."

He was right. This gash on my head was exactly what happened when Rosalie grabbed my hair and smashed my skull against the toilet bowl. He'd recognized me, and he'd looked into my background.

I didn't want anything to do with him, so I turned to walk the other way. But he reached out and hooked his fingers through the strap of my bag, forcing me to stop in my tracks.

I looked at him with a confused expression. "Excuse me? Do I know you?"

Ryan nearly laughed out loud. "You're something else, you little stick. Way more fun than Rosalie ever was. Don't worry, I won't blab about your side hustle. If word gets out, we'll both be screwed."

I kept my voice steady, enunciating each word clearly. "If you don't have anything else to say, I need to get to school."

But Ryan had no intention of letting me go. He leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered. "But I didn't come here to catch up, you know. I found something way more interesting."

His eyes narrowed, and he smiled like a scheming old fox.

He said, "You've done the same things Rosalie did. A fallen rich girl must have sold her body to survive."

He continued, "How about hanging out with me? I'm one of the most generous sugar daddies you'll ever find in Cloudcrest. You won't find another like me."

I stepped back, putting a safe distance between Ryan and me. "I don't need money right now. And I never did those things. You've got the wrong person."

He exhaled a slow, lazy smoke ring. "Okay. After all, you just walked away with eighty thousand dollars from me, Ms. Brooks. Of course, you don't need money."

"But don't be in such a hurry to deny it. I've checked your background, Sandy Brooks, or should I call you Cathy?" he said.

Then, he crushed his cigarette under his shoe in front of me, his tone half threat, half coaxing. "Hmm? Are you really gonna say no?"

I stood there in front of him, silent.

Seeing that neither kindness nor threats worked on me, Ryan didn't push it. I was just one of his many amusements, after all. He was a patient hunter, so confident that his prey would eventually step into his trap.

I narrowed my eyes, watching his retreating back as he found out my identity so easily.

Then, I broke into a small run, catching up to him and wrapping my arms around his waist from behind. "What's the rush? Can't a girl play hard to get a little?"

A satisfied smile spread across Ryan's face. "That's my girl. Saying no never ends well, you know."

I knew that all too well. If I'd turned him down, he had plenty of ways to make my life a living hell.