The Lost Heiress: Loved By Three

Vows of revenge

(Serena)

My hands were still shaking by the time I reached the east wing bathroom, the one nobody used during lunch period. I locked the door behind me and pressed my back against it, finally letting the tears I'd been holding back spill over.

This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, taking in the mascara streaks running down my cheeks and the red blotchiness around my eyes. I looked like a mess. I looked defeated. And I hated every second of it.

Avery Blake. The name tasted bitter in my mouth. Seven days ago, she'd been nobody. A charity case in an ill fitting uniform who should have been grateful just to breathe the same air as the rest of us. Now she was suddenly the missing heiress to one of the biggest fortunes in the city, and I was the villain in her little Cinderella story.

I grabbed some paper towels and started scrubbing at my face, trying to erase the evidence of my humiliation. The rough paper scratched against my skin, but I deserved it. I'd let myself get caught off guard. I'd underestimated her, and now everyone had seen me crumble.

The way Elias had looked at me when he'd threatened me still made my stomach churn. Cold. Like I was an insect he was considering crushing under his shoe. And Jackson who had looked ready to destroy me. Even Luca, who usually just flirted and made jokes, had turned into someone I didn't recognize.

All for her. All for Avery.

I threw the crumpled paper towels in the trash harder than necessary. This whole situation was insane. How was I supposed to know she was secretly rich? She'd looked the part of the poor scholarship kid perfectly. The worn textbooks, the faded uniform, the way she'd hunched her shoulders like she was trying to disappear.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? She'd played the part too well. She'd made all of us look like fools.

My phone vibrated with a text from Madison, one of my closest friends who'd disappeared the moment things had started going sideways in the library.

*Are you okay? That was so crazy! Call me.*

I almost laughed. Now she wanted to check on me. Where had she been when Elias was making his threats? Where had any of them been?

Another text, this time from Claire: *OMG did you see the news? It's already all over social media. Avery Blake is trending.*

My hands clenched around my phone. Of course she was trending. Of course this whole nightmare was being broadcast to the world.

I opened i********: with shaking fingers and immediately regretted it. The first post I saw was a video someone had taken through the library windows. You could clearly see the moment when Mrs. Blake had touched Avery's face and claimed her as her daughter. The caption read: "REAL LIFE PRINCESS FOUND AT PRESTWICK ACADEMY."

The video already had thousands of views and hundreds of comments. I scrolled through them, each one making me feel sicker.

*She's so beautiful! A real princess!*

*I can't believe she was bullied. Those girls are disgusting.*

*The three guys protecting her are so sweet. True friends.*

*Justice for Avery!*

I kept scrolling until I found what I was looking for. There, buried among all the praise for Avery, were the comments about me. Screenshots from other angles, my face clearly visible as I'd stumbled over my words and apologized.

*Who's the mean girl? She looks psycho.*

*Imagine bullying a literal princess. The audacity.*

*She got what she deserved. Those guys put her in her place.*

*Hope she gets expelled. Bullies don't belong at Prestwick.*

Each comment felt like a physical blow. These people didn't know me. They didn't understand what it had been like to watch some nobody waltz into our school and immediately start showing us all up. They didn't know how hard I'd worked to maintain my position here, how carefully I'd built my reputation.

And now it was all crumbling because of one girl.

I closed i********: and called my father. He answered on the second ring.

"Serena? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Daddy, I need you to do something about Avery Blake."

There was a pause. "The Blake heiress? Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"

"She's at my school. She's been causing problems, and I need her gone."

Another, longer pause. "Serena, the Blakes just found their missing daughter after seventeen years. They're one of the most powerful families in the city. What kind of problems could she possibly be causing?"

"She doesn't belong here," I said, hearing the desperation creeping into my voice. "She's disruptive. She's changing everything."

"Honey," my father's voice was gentle but firm, "you need to be very careful about how you handle this situation. The Blakes have been through hell, and everyone's going to be watching how their daughter is treated. You don't want to be on the wrong side of this story."

The wrong side of the story. As if I were some cartoon villain instead of someone who'd worked incredibly hard to earn my place at Prestwick.

"What if she's not really their daughter?" I asked, grasping at straws. "What if it's some kind of con?"

"Serena." My father's voice was harsh now. "Stop. Whatever's happening between you and this girl, you need to handle it maturely. Do you understand me?"

I understood perfectly. I understood that everyone, even my own father, was going to side with precious Avery Blake. I understood that I was completely on my own.

"Yes, Daddy. I understand."

I hung up and stared at myself in the mirror again. My makeup was fixed now, my hair smoothed back into place. I looked like myself again. Composed. In control. Beautiful.

But inside, I was burning with humiliation and rage.

Avery had embarrassed me in front of the entire school. She'd made me look small and petty and cruel. And those three boys, the ones who'd never given me a second glance before, had rallied around her like she was some precious treasure that needed protecting.

Well, if they wanted to treat this like a war, then fine. I'd give them a war.

The freshman gala was in three weeks. It was the biggest social event of the fall semester, the night when the new students were formally welcomed into Prestwick society. Everyone would be there. Parents, teachers, alumni, donors. All the most important people in the city.

And traditionally, the student body president gave a speech welcoming the freshman class. That was my job. My moment to shine in front of everyone who mattered.

But this year, it would be different. This year, I'd make sure that Avery Blake's fairy tale came crashing down in front of everyone.

I pulled out my phone and started making a list. I'd need help, of course. Real help, not the fair weather friends who'd abandoned me the moment things got tough. I'd need people who understood that sometimes you had to fight dirty to protect what was yours.

And I'd need information. Real information about Avery's past, about where she'd been for the past seventeen years, about what kind of person she really was underneath all that innocent charm.

Everyone had secrets. Even perfect princess Avery Blake. And I was going to find hers.

I smiled at my reflection, feeling more like myself than I had since this whole nightmare started. Let everyone think I was defeated. Let them think I'd learned my lesson and would just quietly fade into the background.

They had no idea what I was capable of.

The freshman gala was going to be a night to remember. And when it was over, everyone would finally see Avery Blake for what she really was.

A fraud who didn't deserve the life that had been handed to her.