The Black Swan's Final Revenge Pirouette: The 99th Game Was Mine All Along by Kylie Homme

Chapter 4

Within seconds, the messages disappeared from the chat, as if they’d been nothing but a hallucination.

Ariana stared at her phone, her hand trembling so violently she nearly dropped it. The realization hit her like a physical blow, driving the air from her lungs. The cold truth spread through her veins like poison.

Everything–her “accident” at the pool, her fever, the “medicine“-had all been meticulously orchestrated as part of their sick game. The pills Luigi had so tenderly given her, pretending to care, were specifically designed to intensify her suffering.

She’d known they were using her, had heard it with her own ears at the hospital, but experiencing it firsthand made the betrayal infinitely more devastating. The calculated cruelty of it all made her physically ill.

Her phone lit up with Luigi’s name.

“Where the fuck are you?” His voice was sharp with urgency, almost angry. “Why aren’t you at the apartment?”

Ariana took a deep, steadying breath, forcing herself to sound detached: “My fever got worse. I had to go

to the ER.”

The line went dead silent before Luigi responded, his tone suddenly softer: “I’m coming over. Which hospital?”

“Don’t,” she cut him off, her voice eerily calm. “They’re just giving me fluids and keeping me overnight. You seem busy with your… other priorities. Don’t let me interrupt.

Her controlled tone seemed to quiet something in him too. After several seconds of silence, he asked carefully: “Did you check your phone at all?”

So that

1. it. He wasn’t worried about her health–he was terrified she’d seen those messages, that their

game was exposed.

“No,” she lied, “The doctor said my temperature was dangerously high. I’ve been a little preoccupied with not dying to scroll through social media.”

Another weighted silence before Luigi spoke, his voice carrying an emotion she couldn’t quite identify. “As long as I’m around, nothing bad will happen to you. I promise.”

hollow reassurance made her want to scream. A bitter laugh caught in her

was around? Every ounce of pain she’d

Copier

him. He wasn’t her protector–he

Ariana was discharged.

she stepped onto the sidewalk to call an Uber, a van screeched to a halt beside her. Before she could. process what was happening, three men jumped out and grabbed her, one clamping a sweet–smelling cloth over her mouth and

thought before the darkness claimed her was a desperate prayer: Please let this just be random, not another one of Luigi’s games. Please let

and ankles bound with zip ties. Four rough–looking

Beauty’s awake,” the largest one sneered, running a finger down her cheek. “Luigi’s

do you want?”

from her mind, “Who

she’s scared,” another one laughed, reaching for the buttons on her blouse. “That rich boy’s been hogging you all

boyfriend,” a third one said,

in her weakened state, she was no match for them. They laughed at her struggles, treating her

she still found

the door exploded inward, wood splintering

FROM HER!” Luigi’s voice was unrecognizable–a primal roar

scattered like cockroaches, stumbling over each other in their haste to

what she saw stopped her heart–genuine fear

that brief moment, it was like seeing an entirely different person.

to her side, bús hands visibly shaking as he reached for her.

away instinctively, a broken seb escaping

spin, black spots dancing atross her vision. The combination of medication, trauma

time later. Ariana drifted back to awareness in

just outside her door–Luigi and his friends, speaking

heated

the actual fuck was that?” Luigi’s voice was barely controlled, trembling with rage. “Which one

thought you wanted to speed things up. Ninety–seven down. just two more to go, then

having her raped?” Luigi’s voice rose sharply, making the others fall silent. “I