The Queen They Buried

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Aubree was done with the Wilsons. No way was she sticking around their swanky mansion anymore.

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She took a cab back to their place-empty, quiet as a graveyard. In her room, she dragged an old, beat-up suitcase from the corner and stuffed it with everything she’d brought from the orphanage.

Under her bed, she found a bank card.

One grand sat on that card, a goodbye gift from some guy named “Mr. Quinn” when she left the orphanage. She’d told him she didn’t need his help, but he never asked for it back. Now, that money was her way out.

Aubree swapped her Wilson clothes for an old orphanage outfit. Good thing years of barely eating kept her small enough to fit.

With a bitter chuckle, she grabbed her suitcase and headed out, running smack into Wendy Carter, the housekeeper.

Wendy’s gut twisted. “That suitcase? Aubree is bolting?’

ID and luggage in hand, Aubree caught a bus to Rithol City’s rough edges. The city was pricey as hell-only the sketchy suburbs had rentals she could afford. Three hundred bucks got her a tiny room.

Small, but it had the basics. Cozy, even.

Back at the Wilson house, the mood was worlds apart.

Carmen swept in like a queen, her usual posse hyping her up.

Wendy hesitated, then spilled. “Mr. Wilson, Aubree came by. Grabbed a bag and split. Hasn’t been back.”

“What?!” Mr. Wilson’s face went red, his mind racing. ‘Is she serious?’

Daxton smirked, arms crossed. “Oh, please. First, she ‘cuts us off,’ now she’s pulling this runaway stunt? Thinks we’ll beg her to come back? Lame. Bet she’s back in three days, crying.”

“She’ll regret this,” Ronald snapped. “When she drags her sorry butt back, I’ll deal with her.”

Carmen played sweet, batting her eyes. “Should we look for her? What if she’s in trouble?”

the Wilsons roll their eyes at Aubree even harder. They told

worry clouding his eyes. ‘No cash,

cheap sheets,

the Wilsons’ palace, but it was hers. No more tiptoeing or stressing about

school, money,

were a year away, and senior year would start with a review of old

she could self-study and keep up.

The Wilsons fussed over Carmen’s heart condition, so they stuck Aubree on a strict diet- tiny meals to keep her weak, so

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Chapter 5

to scrape by, never enough to feel

Nope. The staff even blocked her from

to spend hours cooking stomach-soothing meals for Daxton, who’d skip food for his experiments.

her. But

cash, I’ve got the old-school herbal tricks from my old life to

dingy mirror. She was skin and bones-thinner than her orphanage days. Her chin was sharp as a knife, and her

hustle that won’t tank my grades.” Aubree mumbled, frowning.

Olympics, and pro gaming was the place to be. Betting

that wave, turning into an esports dynasty. Later, they cashed in on their

The internet was always a safe bet, no matter

LOL was in its fall finals. Emery’s Apex Squad was up against GOD’s Fury, a scrappy rookie team

GOD’s Fury’s mid-laner was out with a hand injury, and they were hunting

This was Aubree’s shot.

Player to team owner? Hell

the idea, Aubree dove

two days, she scoped out her new neighborhood. Her routine was tight: mornings at the market for fresh food to fix her health, nights at the internet café grinding LOL, and the rest of the time hitting the books for

semester started, Aubree crashed early,

clue the school’s online

heiress” drama-fighting over inheritance-blew up. Bored teens hyped it to the

pushing someone down stairs, getting kicked out-the juicier the

the

went straight to her old art class to get her name off