Chapter 2

While the nurse dressed my wounds, I caught fragments of conversation between Caspian and Dad in the hallway.

“Jesus, Dad,” Caspian whispered harshly, “Val’s already destroyed. Do we seriously need to leak the assault footage to TikTok and Twitter?”

After a calculated pause, Dad responded with chilling detachment.

“Post it. No reputable ballet school will touch a student with that kind of viral scandal.”

Something shattered inside me as fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.

“Am I hurting you?” the nurse asked, alarmed by my sudden reaction.

I couldn’t even form words, unable to separate the searing pain in my legs from the gaping wound in

my soul.

The two men I’d built my entire world around weren’t satisfied with breaking my body–they were methodically erasing everything I’d ever been.

My entire existence reduced to collateral damage.

Within minutes, my phone exploded with notifications. Hands trembling, I unlocked it to find clips of my torture trending on TikTok, spreading across Twitter, and dissected in gruesome detail on multiple university subreddits.

comments beneath them gutted me:

always acting so perfect at Manhattan Dance Academy. Karma’s finally caught up!

confirm she’s TOXIC af. Constantly undermining other dancers, sleeping with instructors

Dagonet watching your golden child crash and burn this spectacularly. Guess money can’t buy class!

91.5%

air from my lungs until I was hyperventilating, my vision tunneling as my entire identity was shredded in

protective brother role. He gently

snatched my phone away, his Academy Award–worthy performance beginning: “Caspian,

brother, equally convincing in his remorse: “I had our tech team scrubbing everything, but someone must’ve saved footage. Don’t

deception was flawless–practiced,

made bile rise in my throat.

knelt beside me, his eyes–the exact same shade of blue as mine–locked onto my face with practiced sincerity: “Valentina Catherine Dagonet, listen to

who tries to hurt

does.”

videos disappeared within

times, reposted, remixed with cruel commentary,

had worked perfectly–even if my body somehow recovered, Valentina

future at SAB had evaporated like morning

“Ms. Dagonet has sustained compound fractures to both tibias, two broken ribs, second–degree burns on approximately

her arms.”

distinct knife wounds,

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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