Chapter 4

"What are you standing there for? Get them out!" he roared.

Two of the staff jumped in. One swam hard toward me. The other looked at Bianca, who was nearly at the wall, hesitated a second, then swam toward her anyway.

"Miss Carrington, give me your hand!"

"I'm drowning! Save me!"

Bianca screamed, then nimbly twisted away from him and kept freestyling toward the edge.

Her survival instincts were just too strong.

The poor guy was left treading water with a giant question mark over his head.

By then, I'd been fished out. I was sprawled at the pool's edge, coughing up water.

"Cough! Blegh..."

I threw up water like I meant it. It gushed from my mouth and nose. I was soaked and shaking, my face pale, my lips turning purple.

Bianca finally reached the edge too, and Sebastian pulled her out himself.

The second she hit dry land, she collapsed, clutching her chest and coughing violently.

She coughed and coughed. Not one drop of water came up.

But her face was bright red, tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she looked like she was about to suffocate. "I... I almost died... Daisy... she pushed me..."

I was still spewing water like a human fountain.

The staff looked at Bianca, then at me, and their faces said it all: Mrs. Rhodes has puked up half the pool. Miss Carrington, what exactly are you dry-heaving over?

Sebastian looked from Bianca to me, and his brows knotted tight.

"Sebastian..." Bianca reached for him weakly. "She's so cruel. She tried to drown me..."

Right on cue, I coughed up another mouthful of water, then lifted my head. My wet hair clung to my face, water dripped from my lashes, and my voice trembled. "Bianca... why did you pull me in... you know I can't swim..."

Then I passed out.

That got Sebastian moving. He took off his jacket, walked over, and draped it over me.

Then he bent down and picked me up.

"Sebastian!" Bianca cried in disbelief.

"Bianca, you can swim." Sebastian didn't look back. He kept walking with me in his arms.

"But she pushed me! That's a fact! I swallowed water!"

"I'm not blind. All four of your strokes were perfect. Nobody who swims like that is choking."

Bianca froze.

Around her, the staff ducked their heads, shoulders shaking suspiciously.

Still carrying me, Sebastian tossed over his shoulder, "Somebody get Miss Carrington a towel. And call the doctor up to check on my wife."

Back in the bedroom, the family doctor examined me and said I'd swallowed some water and had a bad scare. Rest was all I needed.

Sebastian sat on the edge of the bed and watched me for a long time.

When I "came to" and saw him, I followed the script. I scrambled back in terror and recited my line. "D-don't push me... I can't swim..."

"It's me. Daisy, it's me." He grabbed my hand.

I stared at him blankly, then burst into tears. "Honey... I was so scared... why would she drag me into the water? I can't swim..."

He patted my back stiffly. "...Stay away from the pool from now on."

"I won't go near it... never again..." I sniffled.

He sat a while longer, then stood. "Get some rest."

At the door, he stopped, like he owed me some kind of answer. "I'll... have a word with Bianca."

The door closed.

I turned off the tears, rolled out of bed, and called down to the kitchen.

"Hi, it's Mrs. Rhodes. Could the chef do a seafood boil tonight? Three pounds of Cajun crawfish, a pound of snow crab legs, garlic butter shrimp, and corn and potatoes on the side... Oh, and make it extra spicy!"

I hung up and flopped back onto the bed, very pleased with myself.

The System let me know the plot was a third of the way done. Which meant thirty-three million of my hundred million was already in the bag.

That pool scene? Totally worth it.

Next time I got thrown in a pool, though, I was eating first.

Faking a drowning on an empty stomach is hungry work.

"Sys, what's next?"

"Bianca's birthday party. She's going to drug you and ruin you in front of everyone."

I smiled. "Perfect. I hope there's cake."