Chapter 2

The heavy bass of the Brooklyn underground club drowned out the ringing in my ears.

I had survived the night.

The glowing numbers above my head had stabilized at 1360.

Seraphina’s parasitic system was flawed.

It was programmed to detect SAT-specific cognitive patterns like vocabulary memorization and basic trigonometry.

It punished me for playing by the rules of high school academia.

But it didn't recognize things that were entirely off the charts.

Things like post-graduate quantum mechanics and advanced theoretical physics didn't trigger the death trap.

I didn't just spend the night throwing back shots and dancing under strobe lights.

I had rented a private VIP garage in the back of the club.

And I had used it to build a sanctuary the system couldn't touch.

I threw the pen onto the concrete floor.

I collapsed onto the worn leather sofa and took a slow sip from my glass.

I admired the entire wall covered in top-tier quantum algorithm formulas.

This was what I had actually been doing all night.

A heavy knock on the metal door suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

The bartender pushed the door open, holding a card reader.

"Your time is up, you need to clear your tab," he grunted.

He suddenly froze, staring at the concrete wall covered in complex equations.

He looked at me like I was a complete psychopath.

"What the hell is this? You rented a VIP room at a rave just to do math?"

I ignored his confusion and simply pulled out my phone.

I dialed Seraphina.

"Seraphina, I'm stuck at the club and they won't let me leave."

"A club? Rhea, what are you doing in a place like that?" her fake, anxious voice echoed through the speaker.

"Just unwinding before the big test, so don't tell mother and father."

"Transfer me fifty thousand dollars right now."

"Fifty thousand? Rhea, the SATs are tomorrow, you can't ruin your future over a bar tab!"

"Are you going to wire the money or not?"

"Because if you don't, I might just accidentally tell Grandma Augusta who really totaled her Porsche last summer."

A brief, tense silence followed on the other end of the line.

"Fine, I'll send it, but you have to promise you'll at least show up to the exam!"

I hung up the phone without another word.

A notification popped up a second later: Seraphina had transferred sixty thousand dollars.

It was probably her entire secret allowance.

I used her money to comfortably rent that VIP garage for the entire month.

I didn't step foot back into the Vanderbilt estate until the day before the SATs.

My hair was a tangled mess, and dark circles hung heavily under my eyes.

But the glowing number above my head had reached a perfect 1600.

Seraphina smiled sweetly as she handed me my admission ticket in the grand foyer.

"Oh my god, Rhea, you smell like cheap tequila... thank goodness you made it back."

My mother, Eleanor, stepped out of the parlor and stared at me with pure disgust.

"Look at this revolting mess, you are an absolute disgrace to the Vanderbilt name!"

Even though I knew they only cared about my sister, the venom in her voice still stung.

I managed to force a bitter, mocking smile onto my face.

My father, Richard, marched forward and slapped me hard across the cheek.

The crack echoed loudly through the high-ceilinged room.

"Get on your knees!" he roared.

I stood frozen, refusing to bow to him.

He kicked me violently behind the knees.

I crashed onto the cold marble floor, sharp pain shooting through my legs.

"You think I'm going to let you walk into a testing center looking like a junkie?"

"You're not going anywhere!"

Seraphina immediately panicked.

"Dad, wait! Grandma Augusta specifically ordered that we both must take the exam."

Hearing Augusta's name, Richard finally backed off.

His face was still red with rage, but he didn't hit me again.

"Let her go make a fool of herself, then, it'll just prove who the real heir is."

I covered my stinging cheek and followed Seraphina to the waiting limousine.

After the grueling exam finally finished, Seraphina rushed out of the testing center.

She immediately ran to our parents waiting by the iron gates.

"I feel amazing about it, I think I aced every single section!"

"Can we host a massive celebration banquet on Ivy League Night?"

Richard and Eleanor looked at her with overwhelming adoration.

"Since our Seraphina is so confident, I'll personally invite Grandma Augusta to witness your triumph."

Seraphina acted shy, gently grabbing Richard's arm.

"Grandma has always been so critical of me, but this time, I'm absolutely going to shut her up."

Right at that moment, the glowing number above my head completely vanished.

I looked at Seraphina's radiant, confident face.

The corners of my mouth curled up into a genuine smile.

Let's see who gets shut up for good.