Chapter 8

Late yesterday afternoon, Holland's driver had dropped Keeley back at her Columbia dorm after her IV finished.

The second she pushed the car door open, her phone buzzed. It was a direct order from HK.

The message stated that her first task as his assistant was to send a photo checking in at a specific coffee shop at exactly 8:00 AM tomorrow.

At the end of the text was a link to a highly precise countdown timer app.

Staring at the ticking numbers on the screen, Keeley felt a suffocating sense of surveillance. It was exactly like four years ago.

She clenched her jaw, didn't reply, shoved the phone into her coat pocket, and practically ran into her dorm.

When she opened the door, Anjelica and her friends were still making maddening amounts of noise.

Keeley didn't have the energy to fight. She dug out her noise-canceling headphones, put them on, and climbed into bed to sleep.

The next morning at 7:30 AM, Keeley's alarm went off right on time.

She groggily opened her eyes and reached for the phone on her nightstand.

The countdown timer HK sent was glaring on the screen. She only had thirty minutes left to make the check-in.

Looking at those bleeding red numbers, the rebellion and resistance inside Keeley reached a boiling point.

Holland's arrogant, threatening face from the hospital room flashed in her mind.

She took a deep breath. She decided right then that she would never again become a puppet on his strings.

Keeley's thumb swiped aggressively across the screen, shutting off the loud alarm.

To make sure she wasn't disturbed, she flipped the physical switch on the side of the phone to silent mode.

She tossed the phone to the foot of her bed like it was a burning piece of coal.

Then, she pulled the heavy wool blanket over her head, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.

She was going to tear a hole in his rules. Sleeping in was her ultimate display of contempt.

Because her body was still recovering, and the headphones blocked out the world, Keeley actually fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up naturally, the sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains was blindingly bright.

Keeley rubbed her sleepy eyes, crawled to the end of the bed, and grabbed her cold phone.

The second she pressed the power button, the lock screen exploded with notifications.

There were exactly twenty-seven missed audio calls from HK, and over a dozen text messages that grew increasingly violent in tone.

The final message was sent at 9:30 AM. It contained only two short, freezing words: Consequences await.

Keeley looked at the clock at the top of the screen. It was 10:15 AM.

She hadn't just missed the check-in; she had slept through her first, unimportant elective class.

Looking at Holland's furious digital footprint, a cold smile touched Keeley's lips. She felt a sharp thrill of revenge.

She slowly kicked off the blanket, got out of bed, and walked to the bathroom to wash her face.

She tied her long hair into a messy ponytail, grabbed her backpack, and headed out for her 11:00 AM core advanced computer science class.