Chapter 4

A large screen dominated one end of the ballroom.

David Miller tapped a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to our Ivy League Acceptance Gala!"

Polite applause.

"Tonight, we celebrate academic excellence! My daughter, Tiffany Miller, is about to receive her SAT scores live!"

He gestured dramatically to the screen.

"And we all know what that means! Yale, here she comes!"

More applause, louder this time, fueled by champagne.

Tiffany beamed, blowing kisses to the crowd.

Chad Astor stood beside her, looking proprietary.

"Let the countdown begin!" David shouted.

Numbers appeared on the screen: 10, 9, 8...

Kayla watched, her expression unreadable.

3, 2, 1...

The screen flashed.

Then, Tiffany Miller' s SAT scores appeared.

Math: 420. Verbal: 450.

A gasp went through the room.

The scores were terrible.

Tiffany stared, her mouth open.

"No! That's not right! That can't be!"

David Miller' s face went pale. "There must be a mistake! A technical glitch!"

Susan shrieked, "Someone hacked it! It' s a lie!"

At that exact moment, Tiffany clutched at her dress.

A seam near the bodice gave way.

Then another.

The front panel of the expensive E.V. Designs gown began to unravel.

Spectacularly.

Tiffany shrieked again, trying to hold the dress together.

It was no use. The delicate silk tore further, exposing her cheap lingerie underneath.

The crowd gasped again, then a wave of murmurs and snickers.

Cameras flashed wildly.

And at that precise moment, the main doors of the ballroom opened.

A man in a sharp suit, holding a Yale University embossed envelope, stepped in.

"Excuse me," he announced, his voice cutting through the chaos. "I have an urgent delivery for Ms. Kayla Evans."

All eyes turned to Kayla.

The Yale representative walked directly to her.

"Ms. Evans," he said, loud and clear. "Congratulations. Yale University is pleased to offer you a full merit scholarship and early acceptance based on your exceptional independent research and portfolio. Welcome to Yale."

He handed her the envelope.

The room was dead silent, except for Tiffany' s quiet sobs and the click of cameras.