Chapter 1 - The First Test
The baseball was still heavy in my hand.
I didn't throw it back.
Instead, I placed it carefully into my coat pocket.
"That's mine," Evan, the oldest, demanded from the top of the stairs.
"It was," I corrected calmly.
"Now it's leverage."
Adrian Vale stood entirely still behind me.
I could feel the weight of his stare burning into my back.
He was waiting to see if I would break like the fourteen women before me.
I didn't break.
I took my first step up the grand, sweeping staircase.
The four boys didn't retreat.
They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, a miniature wall of hostility and expensive clothes.
Evan, eleven years old, had his father’s cold, calculating eyes.
Caleb, nine, was holding a heavy wooden block, weighing it in his palm.
Noah, seven, looked nervous but determined to follow his older brothers.
Luke, the six-year-old, was hiding halfway behind Evan.
"If you come up here, you’ll regret it," Evan warned.
"I’ve worked in juvenile detention centers, Evan," I lied smoothly, keeping my voice even.
"I promise you, nothing on this second floor scares me."
I reached the top landing.
The boys finally stepped back, their defensive line breaking.
"Where is my room?" I asked.
Evan pointed to a heavy oak door at the end of the long, dark hallway.
"Down there," he muttered.
I walked past them, my footsteps echoing against the hardwood floor.
I turned the brass knob, stepped inside the room, and immediately heard the door slam shut behind me.
The lock clicked.
A heavy deadbolt sliding into place.
Outside, the boys erupted into laughter.
"Told you she was stupid!" Caleb cheered.
I stood in the center of the dark room and sighed.
I reached into my bag, pulled out a thick bobby pin, and knelt by the keyhole.
Six seconds later, the lock clicked open.
I swung the door wide, catching all four boys celebrating in the hallway.
Their jaws dropped in unison.
"Rule number one," I said, leaning against the doorframe.
"If you're going to lock me in, make sure it's a lock I can't pick."
Downstairs, I heard the faint sound of Adrian Vale laughing.
May you like
It was a dark, dangerous sound.
My seventy-two hours had officially begun.
