Chapter 1

The day I went to enroll at Riverton University.

Oliver Gilbert blocked me at the front gate. "Marianne Finch, I already had Teresa take your spot. Name your price. How much do you want?"

I paused a moment, then studied him with a faint, amused look. "Do you know how many years you get for impersonating someone to enroll?"

Oliver laughed, unbothered. "In Riverton, the Gilbert family is the sky. What, you think some down-and-out nobody like you can report me?"

I couldn't be bothered to argue with him. I turned and walked straight to the public complaints office.

I told the clerk at the desk, "Hello... my father is out in the desert Southwest working on a classified research project, mission code 257. Someone has taken my university spot. Could you help me reach him?"

1

The moment the young woman at the desk heard the words "mission code 257," the smile froze on her face.

She shot to her feet. "Please... please wait a moment."

She grabbed the internal line and reported it straight up the chain.

In no more than three or four minutes, the head of the complaints office came hurrying out, wiping sweat from his face.

He personally showed me into the quietest meeting room on the second floor.

"Miss Finch, please make yourself comfortable. The director will be here to see you shortly. Would you mind telling me who took your spot?"

I nodded. "Not at all. The person who took my place is called Teresa Fox. She's the cousin of my high school classmate, Oliver Gilbert."

The moment he heard the name Oliver Gilbert, his expression changed.

He hadn't imagined the one who'd stolen my spot would be the only son of the Gilberts, the richest family in Riverton.

Now he was in for it.

On one side stood the family of classified personnel, people even the top officials treated with careful respect.

On the other stood the Gilberts, who had run their businesses in Riverton for decades, their roots tangled through every corner of it.

He couldn't afford to offend either side.

If the director came and asked why he hadn't reported the other party's identity up the chain, he'd surely be branded as someone who couldn't get his job done.

Truly, when the gods fight, it's the little demons who suffer.

I cradled the warm cup of tea and sipped it slowly, watching him squirm in his seat, and gave a small smile without saying a word.

We simply stood on different ground.

He had no idea what the mission my father carried out actually meant, which was why he was so gripped by fear.

If he'd understood what lay behind it, by now he'd have already called the city police department to come and make the arrest.

After all, a chance to prove himself like this didn't come along every day.

But what a pity...

He hadn't seized it.