Chapter 5

My nails dug deep into my palms, and I could taste blood in my mouth.

Brittany saw my pale face, thought I was scared, and reached out her hand.

"Give it to us, the money."

"Once the transfer is done, we'll immediately call that parent."

"And help clear things up for you."

Chelsea urged.

"Hurry up, stop dragging your feet."

"Our patience is limited."

Megan whispered from the side.

"If you give us the money, we can still be good roommates..."

Good roommates?

I looked at them and suddenly laughed.

My laugh was soft, but the dorm instantly fell silent.

Brittany frowned.

"What are you laughing at? Have you lost your mind?"

I didn't answer. I slowly raised my head, my gaze calmly sweeping over each of them.

I spoke softly.

"You said you had nothing to lose, that you weren't afraid of anything."

"You thought because you found my tutoring information, you had a hold on me."

"You thought by ruining my reputation, you could force me to comply."

Brittany started to get a little unnerved by my stare.

"You... what are you going to do?"

"I'm telling you, don't try anything stupid!"

"Stupid?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Compared to you, I'm far from it."

I walked to my desk and, under their wary gaze, picked up my phone.

Chelsea nervously asked.

"What are you going to do? Call Mr. Davison?"

"It won't work!"

"No."

I shook my head, unlocking the screen.

Then, I dialed a number.

The call connected.

I put it on speaker, and a calm male voice came through.

"Ms. Reid."

Brittany and the other three froze, exchanging bewildered glances.

I looked at Brittany, a small smile playing on my lips.

"Hello."

"It's time."

"Release everything we found about Brittany."

The man on the other end of the phone replied with a single word.

"Copy that."

The call ended, and the dorm was enveloped in silence.