Chapter 1

"Still acting tough, huh? Once we get to the camp, they have plenty of ways to break you."

Jerry wiped my bloody spit off the steering wheel.

I kept biting my tongue, using the excruciating pain to fight off the heavy sedation.

"It's a six-hour drive to the border. Behave yourself."

He grabbed a handful of paper towels and threw them in my face. "Clean yourself up. You need to look decent when I hand you over. Don't ruin the price Vanessa set for you."

The ropes were tied so tightly that my fingers had lost all sensation. I couldn't even lift my hand to grab the towels.

Before they dragged me into the car, Vanessa had already smashed my phone to pieces.

"Don't even think about calling the cops. There's no signal on this road. Even if there was, who would believe you?"

She had no idea what I had actually signed.

It was a highly classified admission agreement for West Point, stamped with a unique, classified serial number.

Registration required no less than four manual background checks and one biometric verification. If any single step failed, the system would immediately trigger an emergency security breach alert.

An imposter wouldn't even make it past the first gate.

More importantly, if I failed to check in on the scheduled date without submitting a written request for an extension, the academy would launch a high-priority security investigation within twenty-four hours.

Today was August 28th. Freshman registration was on the 30th.

I only needed to survive for forty-eight hours.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jerry’s voice dragged me back to reality. In the rearview mirror, his eyes were glued to my legs.

"Your sister-in-law said I could do whatever I wanted with you on the road. You're going to end up serving men anyway—"

"Touch me with one finger, and you'll find out exactly what a military court-martial is."

He froze for a second, then burst into a laugh that shook the whole car.

"A court-martial? Who do you think you are? The President's daughter?"

After he finished laughing, he took a swig of beer.

I stopped talking, focusing every ounce of my energy on fighting the drugs.

Outside the window, a road sign flashed past. We were heading south, straight toward the Mexican border.

The car drove for another two hours before stopping at a dusty gas station.

While Jerry was outside filling up the tank, I tried to wiggle my wrists against the knot.

He came back carrying a pack of cigarettes. Seeing my struggle, he let out a mocking snort.

"Save your energy. You can't undo that knot even if you break your teeth."

When he restarted the engine, his phone lit up. A notification popped up on his screen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sender's avatar—Vanessa.

He put it on speaker, and her arrogant voice echoed through the car.

"I had my niece get some minor facial fillers a while ago. She looks about seventy percent like that brat now. Just for today."

"Impressive, Vanessa," Jerry laughed, shaking his head. "Seventy percent is more than enough. Checking into college these days is just scanning a barcode anyway."

Vanessa's voice was dripping with satisfaction. "Five hundred grand in my pocket, and my niece gets a free ticket to West Point. This is the best deal of my life."

I closed my eyes, a tiny, cold smile creeping onto my lips.

Even if she looked a hundred percent like me, it wouldn't matter. This was a national-level security clearance check.

Taking a highly classified admission letter and bringing a middle-school dropout fake to a West Point military checkpoint...

This would be the stupidest decision Vanessa would ever make in her life.

"I'll stop one more time at the next rest area," Jerry muttered, flicking his cigarette butt. "I need to deliver you before 3:00 AM."

He caught my eyes in the rearview mirror. He didn't see the terror he expected.

He frowned, looking slightly unsettled by my dead-eyed gaze.

I looked away, staring into the dark.

"Forty-six hours left."