“Is anyone there? Help me! Hello? Hello? I’m trapped here… let me go!”

“Stop screaming. No one is coming to save you, Flora.”

“Shut your mouth. I know Jack will come for me. Of course he will. I am the goddess of this world.”

“Really, Flora? Is that what you think? That crown was mine — you stole it. You’re a thief.”

“Rose, are you fine? I’m here to save you.”

“Jack…”

They embraced, and he kissed her gently.

“Let’s go, Rose.”

Jack opened the prison gate with a command.

“Jack, I’m here too! Save me as well!”

“Jack! Stop ignoring me! Jaaack!”

They left me there — throwing me into the mouth of death. Was I really going to die at the age of twenty? No… no, that couldn’t happen. It couldn’t end like this.

You must be wondering why I was in prison… and why Jack and Rose left me behind.

My name is Flora. I am twenty years old.

To understand how I ended up in this situation, you need to know my past.

Let’s begin from the start.

I was born into a middle-class family. Yes… we were poor.

Why? Why was I poor?

Since childhood, I had only one dream — that someone would throw six or seven billion dollars in my face. I wanted money. I needed money.

But let me go back.

We were a simple family. Because we couldn’t afford a car, we used to travel by bus. One day, everything was normal… until that cursed bus met with an accident.

Many people were injured. My family was among them.

But because of the class system, the rich passengers were treated first. The people who truly needed urgent care were ignored.

They died.

My mother and father were among them.

I saw them die in front of my eyes… in my hands.

After that, I was sent to an orphanage.

It’s not that I didn’t have relatives. I did. But the moment the insurance money came into their hands, they threw me away like a piece of trash.

I was only ten years old.

Life at the orphanage wasn’t kind either. The stronger kids bullied me. They would snatch whatever little money I had.

One day, they beat me badly and took all the money I had earned. I lay in the back alley all night, crying in pain. No one came to help.

That was the day I understood something very clearly:

Power and money are everything in this world.

The next morning, I dragged myself back to the orphanage. One of my legs was covered in blood. Blood was dripping from my head. My left hand had turned blue from the bruises.

When I reached my room, I quietly sat on my bed and opened my books.

At the age of eleven, I received a scholarship to a prestigious school for the rich.

And that…

That was the beginning of my new life.

That was the beginning of my new life.

The school was called Blue River High School — a place where the richest families in the country sent their children. The buildings looked more like a royal palace than a school. Tall glass windows, shining marble floors, and gardens that were bigger than the park near my old house.

Everything about it screamed money.

And then there was me.

A poor orphan wearing a scholarship badge.

From the very first day, I could feel the difference between them and me.

Their shoes probably cost more than everything I owned. Their watches sparkled like tiny suns.

But I didn’t care.

Because I had already learned the most important lesson in life:

Money and power control everything.

If I wanted to survive in this world, I had to become stronger than all of them.

At first, I stayed quiet. I studied harder than anyone else. While others were partying or shopping, I was in the library. Every night. Every weekend.

People started noticing.

Teachers praised me.

Students whispered about me.

But attention always brings enemies.

That was when I first met Rose.

Rose was beautiful. Everyone loved her. She was kind, gentle, and always surrounded by friends. She looked like the perfect heroine from a fairy tale.

And beside her was Jack.

Jack was the most popular boy in school. Tall, confident, and rich.

Everyone admired him.

At first, they treated me kindly.

Rose smiled at me.

Jack helped me with some classes.

For a moment… I thought I had finally found friends.

But I forgot something important.

In a world ruled by money and status, friendship can easily become competition.

Years passed.

Our small school rivalry slowly turned into something much bigger — a fight for power, reputation, and the future.

There was one thing everyone wanted.

A symbol of ultimate success at Blue River High.

The Diamond Crown.

It was awarded to the top student — the one who proved they were the best in everything: academics, leadership, and influence.

Winning that crown meant one thing.

Power.

And I wanted it more than anyone.

But so did Rose.

And that… was the moment our friendship began to crack.

Slowly.

Silently.

Until one day, everything broke.

After that, Rose stopped talking to me completely.

One day, while I was walking through the school hallway, Rose and a few girls suddenly bumped into me on purpose. My phone slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.

Rose stepped on it with her heel and said calmly, “Oh… I’m sorry. It was an accident.”

But it wasn’t an accident.

Rose knew I was an orphan. She knew I had no one to support me. And she used that weakness against me.

That day was the beginning of my humiliation.

At first, I tried to ignore it.

But slowly… things started getting worse.

I worked part-time at a small restaurant after school. One evening, Rose came there with some friends and created a huge scene. She loudly accused me of being rude and told my manager that I embarrassed the customers.

In the end, I was fired.

But that was only the beginning.

At school, the bullying became a daily routine.

Sometimes they put a snake inside my locker.

Sometimes they locked me inside the toilet.

They mocked me in front of everyone.

Once, someone even tried to cause an accident with a car when I was walking to school.

Every day felt like a battlefield.

One night, I was cleaning the gym area at school. It was already late. As punishment, I had to clean not only my section but also the mess left by other students.

The entire school building was silent.

Only the sound of my cleaning echoed through the empty hallways.

Then… I heard footsteps.

Slow.

Heavy.

Someone was walking toward me.

Three boys appeared from the darkness.

One of them smirked and said, “You should never have fought with Rose.”

Before I could react, they pushed me.

“Let’s teach you a lesson,” another one said.

One of the boys tried to grab my arm.

I kicked him hard and started fighting back.

They didn’t expect that.

During the struggle, I grabbed a thick rope that was lying nearby and quickly tied two of them together.

“Did Rose send you?” I demanded.

None of them answered.

But their faces told me everything.

Anger burned inside my chest.

I ran to the storage room, grabbed a bucket of oil, and threw it over them.

 Chairs were scattered around, and I started kicking them aside.

Then I took out a lighter from my pocket.

I sat down on one of the chairs, looking straight at them.

“You should never dare to fight with me,” I said coldly.

And then…

I was about to throw the lighter.

But at the last moment, I paused.

I looked at them, slowly closed the lighter, and said coldly, “This time… I’ll let you go. But there won’t be a next time.”

After saying that, I turned around and walked away.

By the time I reached the orphanage, it was already 12:30 at night. The lights were off and the main gate was locked.

But I was used to it.

Because of my part-time job, I often came home late. That’s why I always kept an extra key with me.

I quietly opened the gate.

Suddenly—

The lights turned on.

“Happy Birthday, Flora!”

Everyone shouted together.

For a moment, I was completely stunned.

Right… today was my birthday.

I smiled softly and said, “Thank you.”

We cut the cake together. Everyone laughed, danced, played games, and talked happily. For a little while, all the pain of the day disappeared.

After some time, our caretaker aunt gently said, “Alright everyone, Flora should rest now. She just came back from her part-time job.”

I nodded quietly.

How could I tell them that I had already been fired?

I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s happy mood.

When I went to my room to sleep, three little kids came running toward me.

“Flora, can we sleep with you tonight?” they asked with hopeful eyes.

I smiled.

“Of course. How could I say no to my little angels?”

I washed up, tucked them into bed, and read them a story until they slowly fell asleep beside me.

Looking at their peaceful faces, my heart felt warm.

For that moment… everything felt okay.

The next morning, the dean of the orphanage tried to stop me before I left for school.

“Flora, wait—”

But I ignored her and walked out quickly.

I didn’t want to be late again.

When I arrived at school…

I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.