PUBLIC EXECUTION

Vanessa Kingston was not just angry.

She was offended.

And Vanessa doesn’t just get mad—she gets even.

“Did you see how she sat there like she earned it?” she snapped, heels echoing through the marble hall of the girls’ dorm. Her voice was laced with venom and mascara-stained rage.

Chloe stirred her matcha like it was someone’s blood. “She looked smug.”

Belinda tossed her blonde hair. “Adrian’s never asked anyone to sit with him. Not even you, V. That girl’s a problem.”

Vanessa paced like a caged lioness in Louboutins. “Then let’s ruin her. Publicly. No punches pulled. We’ll make her wish she never left the gutter she crawled out of.”

“How?” Chloe asked.

Vanessa stopped. Turned. Smiled.

“Simple. We hack her school account. Drop something filthy. Something the entire school will see. Something she can’t erase.”

Belinda grinned. “Nudes?”

Chloe gasped. “Omg. Do you think she even has nudes?”

Vanessa raised her phone, already typing. “Everyone does. All we need is one. I’ll bribe the nerd from IT with tickets to Paris Fashion Week. Then we’ll post it. From her school email. Let’s see how the scholarship trash survives a digital bloodbath.”

The girls cackled like witches in Prada.

The plan was in motion.

---

Later That Night – Draycott Network Breach

It happened in seconds.

A ping.

A link.

And suddenly—

Every student’s phone buzzed with the subject line:

“For Your Eyes Only – Zara West.”

Open. Click. Shock.

A grainy but very real nude. Face clear. Lighting soft. Just enough skin to make it go viral.

Sent from her school email.

The effect? Immediate.

“Holy shit—did you see this?”

“That’s Zara! Fucking hell, she’s naked—”

“She sent it herself? For attention?”

“So that’s how she got Adrian’s seat.”

The gossip was blood in water.

Draycott had no mercy.

---

The Next Morning – Hallway Outside Zara’s Locker

She moved like a ghost.

Eyes down. Hoodie up. Hands shaking. The halls buzzed.

Phones lit up. Snickers. Pointing. Fake coughs covering laughter.

“Hey Zara, nice tits.”

“Next time use better lighting.”

“She’s a full-blown whore now. Confirmed.”

And then—

The trio arrived.

Vanessa. Chloe. Belinda.

Zara kept her hands tight on her locker, breathing hard.

Vanessa leaned in. “You’re famous, babe. Congratulations.”

Zara’s voice was hoarse. “You’re sick.”

Vanessa shrugged. “Maybe. But at least I’m not easy. You? You spread faster than Wi-Fi.”

Chloe laughed so hard she choked. Belinda took a photo of Zara’s face. “Smile, scandal queen.”

People gathered like it was a public trial.

And Zara? Crumbling.

Until—

“Enough.”

One word.

Calm. Sharp. Deadly.

Adrian.

Standing just feet away. Hands in his pockets. Black hoodie. Hood up. Expression unreadable—but those eyes. Fire.

The hallway shut down.

Whispers died. Phones lowered.

Vanessa turned, instantly switching to soft. “A—Adrian, I was just—”

He ignored her. Looked at Zara. Long. Intense.

Then?

He smirked.

“You looked hot in that pic, by the way.”

Gasps. Screams. One girl choked on her gum.

“OH MY GODDD.”

“He saw it?”

“HE FUCKING LIKED IT?”

“WHAT IS HAPPENING???”

Vanessa’s face? Shattered glass.

She slapped her water bottle onto the floor and stormed off, heels stabbing the tiles with rage.

Adrian turned to Zara, that devil-smile still on his lips.

“Don’t worry. I only look. Never touch... unless I mean to.”

Zara’s breath hitched. “Why are you doing this?”

Adrian leaned in.

Voice low. Hot. Chilling.

Zara hadn’t moved.

Not even after Adrian disappeared into the shadows like some kind of stylish fucking demon. Not after the whispers turned to sirens. Not after the laughter burned her skin.

She was just... frozen.

Until a voice cut through the noise like a bullet.

“Zara West. Principal’s office. Now.”

She turned.

One of the school’s admin staff stood there—clipboard in hand, face unreadable. Cold.

Dead silence followed.

Then—

“OMG, she’s getting expelled.”

“Ohhh she’s DONE.”

“Draycott doesn’t play with scandals.”

“Bro, the nudes. The fucking nudes.”

“Adrian can’t save her now.”