1
BIANCA
“That’s complete bullshit, Lucas, and you know it.”
I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms as I stare down the pompous jackass sitting across from me in Professor Chen’s Advanced Strategic Management seminar.
Lucas Wellington III—because of course he has a fucking numeral after his name—adjusts his wire-rimmed glasses and gives me that condescending smile that makes me want to throw my textbook at his perfectly groomed head.
“I’m simply suggesting that hostile takeovers are a legitimate business strategy,” he says in that nasal tone that screams trust fund baby. “Sometimes aggressive acquisition is the most efficient path to market dominance.”
“Efficient for who?” I shoot back, my voice sharper than I intended. “The executives who get golden parachutes while thousands of employees lose their jobs? Real fucking efficient.”
A few classmates shift uncomfortably.
Professor Chen raises an eyebrow but doesn’t intervene. She likes when we get heated in these discussions, saying it shows we’re actually thinking instead of just regurgitating whatever garbage we read in our textbooks.
Lucas’s cheeks flush pink. “Well, I suppose someone with your…background…might not understand the complexities of high-level corporate strategy.”
My background.
Like I’m some charity case who stumbled into Columbia on accident.
If only he knew what my actual background was, but Lucas Wellington III with his daddy’s hedge fund money and his summer house in the Hamptons has no fucking clue what real power looks like.
“You’re right,” I say sarcastically, slow clapping for him. “I don’t understand how someone can be so comfortable destroying lives for profit margins. Must be nice to never have to worry about consequences.”
The truth is, I understand power dynamics better than any of these trust fund brats ever will.
While they were playing lacrosse and getting into prep schools based on their parents’ donations, I was learning that true control comes from knowing exactly when to apply pressure and when to show mercy.
That sometimes you have to make hard choices to protect what matters most.
That weakness gets you killed, but unnecessary cruelty makes you a monster.
Not that I can explain any of that to my classmates.
“Miss DeLuca makes an excellent point about stakeholder responsibility,” Professor Chen interjects smoothly. “Lucas, how would you address the ethical implications of your approach?”
I tune out his predictable response about shareholder value and necessary market corrections.
My phone buzzes against my thigh—a text from Dad asking if I need a ride home.
I glance at the time. 3:27 p.m.
Weird. I wasn’t expecting anyone to pick me up today.
The thought makes something flutter in my chest when I see the follow-up text:Alessandro will get you. Something came up.
Which is…unexpected.
Alessandro doesn’t usually do random pickups—that’s more Antonio’s job, or one of the other drivers.
After what happened when I was twelve, Dad insists on security protocol, but Alessandro’s time is usually reserved for more important family business.
But lately, I’ve been noticing him differently.
It started around my sixteenth birthday, this awareness of how Alessandro’s presence affects me when he comes to the house for meetings with Dad or during family dinners when he stays late discussing business.
