THE BILLIONAIRE HEIR´S TARGET

Chapter One Elena's POV The extra delivery fee was the only reason I accepted orders to Westbridge Academy. The students were rich. Their parents were richer. And somehow, both groups always found a reason to look down on people like me. Still... Rent didn't pay itself. I shifted the insulated delivery bag on my shoulder and stopped in front of the academy gates. Two security guards stood outside while luxury cars rolled past them one after another. One car probably cost more than everything I owned. I sighed. One day. Maybe not the car. But at least a life where I didn't have to wonder if I'd have enough money left for dinner after paying rent. "Delivery," I said, holding up my phone. One of the guards glanced at the order number before stepping aside. "Go ahead." I walked through the gates. Students passed me without a second glance. Some laughed as they compared vacation plans while others complained about classes that probably cost more than my yearly rent. I looked down at my faded jeans and worn sneakers. Definitely not my crowd. My phone buzzed. Order #8421 Deliver to the fountain. I frowned. Who ordered lunch to a fountain? Rich people really were strange. Still, strange customers usually tipped well. I followed the path toward the center of the academy, already planning the rest of my afternoon. Three more deliveries. Then home. Hopefully Noah had finished his homework. Maybe I'd made enough today to buy chicken instead of instant noodles. He'd pretend he didn't care. Then he'd quietly take the biggest piece. The thought made me smile. Ever since Mom and Dad died, he'd been trying so hard to act older than his age. As if he could ever be a burden to me. The sound of laughter pulled me back to reality. At first, I ignored it. Schools were noisy. That was normal. Then someone shouted, "Jump!" My steps slowed. Another voice laughed. "He doesn't have a choice." The smile disappeared from my face. Something wasn't right. I looked toward the courtyard. A crowd had gathered around the fountain. Dozens of students stood in a circle with their phones raised, recording whatever was happening. I sighed. Nothing good ever happened when people started recording. This wasn't my business. I had deliveries to finish. The sooner I left, the sooner I could get paid. Then someone beside me whispered, "Do you think he'll actually do it?" "He has to." I stopped walking. Do what? Curiosity got the better of me. It usually did. I slipped through the edge of the crowd until I finally saw what everyone was watching. My stomach tightened. A boy stood on the narrow edge of the fountain. His hands shook so badly that I wondered how he was still balancing. He couldn't have been older than sixteen. His eyes darted between the water below and the four boys standing in front of him. Nobody looked at the frightened student. Everyone watched the four boys instead. No one interrupted them. No one challenged them. It was as though the entire courtyard belonged to them. One blonde guy folded his arms. "You still haven't apologized properly." "I already said I was sorry." "Not loud enough." Laughter echoed around the courtyard. The boy swallowed hard. "I said I was sorry!" "Louder." His voice cracked. "I'M SORRY!" More laughter. I tightened my grip on the delivery ´bag This wasn't harmless teasing. This was public humiliation. Another boy leaned against the fountain. "We're getting bored." The frightened student looked ready to cry. "Please." The blond guy smiled. "Please what?" "Please... let me go." More laughter. I looked around. No one seemed bothered. Some students were actually smiling while they recorded. Seriously? Was this entertainment to them? Then the fourth boy moved. He didn't speak. He simply stepped forward. The laughter stopped. The entire courtyard fell silent. Even I found myself staring. There was something unsettling about him. Not because he looked angry. He didn't. His face was calm. Cold. Unreadable. That somehow made him even more intimidating. He stopped in front of the frightened student. "Explain something to me." His voice was quiet. Yet somehow every person standing there heard him. The boy standing on the fountain stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. "I... I made a mistake." "Clearly." The dark-haired boy tilted his head slightly. "And yet you're still standing there." A ripple of nervous laughter spread through the crowd. The boy looked down at the water before looking back up. "You don't mean that." No one answered him. The silence was worse than any threat. I looked around the courtyard. Surely a teacher would step in. A security guard. Anyone. Nothing. The students simply watched as though this was part of the day's entertainment. My grip tightened around the delivery bag. This couldn't be real. The frightened boy shifted his feet. His sneaker slipped slightly on the wet stone. A gasp swept through the crowd. My heart nearly stopped. If he lost his balance, he wouldn't land in the water. He'd hit the stone first. Didn't anyone else see that? Apparently not. Or maybe they just didn't care. I closed my eyes for a second. Don't do it, Elena. This isn't your problem. You need this job. You need the money. Noah needs you to keep this job. Then the boy whispered again. "Please." That was enough. Before I could change my mind, I stepped out of the crowd. "Hey." The courtyard fell silent. Every head turned toward me. Including the four boys. The blond one frowned. "Who are you?" I lifted the delivery bag. "Food delivery." A few students laughed. "And?" I pointed toward the frightened boy. "Tell him to get down." For a second, no one spoke. Then laughter exploded around the courtyard. "I'm sorry," the blond boy said between laughs. "Did the delivery girl just tell us what to do?" I folded my arms. "You heard me." The laughter grew louder. Another boy leaned against the fountain with a grin. "I like her." "Give it a minute," the blond one replied. "She won't like us." More laughter. I ignored all of them and looked at the frightened student. "You don't have to do this." Hope flashed across his face. Unfortunately, the blond boy noticed. "Oh, yes, he does." I looked back at him. "For what?" "Disrespect." "What did he do?" "He bumped into one of us." I blinked. "That's it?" His smile disappeared. "That's enough." A laugh escaped before I could stop it. "You've got to be kidding." A sharp gasp rippled through the crowd. The dark-haired boy finally looked directly at me. "You're not a student here." "No." "Then this doesn't concern you." Maybe he was right. Maybe I should leave. I still had three deliveries left. I needed every naira I could earn. But every time I looked at that frightened boy, I saw Noah. If my little brother were standing there... Wouldn't I pray someone stepped in? I took a slow breath. "It concerns me." Whispers spread through the crowd. "She's crazy." "Does she know who she's talking to?" "Someone stop her." The blond boy laughed so hard he bent over. "Did everyone hear that?" The dark-haired boy didn't laugh. He simply watched me. Studying me. Like he was trying to figure me out. "Why?" he asked. The question caught me off guard. "What?" "Why does it concern you?" I looked at the frightened student. Then back at him. "Because humiliating someone for entertainment says more about you than it does about him." The words came out before I could stop them. The courtyard went completely silent. Even the frightened boy stared at me. The dark-haired boy didn't react immediately. Then something changed. Not his expression. His eyes. For the first time, they held something other than indifference. Curiosity. He studied me for several long seconds. Then he spoke. "What's your name?" I hesitated. Why did he care? "...Elena." He repeated it quietly. "Elena." Hearing my name in his voice made me unexpectedly uneasy. Without taking his eyes off me, he spoke to the frightened student. "Get down." The boy blinked. "W-what?" "I won't repeat myself." The student scrambled off the fountain so quickly he nearly slipped before disappearing into the crowd. Whispers immediately broke out. "He actually let him go." "I've never seen that happen." "What is Lucien doing?" Lucien. So that was his name. He turned back to me. "You embarrassed me." "I stopped someone from getting hurt." "You questioned me." "I questioned what you were doing." "To everyone here..." He glanced around the courtyard. "...those are the same thing." Only then did I notice what he meant. Nobody was talking anymore. Nobody was laughing. Every student was watching us. Waiting. I folded my arms. "Then maybe they should stop acting like you're untouchable." A collective gasp swept through the crowd. "She's insane." "Did she really just say that?" For the first time... Lucien smiled. Slowly. It wasn't friendly. If anything, it made him look even more dangerous. "You spoke to me as if we were equals." I refused to look away. "And?" "People who do that usually regret it." I shrugged. "Maybe they deserved to." One of his friends rubbed a hand over his face. "This girl has a death wish." Another laughed. "Lucien... just say the word." Lucien raised one hand. Immediately, they fell silent. No arguments. No hesitation. I finally understood. He wasn't just popular. He was the one everyone followed. He looked back at me. "Most people spend years trying to get my attention." "I wasn't trying." "I know." "Good." "That's what makes this interesting." Before I could ask what he meant, he leaned closer. "Welcome to Westbridge Academy." I frowned. "I don't go here." "You will." I almost laughed. "You seem very confident." "I usually am." He stepped back. Then he turned away. "Let the game begin." The courtyard erupted with whispers. Students pulled out their phones again. Some laughed. Others were already saying my name. I looked around in confusion. What game? Nobody answered. Lucien walked away without looking back. The crowd parted for him as though it happened every day. His friends followed, throwing curious glances in my direction. Within seconds, he was gone. But the whispers remained. I stood there, my untouched delivery bag still hanging from my shoulder. The customer had probably forgotten about their food. Honestly... So had I. I looked around. Nobody was looking at the fountain anymore. Every pair of eyes was fixed on me. Whatever Lucien Vale meant by "Let the game begin," everyone else seemed to understand. I was the only one who didn't. And somehow... That scared me more than meeting Lucien Vale ever could.