The first week passed in a blur of new classes, unfamiliar hallways, and the excitement of realizing I truly belonged here.
I had expected to feel lost among thousands of students. Instead, Xander was only a five-minute walk away, and Victor met me for breakfast almost every morning.
We would sit in the campus café with our notebooks spread across the table, talking about classes, books, and our plans for the future. For the first time in months, our conversations weren't about threats, family secrets, or someone trying to control our lives.
They were about us.
It felt normal.
And wonderful.
Still, I couldn't forget the message I had received at the welcome fair.
Don't trust the donor list.
The words followed me everywhere. Whenever I saw a scholarship poster or heard someone menti
