chapter 3
1417 Words
Nia couldn't sleep.
She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
The events of the day kept replaying in her mind.
Damian Carter.
The way he had spoken to the principal.
The way the teachers had backed down.
And the warning he had given her before leaving the classroom.
You made the biggest mistake doing what you did earlier.
Nia wasn't afraid of him.
But she wasn't careless either.
She had learned from her father that sometimes the most dangerous people were the ones who didn't need to raise their voices to make themselves feared.
Nia turned onto her side and reached for her phone.
She opened her family pictures.
Her parents appeared on the screen first.
Everett Cassius stood beside Makenna, his expression serious as usual. Makenna was smiling, her dark hair falling over one shoulder.
Nia smiled faintly.
Her mother had been born and raised in South Africa before moving to America.
Growing up, Nia and Zuri had heard countless stories about their mother's childhood.
Makenna had taught them about the family she had left behind, the traditions she still carried with her, and the strength she believed every woman should have.
Her father had taught them something different.
How to protect themselves.
How to recognize danger.
How to stay calm when everyone else was panicking.
How to never reveal everything they knew.
Nia had taken those lessons seriously.
She needed them now more than ever.
She swiped to another picture.
Zuri.
Her younger sister smiled brightly at the camera.
Nia's smile disappeared.
She quickly locked the phone.
She didn't want to think about the funeral.
She didn't want to think about the police report.
She didn't want to think about the word suicide.
She had come to Blackridge for one reason.
To find the truth.
Nobody at the school knew who she really was.
Nobody knew she was the daughter of the most feared Mafia Lord Everett Cassius.
Nia came from a family most people knew almost nothing about.
Her father, Everett Cassius, was one of the most feared mafia lords in New York.
But the public knew very little about the people behind the name.
Everett had made sure of that.
From the time Nia and Zuri were children, he had kept their lives completely private. There were no family photographs in newspapers, no public appearances, no interviews, and no pictures posted online.
Even Makenna, his wife, rarely appeared beside him in public.
Everett understood the danger that came with his name.
Enemies could use a family member as leverage.
A photograph could reveal a face.
A name could become a target.
So he had protected his wife and daughters by keeping them hidden from the public.
Nia had grown up knowing that their privacy was not optional.
It was protection.
Their home had always been different from the world outside.
There was security.
There were rules.
There were things the girls were allowed to know and things they were expected never to discuss.
And there was one rule Everett had repeated throughout their childhood.
Never trust anyone with your identity.
Nia understood why now.
She was no longer simply Everett Cassius's daughter.
She was a nineteen-year-old girl entering Blackridge under a false identity, surrounded by people who had no idea who she really was.
And she intended to keep it that way.
Nobody knew about her connection to Zuri.
That was exactly how she wanted it.
She got out of bed and walked toward the window.
The school grounds looked different at night.
Most of the windows were dark.
The walkways were almost empty.
Then she heard music.
Nia frowned.
She opened the window slightly.
The sound became clearer.
Loud music.
Laughter.
Shouting.
Someone screamed excitedly.
Nia looked toward the far side of the school grounds.
There were lights glowing near one of the large buildings.
Students were gathered outside.
A lot of them.
Nia stared for a few seconds.
A party.
At this hour?
She looked at the clock.
It was already past midnight.
She knew the school had rules.
Students were supposed to remain in their rooms at night.
So why was nobody stopping them?
Curiosity pulled her out of the room.
She grabbed a jacket and left.
The hallway was quiet.
Nia walked downstairs and followed the music.
As she approached the back entrance, she saw students moving toward the party.
Some carried bottles.
Others were already laughing loudly.
Nobody seemed worried about being caught.
Nia stepped outside.
She immediately realized this wasn't an ordinary school party.
There were dozens of students gathered around the building.
Music blasted from speakers.
Students were drinking.
Some were smoking.
A few couples were kissing openly.
Others were dancing.
Nia stopped near the edge of the crowd.
She looked around.
This was supposed to be one of the most prestigious boarding schools in New York.
Yet students were openly breaking every rule the school had.
Someone walked past her carrying several bottles.
Another student laughed as he opened a small packet.
Nia's eyes narrowed.
She saw pills on a table.
Small bags containing white powder.
More drugs were scattered among the bottles.
Her expression changed.
She looked around again.
Nobody was stopping them.
There wasn't a teacher in sight.
No security guard.
No administrator.
Nothing.
A boy climbed onto a table.
“Where are the teachers?”
The students laughed.
“They don't come here!”
Someone raised a bottle.
“To Blackridge!”
The crowd cheered.
Nia stared at them.
Was this really the same school where the principal had stood helplessly in front of Damian earlier?
She suddenly understood something.
The rules existed.
But not everyone followed them.
And judging from the way these students behaved, some of them didn't believe the rules applied to them at all.
A girl walked past Nia and bumped into her shoulder.
“Sorry.”
She barely looked back.
Nia stepped aside.
She kept watching.
A group of boys were smoking near the building.
Two girls were sitting on the hood of an expensive car, laughing.
A student was drinking straight from a bottle while another filmed him on his phone.
Nobody cared who saw them.
Nobody was hiding.
Nia's eyes moved toward the building.
There was a side entrance.
The door was slightly open.
She wondered what was inside.
She took a few steps toward it.
Then stopped.
She looked back at the crowd.
Nobody was paying attention to her.
Good.
She turned toward the building again.
Maybe there was something inside worth seeing.
Maybe this party was more important than it looked.
She walked closer.
As she reached the entrance, she heard voices coming from inside.
Students were laughing.
Someone shouted.
Then another voice called out.
“Who let her in?”
Nia stopped.
She looked behind her.
A few students were staring in her direction.
She wasn't sure whether they were talking about her.
Then a girl near the table pointed at Nia.
“She's new.”
Another student looked at her.
“Isn't she the transfer?”
Nia said nothing.
The girl frowned.
“What is she doing here?”
Someone laughed.
“Maybe she got lost.”
More laughter followed.
Nia ignored them.
She wasn't going to explain herself.
Instead, she turned toward the building again.
Then she heard someone behind her.
“Hey.”
Nia stopped.
She turned.
A boy was staring at her.
“Who invited you?”
Nia raised an eyebrow.
“Does it matter?”
The boy laughed.
“Here? Yeah.”
Nia looked around.
The party suddenly felt different.
A few students had stopped talking.
They were watching her.
She realized she had walked into a place where everyone knew everyone.
And she was the stranger.
Still, she wasn't going to let them intimidate her.
She turned away.
That's when she noticed the drugs on the table.
For a moment, she simply stared.
Pills, powder, bottles, smoke.
Students kissing.
Students fighting.
Students laughing.
She looked toward the school building.
Then toward the dark windows above.
“Is this really a school?” she whispered.
“Why don't you ask her yourself?”
Nia froze.
She knew that voice.
She slowly turned around.
Damian Carter stood directly behind her.
His eyes were fixed on her.
There was no smile on his face this time.
He glanced at the party.
Then back at Nia.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Nia held his stare.
Damian stepped closer.
“What are you doing here?”
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