Sydney's POV

"I know her password! I saw her enter it once!" Camille rushed over, eager to try. She snatched my phone from Mirabelle and, after a few attempts, managed to transfer the money.

Only then did they finally let me go.

My arms were already covered in bruises and deep red marks from where they held me, but I didn’t even have time to worry about that, because Abigail suddenly spoke up.

"If she doesn't have money, why are we still letting her enjoy the AC?"

Camille's eyes lit up, like a lightbulb went off in her head. "You're right! She’s just freeloading at this point!"

Finals were coming up, and the last thing I wanted was more drama. So, I quickly said, "I’ll pay for the electricity from now on. I promise."

But Mirabelle let out a sarcastic snort. "Yeah, sure. Who knows if you’ll go back on your word later?"

Camille rested her chin on her hand, then suddenly smiled like she had just had a brilliant idea. "Let’s just have her pay in advance. That way, we won’t have to worry about her using the AC for free."

She then started counting on her fingers. "There are twelve months in a year. Last month, we spent 126 on electricity. That means we’ll spend about 1,512 for the whole year. Round it down, you give us one grand now."

I couldn’t help but laugh. "One grand a year? For electricity? Are you serious right now?"

Mirabelle shot me a cold glare, while Abigail immediately picked up on her mood and backed me into a corner.

"If you don’t pay, then don’t even think about staying in this dorm. We’re already cutting you a deal with a grand."

I let out a scoff. "You act like I have no other options. There are plenty of dorms around. I’ll find another bed just fine."

I’d made up my mind. As soon as I got out of here, I was heading straight to student housing to request a transfer. I didn’t want to stay in this hellhole a second longer.

But I hadn’t expected them to flip out so quickly.

Abigail rushed forward and yanked my arms behind my back again.

Then, Mirabelle gave my cheek a mocking pat. "You think you can just leave? Once you’re gone, we’re stuck splitting the bill three ways. Who’s going to pay the missing share, huh?"

"What do you want from me?" I forced myself to stay calm, just trying to get through this without things getting worse.

Mirabelle gave a fake sweet smile and held up five fingers. "Since we’ve ‘lived together’ for two whole months, we’ll cut you some slack. Give us seven grand, and we’ll let you walk."

I didn’t even have time to react before Camille quietly muttered, "I don’t think she’ll actually pay. If she changes dorms, she’ll probably report us. One extortion charge, and we’re all screwed."

Panic flashed across Abigail’s face, and her grip loosened a bit. "So... what should we do?"

"I’ll give you the money!" I blurted, desperate to get out. "Just let me go, I won’t report you. I swear!"

I tried to pull free, but Mirabelle slapped me hard across the face. My skin burned.

Camille stared at me, suspicion clouding her expression. "That was way too fast. She’s definitely up to something."

Abigail pulled herself together and, without warning, slammed her knee into the back of mine.

Pain exploded through my leg as I collapsed, my knee screaming in agony.

Mirabelle’s face was completely void of emotion. "Then we definitely can’t let her leave."

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and started dragging me toward the balcony.

"And we’re sure as hell not going to let her enjoy our AC for free. She can stay out here."

I remembered the forecast from this morning. It would be 42°C at its peak. It wasn’t even noon yet, and the heat outside was already suffocating.

Staying out on that balcony wouldn’t just be unbearable. It would be torture!

Panic surged in my chest. I opened my mouth to scream, but Abigail shoved a filthy rag into it before I could make a sound.

Sydney's POV

To stop me from escaping, they tied me up with rope, arms pinned tightly behind my back, and secured the other end to the window handle. Even if I managed to crawl to the door, there was no way I could open it with my hands bound like this.

Mirabelle then slammed the door shut and pulled the curtains closed, turning the balcony into a sealed pressure cooker.

Soon, I collapsed onto the scorching floor, every inch of my skin burning.

Through the glass, I could still hear them inside, laughing and chatting while watching their drama.

As noon approached, the heat became unbearable. Breathing grew harder by the minute.

My lips cracked, and blood started to seep from the dry skin.

I slowly inched toward the glass door and knocked my head against it, hoping someone would notice.

I kept banging my head until blood ran down my forehead. Finally, Mirabelle pulled back the curtain, only to give me a warning look.

"You better stay quiet. The school officials are doing a dorm inspection soon. If they find you like this, you’re dead meat."

A spark of hope flared in my chest.

If I could just get their attention during the inspection, maybe I’d be saved.

Clinging to that thought, I steadied my breathing and leaned against the wall, trying to conserve my energy.

The sun soon climbed higher, and the heat pressed down like a weight, making my vision blur and my head spin.

Then, finally, I heard unfamiliar voices. The inspectors had arrived.

Adrenaline surged through me. This was it. My one shot. I started slamming my body against the door, over and over.

The sound quickly drew their attention.

"Is there someone out on the balcony?" one of the officials asked, frowning in the direction of the noise.

Mirabelle quickly covered, "Oh, that’s just a wind chime. We keep the window open, so it bangs around when the wind hits it. I’ll take it down later."

The inspector nodded and turned to leave, clearly pressed for time.

At that time, panic gripped me. If they left now, Mirabelle and the others would definitely take it out on me.

I pressed my face to the glass, peeking through a gap in the curtain.

Then, I saw him. My uncle, Bernard Carter. He was among the inspectors.

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest.

He knew I lived in this dorm. If he didn’t see me, he’d definitely think something was wrong.

Fueled by desperation, I slammed my head against the glass again, trying to create as much noise as I could.

My forehead was already numb from the pain, and blood covered my face.

I tried to shout, but with the rag still stuffed in my mouth, all I could manage were muffled, pitiful sounds.

My uncle paused mid-step and turned back toward them.

"Isn't there a girl named Sydney in your dorm?" he asked.

Mirabelle froze. "Uh… yes."

"Why haven’t I seen her today?" he asked.

Camille quickly stepped over to block the curtain slit with her body.

Before she could speak, Abigail jumped in, "She’s kind of weird. Barely comes back to the dorm. It’s been days since we’ve seen her."

My uncle frowned. "She doesn’t come back at night?"

Abigail pressed on, lying smoothly, "Apparently, her personal life’s a mess. She’s always with some guy outside of school. Makes him buy her stuff like bags, clothes, and everything. Honestly, people like her don’t deserve to be students here."

Camille also jumped in to back her up. "She acts like she’s rich, but she never pays for anything. She used the air conditioning like it was free and didn’t even pay her share of the electricity bill."

Quickly, Mirabelle joined in, "She even skipped class all the time. Forced us to mark her present. Students like her really drag the rest of us down. The school should do something."

My uncle hesitated, then gave an awkward laugh. "Ah… maybe I was thinking of someone else."

Another school official chimed in, "Don’t worry, students. We’ll investigate thoroughly. If everything you said is true, she’ll be expelled immediately. No tolerance for behavior like that."

Sydney's POV

As the school officials turned to leave, Mirabelle immediately switched to a sweet, fake smile. “Bye, teachers! Have a great day!”

Just before exiting, my uncle turned back and glanced toward the balcony. But the three girls quickly moved to block his view.

As such, I lay on my side, too weak to move. A wave of despair washed over me.

After hours of no food or water under extreme heat, my body had hit its limit. I’d lost a lot of blood earlier from slamming into the door, and now every limb felt like it was made of jelly. I could even feel the life draining out of me.

The moment the officials were gone, Mirabelle threw open the door and kicked me hard in the head.

“Who said you could make noise?! Do you know how close you were to getting us caught? You almost got us all killed!” she snapped.

I curled up in pain, my head spinning and pounding with each heartbeat.

Camille crossed her arms and frowned. “Why can’t you just behave? We were going to let you out after the inspection! And you still tried to screw us over like that?”

She pouted dramatically and added, “This is all your fault. Now we look like the bad guys!”

Still fuming, Mirabelle kicked me several times in the stomach, each one harder than the last, like she was trying to kick my insides out.

My gut churned, and I nearly vomited.

Abigail stood nearby with her arms folded, shaking her head in disapproval. “You were the one in the wrong to begin with. We gave you a little punishment, and you couldn’t even handle that?”

Mirabelle yanked my hair and forced me to look up at her. “I warned you, didn’t I? One wrong move, and I’d make you pay for it.”

She shoved my face against the burning hot metal railing. My skin instantly blistered and turned red.

Abigail, with her brute strength, kicked my calf a few times, and I felt a sharp pain shoot up my leg, like something in my bones cracked.

Then Mirabelle grabbed a clothes hanger and whipped my back with it again and again until bloody welts rose across my skin.

“All of this is because you tried to snitch!” Camille said, hands on her hips, her tone full of spite. “You didn’t pay your part of the electric bill, and when we tried to teach you a lesson, you wanted to run to the teachers about it?”

Mirabelle's eyes burned with fury as she spat, “You’re a curse on this dorm. Ever since you moved in, it’s been one thing after another!”

I lowered my head and gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

When I moved into this dorm two months ago, I saw it as a temporary safe haven. Whenever my family sent me snacks or treats, I’d always share them with these girls first. If any of them ran into a problem, I never hesitated to help.

Yet, this was how they repaid me.

Thinking about it, I felt nothing but despair. My will to fight drained away. I let the pain consume me, blaming myself for not realizing sooner what kind of people they really were.

Eventually, when they’d vented enough and maybe got bored, or maybe it was just too hot on the balcony, they left me alone and went back inside to enjoy the air conditioning.

It was now the hottest part of the day. My phone even buzzed earlier with a heat warning alert.

My body burned like it was on fire. My face flushed unnaturally red, and the rag in my mouth had absorbed all my saliva. My throat felt like it was lined with razor blades.

Then suddenly, voices echoed in the hallway.

“Yes, this is the dorm,” someone said.

Then came my uncle’s confused voice. “But the student they described earlier doesn’t sound like Sydney. Could it be someone with the same name?”

And then I heard a familiar voice—Faye Poe! My best friend!

“Uncle, trust me. I visit Sydney all the time. I know her dorm, I wouldn’t get it wrong.”

I wanted to respond, to call out to her, but I couldn’t. My body felt like a wilted plant, lifeless and limp.

Inside, Mirabelle and the others shot up from their seats the second they heard voices. They scrambled to close the curtains in a panic.

Shortly, the front door swung open.

Faye marched in and shouted, “Where’s Sydney? I’m here to see her!”

Third Person's POV

Camille stammered, trying to keep her cool. “She… she’s not here.”

Faye’s eyes narrowed. Her expression hardened immediately. “I know you three never got along with Sydney. Listening to you talk is like listening to straight-up bullshit.”

Without missing a beat, she pulled out her phone and dialed Sydney's number.

The dorm was suddenly filled with the buzz of vibration.

Faye looked toward her friend's desk, raising a brow. “She’s not here? Then why’s her phone still sitting out in the open?”

Right then, her patience snapped. She stormed up to Mirabelle and grabbed her by the collar. “Talk. Where is Sydney?”