RUMORS Secrets, Lies & Alibis
READING AGE 12+
She's got billions. He's got an empire. And someone wants them both dead.
Isabella Virelli steps off the public bus at Ashwick Academy like any other scholarship student—thrift store chic, borrowed textbooks, and a carefully crafted lie. What her classmates don't know? She's the secret heiress to a pharmaceutical fortune worth more than their trust funds combined.
Alexander Calloway owns everything he touches, including the media empire that could destroy her with a single headline. He's gorgeous, ruthless, and determined to uncover every secret she's hiding. Too bad she's equally determined to take him down first.
Prince Julian treats assassination attempts like party games and thinks attempted murder is foreplay. When someone starts targeting the royal bloodline, suddenly everyone's a suspect—and Isabella's fake boyfriend might be the only alibi keeping her alive.
Between charity galas that end in explosions, chemistry labs that become battlefields, and black notes slipped into designer handbags, sophomore year at Ashwick Academy is about to become a war zone.
Some schools teach you calculus.
This one teaches you how to survive.
When lying becomes an art form and trust is a luxury no one can afford, how do you know who's trying to save you... and who's trying to destroy you?
Her enemies? Alexander Calloway — ruthless, gorgeous, and heir to a media dynasty who can ruin her with a single headline. Prince Julian d’Aubigny — charming chaos incarnate, whose games always end with someone bleeding. And Cassandra Royce — social media queen bee who can make or break anyone with a perfectly timed post.
Her allies? A fake boyfriend who might be catching real feelings, a roommate who’d sell her soul for couture, and a bodyguard who’s better with secrets than she is.
Every hallway hides a trap. Every text is a weapon. Every kiss might be the one that ruins you.
In a world where power is currency and betrayal is sport, Izzy must decide who to trust — if anyone — before the black envelopes, whispered threats, and very public scandals burn her whole future to the ground.
Welcome to Ashwick. Your life is now public property.
Unfold
I read the message three times, trying to process what it was suggesting. That sophomore year had been orchestrated? That the betrayals and secrets had served purposes beyond what we'd understood? That junior year would be worse not because of family escalation but because of some larger truth we hadn't discovered?
The implic……
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