The university notice board was chaos—students clustered like moths around a flame, murmurs rising as they scanned the freshly pinned CA results. Whispers turned to gasps.
"No way," Noah muttered, eyes wide. "Anissa failed?"
Darren leaned in closer, tracing the list with his finger. "She was top of the class last semester. Straight A's. What the hell happened?"
Anissa lingered at the edge of the crowd, arms wrapped tight around herself. Her face was a blank mask, but inside, her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She didn't need to push forward to see her name. She already knew it would be there, buried at the bottom in red ink.
Failure.
Just like everything else in her life right now.
She turned away before anyone could spot her, slipping through the hallway like a ghost.
Later, in Ms. Rockell's cluttered office, Anissa stood before the desk like a defendant awaiting sentence. Papers with glaring red marks lay between them.
Ms. Rockell's face was a storm of anger and genuine concern. "Anissa… what happened? This isn't you. You were my best student."
Anissa's eyes filled instantly. She parted her lips, desperate to explain—to let the truth spill out—but the words lodged in her throat. Her chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.
"I… I just…" Her voice cracked. Tears spilled over, hot and unstoppable.
She crumbled right there, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Ms. Rockell softened immediately, sighing as she pushed a box of tissues across the desk. "Okay. Enough. Listen—I'm not letting you spiral like this. Starting tomorrow: morning labs, evening revisions, mandatory anatomy club. I'm giving you free catch-up tuitions myself, even if it kills me."
Anissa sniffled, wiping her face with trembling hands. She managed a weak nod.
"Thank you…"
Ms. Rockell leaned forward, voice firm but kind. "Get it together, Wallenstein. You're too smart for this."
Across town that same evening, in the opulent glow of the Smith family mansion, Tanya lounged on a velvet chaise with a glass of red wine. Her mother, Mrs. Smith, sat opposite in a perfectly tailored suit, legs crossed like royalty.
"Steven's family is powerful," Mrs. Smith said coolly, swirling her own glass. "You better lock that deal down, Tanya. Connections like his don't come twice."
Tanya's lips twisted bitterly. "I don't even care about him, Mom. I just want the status. The money. His name attached to mine."
She took a long sip.
"Besides," Tanya added coldly, "I can't have kids. We both know that. It's all business. Nothing more."
Mrs. Smith's smirk was sharp approval. "Good girl. That's how you win."
Night fell heavy over the university parking lot. A black SUV pulled up silently under the sodium lights, engine idling low.
The tinted window slid down.
Steven Derulo sat in the back, stone-cold expression, designer sunglasses perched on his nose despite the dark—like evil incarnate. Gold watch glinting as he gestured.
"Get in."
Anissa froze on the curb, bag clutched to her chest. Every instinct screamed run.
Steven's voice dropped, deadly serious. "Now."
She obeyed, legs numb as she climbed into the leather-scented interior. The door shut like a vault.
Inside the moving SUV, Steven scrolled casually on his phone. He pulled up the thumbnail of their recorded night—her face clear, body exposed—and hovered his thumb over the share button.
"Fail another CA," he said without looking at her, "and I'll make you famous. Every phone on campus gets this by sundown. Then the whole internet."
Anissa's lips trembled. Tears welled instantly.
Steven finally glanced over, that mocking smirk curling. "I'm traveling for five days. No physical entertainment while I'm gone? Cool. You send me nudes. Daily. Fresh ones. Or this goes viral."
Anissa gaped, shaking her head in horror. "I can't—"
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sleek CD case labeled in sharpie: Wall3nst31n: Full Tape.
"I'll burn copies," he said calmly, turning the disc in his fingers. "Sell them on the streets. You'll be a trending little pornstar by next week. Men will hunt you down, begging for the real thing."
The threat landed like ice in her veins.
Anissa stared at him, tears streaming silently. Her voice was barely audible when she finally spoke.
"Okay…"
Steven tucked the CD away, satisfied. "Good girl. Driver will drop you back. Don't disappoint me, ma."
The next day, the campus cafeteria buzzed with the usual chaos—trays clattering, laughter echoing.
Denzel sat with Nelly and two other friends, all of them glancing toward the entrance.
"Anissa's not okay, man," Denzel said quietly. "It's like her soul checked out."
Nelly nodded, worry etched deep. "I'm talking to her today. Something's seriously wrong."
Anissa walked past their table like a shadow—pale, eyes distant, barely acknowledging the world around her. Nelly stood immediately and followed.
Later, in the empty science lab during a free period, Anissa excused herself to the washroom. Nelly waited a beat, then slipped over to Anissa's unattended bag.
Heart pounding, she unlocked the phone (Anissa had shared the passcode months ago in better times).
Messages open.
Steven's chat stared back like a nightmare.
"Send me a pic right now or it's headline time."
"Don't play shy, baby. Full body. Spread. Or the video drops."
Attached: another frozen frame of Anissa—naked, mid-climax, unmistakable.
Nelly's stomach dropped. Hand flew to her mouth.
"What the hell…" she whispered, scrolling up in horror.
More threats. More demands. Transfers of obscene amounts of money.
Panic rising, Nelly dialed Ronnie—the guy who'd first connected Anissa that night.
He answered on the third ring.
"Ronnie, it's Nelly—what the fuck is going on with Anissa and Steven Derulo? She's—"
"Mind your business, Nelly," Ronnie cut in, voice low and lethal. "You talk again, breathe a word of this, and you're next. Understand?"
The line went dead.
Nelly stood frozen, phone still to her ear.
Anissa returned from the washroom moments later, oblivious.
Nelly forced a smile, sliding the phone back.
But inside, she was screaming.
Anissa wasn't just trapped.
She was drowning.
And no one could pull her out without sinking too.