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"I'm sorry, Golden Girl, what was that?" Tek Knight turns around to look me at as does the rest of the class. Marie's forehead wrinkles as she looks at me too.

"I'm ready for my interview." I repeat smoothly, making my way down the steps. "I mean, since I missed mine, I think it's only fair." I stop once I'm in front of Marie.

'What are you-' She mouths.

'Shhh.' I mouth back.

Tek Knight's eyes shine. "Why, yes." He waves his hands. "Let's give it up for Marie Moreau and welcome Golden Girl."

Marie stands hesitantly to give me the chair, stopping before she moves. "What are you doing?" She whispers.

"Just thank me later." I tell her in a hushed tone before clearing my throat and taking a seat. She slowly makes her way back to the top.

"Golden Girl." Tek starts, gazing down at me.

"Iliana." I correct, folding my hands together.

"You are the twin sister of Golden Boy, hmm?" He asks, starting slow.

My jaw tightens as I look up at him with narrowed eyes. "Luke. Yes."

He nods to the class. "Just as I did with Marie, I'm establishing a baseline and rapport." He turns his attention back to me, taking a seat on the table once again. "Now, Golden Girl, you hadn't been with Luke prior to his murderous rampage, is that correct?"

My jaw ticks. "That is correct."

"Mmm. And why is that?"

"I was on my way to grab Jitter Bean that morning." I answer calmly, keeping it together.

"So after being gone for a year shooting a movie, away from him, you chose coffee over spending time with your mentally ill twin is that correct?" He spouts off.

This mother f-

"Luke was not mentally ill." I breathe in through my nose. "I was simply grabbing him and I a coffee before we were supposed to meet up, nothing more."

"And do you blame yourself for not being more attentive to Golden Boy in his time of struggle?" He leans forward, trying his best to sound even the littlest bit sad, failing miserably at it.

I rake my tongue across my teeth. "No."

Tek smirks. "Ah. A lie." My fingers curl into my fist. "You can see how her body language is tensing." I freeze, releasing my fingers. He carries on. "You're now back to being number one, immediately after you returned to God U, did you perhaps want your brother gone so you could have the spotlight back?"

I'm literally about to go insane.

I let out a laugh. "If you think I would kill my own twin just to get the number one spot back you are delusional."

"Mmm. But you fought him off instead of helping him, that doesn't seem like a very good twin sister to me."

The room falls deaf upon my ears as my head begins to spin and my blood runs cold. I feel ill, I feel violated, I'm angry, I wanna go to my room, and never come back.

I swallow as the past few days speed run through my head all at once.

'You're a sellout, and a fake, and a cheat, a coward, and a liar.'

"I didn't. I didn't take my brother down." I look down at my lap. "I didn't fight him off." I let out another laugh as the room breaks out into murmurs. "I showed up, and I froze, and I was confused as hell." The words keep flying out of my mouth as Dean Shetty looks quite unhappy at my spilling. I glance up at Marie and she nods subtly, giving me the green light. "None of us did. The only person who actually fought my brother off was Jordan Li, to save Marie Moreau's life." I sigh in relief as my chest and shoulders feel a million times lighter.

I want Luke to be proud of me.

"Jordan was the only real fucking hero out of any of us. Andre too. Andre talked my brother down before I got there. I didn't do shit, and I couldn't save my brother. So if anyone deserves to be number one right now, it sure as hell isn't me." I exasperate.

I feel Jordan staring at me and peer up at them through my lashes, finding them completely dumbfounded.

I may be a liar, and a coward, and a sellout every other day of the week...

But not today.

"And that's how you break a witness, folks." Knight holds his hands up as the class hesitates to clap before he moves his hands around signaling for applause and everyone begins clapping, slowly.

No. Today I started giving a damn.

I stand. "Screw this." Tek Knight moves his attention back to me, smug as ever. "And screw you." I spit out at him before I storm out the door.

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𝟹ʀᴅ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ ᴘᴏᴠ

After class, Dean Shetty makes her way over to Tek, irritated with his exposal of her 'Guardians.'

"That was impressive." She voices as a student walks off after a selfie. He spins around to face her. "But I asked you to leave the top five alone. And you targeted two of them."

"Digging for the truth is a rush." He tells her, clearly not phased. He lets out an exhilarating sigh. "Oh, it's better than sex."

"Hmm." She nods before proceeding. "Still, no one will believe Marie Moreau is responsible for Golden Boy's demise or that Golden Girl had it out for her own twin brother." She shrugs.

"That's true." He agrees, quickly. "In fact, I can't pin this on any of these kids. There's not a patsy in the bunch." He says, thinking over his interviews with Andre, Jordan, and Cate as well as the class that he just held.

"Pity." Dean Shetty lets out. "For your show, I mean." She frowns, insincerely.

Tek looks off in thought before moving back to Shetty. "Which is why I'm gonna pin it on you." He declares.

"Excuse me?" She tilts her head.

"You were right. I shouldn't go after the top five. They could be real earners. One of them already is." He refers to Iliana. "You, on the other hand, are just a..." He pauses. "Well, you're just a human." The corners of his lips curl up.

"You have no evidence I've done anything wrong." Indira states confidently.

"No?" He looks at her and her eyes narrow at him. "What about Sam escaping from The Woods?" He asks her. She leans back slightly and Tek knows he's right. "Yeah, I saw it on your face when I first brought up his name." He refers to the conversation he had with her when he first arrived on campus this morning, when he revealed to her that Ashley informed him about The Woods. "Didn't take much to confirm. Mm..." He shakes his head. "Wait til Vought finds out. I'd say taking the fall for Golden Boy is getting off easy. Thanks for all your help." She blinks at him as he takes a bagel, staring at it for a moment before he leaves.

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𝟶ʙᴜᴛᴛᴇʀʙɪsᴄᴜɪᴛ𝟽 sᴘᴇᴀᴋs!

Ahhh, heyyy <333

I have been SO excited to write this interrogation scene with Marie & Iliana's interview!! So excited to write more of them!!

ILIANA STOOD UP FOR MISS BLOODY MARIEEE, let's gooo!! I am so, so proud & excited of Iliana's growth!! She's waking up y'all, she's waking up!!!

Anyways... THE NEXT CHAPTER IS A MUST READDD!! It's my absolute fav chapter of the entire book so far, & maybe that I've ever written entirelyyy!! <3

See y'all thereeee ;)