Then the auditorium lights dimmed, leaving just the small stage illuminated. Sound blared over the speakers as a video celebrating the achievements of Oak Park alumni played on the screen. I fidgeted in my seat, playing with the hem of my skirt until Jacqueline put a cool hand on mine to stop me.
When the video was over, Dean Levy stood up and spoke for a few minutes, congratulating all of us on a great year and thanking a few donors specifically. The Prescott family was one of the names he mentioned, giving a nod in their direction.
A table had been set up behind the dean bearing framed certificates written in flowing script, and he began calling students up one by one to receive their awards. Nobody had to make speeches, thank God, and I watched as both Elijah and Cole stepped up, shook the dean’s hand, and accepted their certificates.
A few more students were called up, and then Dean Levy leaned down to the microphone and intoned, “Talia Hildebrand.”
Jacqueline sat up straighter, patting my knee before I stood and walked up to the stage.
I climbed the steps up one side as Dean Levy waited for me, and when I reached him, he shook my hand with pomp, leaning in to murmur his congratulations. I accepted the large, framed award and was about to step toward the other side of the stage when a strange noise caught my ears.
Breathing.
It was loud and echoing, blasting through the entire auditorium at high volume.
Panting breaths.
Soft moans.
Rustling noises.
I glanced around in confusion, and my gaze caught immediately on the screen behind the stage, where a new video was playing.
Shock stole my breath as my insides seemed to liquefy.
It was… me.
Dressed in a light t-shirt over a maroon bikini, I was practically humping Cole’s stomach as I kissed him. His hands were on my ass, squeezing and massaging, angling me to give the camera a better view.
What the fuck?
My mind went blank with shock, hardly able to process what I was seeing. What had felt daring and exciting and beautiful at the time looked dirty and cheap in the grainy video playing onscreen.
Adena. Ice filled my veins. She must’ve done this. How? How the fuck—?
Then the image switched.
It was a new shot, from a new angle, revealing me draped over Finn, rubbing against him as I devoured his mouth. In quick succession, it switched again and again, showing me making out with the other two Princes.
“What is this…?” Dean Levy murmured beside me. He stepped away, moving toward the edge of the stage to speak in low, urgent voices with another admin.
But I couldn’t tear my gaze from the screen.
The fourth video finally stopped, and a caption appeared across a black background.
The Hildebrand Legacy: Cheap Trash.
Then a new series of images flashed across the screen.
Me, inhaling smoke from Elijah’s mouth—his face blurred out, mine in perfect detail.
I blinked, my throat closing up in horror. Adena hadn’t been in that room. I was sure of it. And she hadn’t been in the fucking basement at the lake house either. How could it have been her who did this?
It couldn’t.
It wasn’t.
My entire body started to shake as the true realization hit me. I glanced desperately toward the audience, who were all staring with shocked, uncomfortable expressions—but Cole and Elijah were gone. Two empty chairs sat next to their parents, and two pieces of my heart seemed to die.