Chapter 13: Leaderboard 1

Layla’s mouth hung open, her mind freezing as panic seized her chest. She stumbled backward, clutching her designer glasses with a trembling hand, trying frantically to put on a mask of defiance.

"Y-you’re lying!" Layla stammered, her voice cracking as sweat broke out across her forehead. "N-nothing happened! You don’t have shit on me, you broke peasant!"

Morales didn’t even blink. He leaned closer, his dark blue eyes reflecting the cold moonlight as a cruel, unflinching smirk touched his lips.

"Try me," Morales whispered smoothly. "The video file is linked to an automated system broadcast script.

If you don’t delete every single second of footage of Chloe and me and bring me every physical backup by tomorrow morning, that file auto-publishes to every student, instructor, and news outlet in the sector.

Think about it, Layla. Imagine what your father will do when he sees his pristine little daughter getting degraded by Jayden on camera. Think about what it will do to your family’s precious dynamic."

The psychological pressure snapped her completely. Layla’s knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the hard stone tiles beside the fountain.

Tears welled up behind her glasses, spilling over her pale cheeks in continuous streams as her arrogant composure shattered into raw terror.

"How did you even get it you pervert!" She said under her breath.

"What did you say!?" He asked even though he heard it.

"I’ll do it! Please, I’ll do it!" Layla sobbed, grabbing the hem of his dark shirt, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

U "Please don’t send it! It was Jayden—he’s always the one telling me to do it! I don’t even like him as a person... but god, I love doing it! Please, Morales, don’t ruin my life!"

Morales looked down at her shivering, petite frame, her heavy chest heaving with every desperate sob.

Internally, Morales felt a wave of dark amusement.

He didn’t actually have a single frame of video footage. He had merely made research on them and noticed the whispers of a dirty rumor circling around Jayden’s inner circle.

Cross-referenced dorm security schedules, and personally spotted Jayden sneaking into her private room during the dead hours of the afternoon.

He had taken a complete gamble on her fear and hit the absolute bullseye.

"I’ll reconsider my next move based on your actions tomorrow morning," Morales said coldly, stepping back so her hands slid off his clothes. "And don’t worry unlike Jayden, I keep my promises. Deliver the files, and you’ll see your name in the Top 10."

Without waiting for her reply, Morales turned around and walked away into the night.

As he navigated the quiet paths back toward his building, he glanced over his shoulder toward the fountain with a faint smirk. ’What a waste,’ Morales thought to himself with a subtle shake of his head.

’With a body like that, she actually would have made a decent addition to my harem.’

The next morning, Morales was standing in front of his bathroom mirror adjusting his collar when a sharp, hesitant knock sounded at his dorm door.

He walked over and slid the door open. Layla stood in the corridor, looking thoroughly exhausted with dark circles beneath her red, swollen eyes.

Her pink hair was slightly messy, and she was clutching a sleek black object in her trembling hand.

"Can I... can I come in?" she asked in a small, hushed voice.

Morales nodded, stepping aside to let her step into the quiet room. He closed the door behind her and leaned back against his desk, crossing his arms.

"Did you bring them?" he asked plainly.

Layla nodded rapidly, stepping forward to hand him a heavy, military-grade encrypted memory chip.

"Every server copy, every raw file, and every shadow duplicate Jayden had is on this chip," Layla whispered. "I purged them all from his private cloud server while he was sleeping."

Morales took the dark chip, inspecting it briefly before slipping it into his pocket. He then raised an eyebrow, locking his eyes onto her. "What about your phone? How do I know I can trust that you deleted your local copies?"

Layla swallowed hard, her eyes lowering to the floor. "You don’t... but I assure you, I have. I’m not insane, Morales. I would never risk you releasing that video."

Morales hummed softly, satisfied with her terror.

Layla shifted her feet, her hands clasped nervously in front of her. "What about... what about your part of the deal? The rankings?"

"Don’t worry," Morales replied smoothly, his tone utterly confident. "When they gather us all together today, you’ll see yourself sitting comfortably in the Top 10."

Layla nodded slowly, taking a step backward toward the exit. She reached the doorway, paused, and turned her head back to face him, her blue eyes filled with anxious hesitation.

"How can I trust you?" she asked quietly.

Morales smiled faintly, giving her the exact same answer she had given him. "You don’t."

Layla bit her lower lip, pressing further. "And what about deleting your video of Jayden and me? When do you delete that?"

Morales let out a soft chuckle, stepping up to the doorframe. "That wasn’t part of our deal, Layla. Goodbye."

Before she could protest, Morales slid the heavy electronic door shut right in her face, locking it with a firm click.

Standing alone in his entryway, a dark smirk spread across his face. He couldn’t exactly delete a video file that had never existed in the first place.

Glancing at his sleek phone, Morales saw the official countdown clock ticking away. It was time.

He put on his formal dark uniform jacket, checked his appearance one last time, and stepped out of the dormitory building.

The central courtyard of Aurelius Academy was packed with insane energy. Thousands upon thousands of freshmen from every district had gathered in the massive, open-air amphitheater.

Massive holographic screens floated high in the sky above the central stage, flickering with golden light as administrators prepared the master systems.

"ATTENTION ALL FRESHMEN!" a booming, amplified voice echoed across the crowded plaza.

"THE FIRST STAGE CAPITAL EVALUATION IS COMPLETE! OUT OF THE 10,000 REGISTERED APPLICANTS, ONLY THE TOP 500 HIGHEST NET-WORTH STUDENTS WILL BE REVEALED ON THE PUBLIC LEADERBOARD TODAY!"

The crowd erupted into frantic whispers and tense murmurs.

Morales waded calmly through the sea of anxious students, his eyes scanning the surrounding VIP balconies where Jayden, Chloe, and Layla were standing, waiting for the golden screens to reveal who truly held the capital in this academy.