Rich & Ruthless: Slaying the Leeches

When I walked into my bedroom, my sister, Chloe, was balancing on a chair. She stretched out on her tiptoes, clawing for the jewelry lockbox stashed on the top shelf of my closet.

The door clicked shut behind me. She flinched. The box tipped from her grip, spilling a fortythousanddollar diamond necklace onto my mattress. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

She swallowed hard, stumbling through an excuse. "Vivienne… I—I was just looking… My roommates were right. You treat me like a criminal.

You won't even let me borrow one stupid piece of jewelry…" I tuned out the whining. I crossed the room in three strides, twisted my fingers into her hair, and yanked her head back.

My palm cracked across her cheek. Hard. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway. Mom and Dad burst in from the living room. Chloe clamped a hand over her red cheek.

Tears spilled down her face. "Dad! Mom! Vivienne hit me!" Mom's gaze dropped to the diamonds glittering on the bedsheets. The color drained from her face. Her jaw tightened.

She spun around, snatched a heavysoled slipper off the shoe rack, and shoved it directly into my hand. "You're going to bruise your palm like that," Mom said, her voice deadpan. "Use this.

I don't care who begs for mercy today." She glared down at Chloe. "We give you everything you could ever want, and you turn into a rat in your own house?

Beat her." Chapter 1 I snatched the slipper. No hesitation. I brought the heavy sole down directly across Chloe’s back. Smack. The sharp, heavy thud echoed in the bedroom.

Chloe shrieked, rolling frantically across the hardwood floor. "Mom! Dad! Help me! Vivienne is trying to kill me!" Dad stood in the doorway. His expression was dead flat.

He reached back and pulled the bedroom door shut, latching it until it clicked.

He didn't leave so much as a crack open. "Hit her." Dad stared down at her. "She’s stealing from her own blood.

If you don't beat it out of her now, she’ll be robbing houses by tomorrow." I raised my arm and brought the slipper down again. Chloe had been spoiled rotten since birth.

She had never faced a real consequence in her life. Two solid hits had her sobbing hysterically, scrambling across the floor on her hands and knees to get away.

I stepped on her spine, pinning her flat to the floor. "What did you do?" I stared down at her. Chloe wailed, throwing both hands over the back of her head. "I was wrong!

I shouldn't have touched your stuff! Vivienne, please, let me go!" Smack.

I brought the sole down a third time. "Bullshit," I said. "You just said your roommate told you I treat you like a criminal. Speak clearly.

Who is she, what exactly did she say, and what did she want you to steal my necklace for?" Chloe flinched, burying her face into the carpet.

I dug the heel of my shoe harder into her spine. She let out a piercing scream. The remaining fight drained out of her. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you!

It was Morgan!" she gasped out. "Morgan is going to some trustfund kid's birthday bash this weekend. "She said if she doesn't wear any decent jewelry, people will look down on her.

She knew you had a diamond necklace.

She just wanted me to borrow it so she could look the part!" Mom let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "She asks to borrow it, so you decide to steal it?" Chloe lifted her tearstreaked, red face. "I was going to ask Vivienne first… but Morgan said Vivienne is a selfish bitch who would definitely say no…" Chloe wiped her nose, her voice trembling. "She said we're blood.

What's Vivienne's is mine, so taking it for a few days isn't even stealing.

She told me if I didn't do her this one tiny favor, it just proved I was an elitist snob who looked down on her for being a broke college student…" Acid clawed up my throat.

A fortygrand necklace. Her roommate wanted to borrow it for aesthetic clout, and refusing meant I was a classist monster. It was textbook manipulation.

And Chloe actually bought it. "So because she's broke, she's entitled to my things?" I asked. Chloe choked back a sob, instantly defensive. "Vivienne, you don't get it.

Morgan comes from a really bad neighborhood. "She scrapes by on nothing.

She just has a lot of pride, and she desperately wants to network at this party." She looked up at me with pleading eyes. "One necklace means absolutely nothing to you.

But to her, it could be a chance to completely change her life." Chapter 2 I kicked Chloe's shoulder, flipping her onto her back. "Means nothing to me?" I leaned down, grabbed her by the collar, and hauled her up. "I bought that necklace with my own money.

My startup. "You’re using my blood, sweat, and tears to change a stranger's life? You're playing charity with your own sister?" Dad stepped forward.

He pulled out the desk chair and sat. The shift in his posture commanded the entire room. "Chloe. This Morgan. Does she leech off you often?" Chloe shook her head frantically. "No!

She's great to me! She brings me coffee sometimes!" Mom marched over to Chloe’s closet and yanked the door open. It was bare. Half a dozen designer jackets were gone.

On the vanity, the thousands of dollars worth of skincare products we bought her two weeks ago were missing.

Not even an empty bottle remained. "Where are your clothes?" Mom asked, her voice dangerously low. "Where is your skincare?" Chloe refused to make eye contact.

She swallowed hard before finally muttering an excuse. "Morgan had interviews.

She borrowed them for a few days… I keep the skincare in the dorm so we can all share… She can't afford the good stuff. I can't just be stingy." A harsh laugh escaped my throat.

I tossed the slipper onto the floor. "Fine." I dusted off my hands and pivoted toward the door. "Vivienne, where are you going?" Panic spiked in Chloe's voice. "To help your bestie change her life." I drove straight to Chloe's college campus.

It was nine at night. The dorm building was swarming with students. I walked straight up the stairs to Room 304, lifted my leg, and kicked the door right below the knob. Bang.

The door slammed open. Three girls were inside. Two were lounging on their beds scrolling through their phones. They jumped at the noise, dropping their devices.

The third girl stood in the center of the room, twirling in front of a fulllength mirror. She was admiring her reflection.

She was wearing a custom black evening gown—the exact one I gifted Chloe last month for her birthday. Her face was plastered in a flawless full glam.

The makeup scattered across her desk all belonged to Chloe. This had to be Morgan. Morgan froze when she saw me in the doorway.

Her brows immediately snapped together in annoyance. "Who the hell are you? Do you know how to knock?" I didn't say a word.

I closed the distance between us, twisted my fist into her hair, and yanked downward. Morgan let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Her knees gave out, and she slammed hard against the linoleum floor. The other two roommates shrieked, pressing themselves into the corners of their beds, paralyzed.

I planted my shoe firmly between Morgan's shoulder blades.

I reached down, clamped my fingers around her jaw, and forced her face up. "I'm Chloe's sister." I held her gaze. "A fortygrand necklace.

You actually had the nerve to ask for it?" All the color drained from Morgan's face.

She thrashed against the floor, trying to get up, but my weight kept her pinned flat. "What are you doing! Let me go!

Chloe promised she would lend it to me! "You can't just hit me!" Morgan shrieked. "Lend?" I backhanded her across the face. The sharp crack echoed against the cinderblock walls.

Morgan’s lip split open instantly. A thin bead of blood welled up. "I bought it. What right does Chloe have to lend it out?" I asked.

Morgan slapped her hand over her stinging cheek. Tears spilled hot and fast down her face. She stopped looking at me and twisted her head toward the other two roommates.

Her expression instantly shifted into pure, helpless victimhood. "Sadie! Emery!

Call campus security!" she cried out. "She's trespassing and assaulting me! "Does having money make you God?

You think you can just come in here and bully poor people?!" Chapter 3 The two roommates exchanged nervous glances.

The one named Sadie spoke up, her voice shrinking. "Hey, can you just let her go? Morgan really did just ask to borrow it. Chloe is usually super generous with her stuff.

Can't we just talk this out…" "Talk this out?" I snapped my gaze to Sadie. "She manipulated Chloe into stealing a fortythousanddollar diamond necklace. That's grand larceny.

Are you absolutely sure you want to defend a felon?" Sadie snapped her mouth shut. The blood drained from her face, and she shrank back against the wall.

Morgan thrashed on the linoleum, her white knuckles gripping the fabric of the couture gown. "I didn't steal anything! Chloe offered it!

You psycho bitch, you're just jealous Chloe actually has a real friend like me!" I crouched down. Deadpan. "Take it off." Morgan froze. "What?" "I paid for that dress.

Take it off." I held her stare. Morgan crossed her arms tightly over her chest. A fresh wave of theatrical tears spilled over. "You're psychotic! Chloe gave this to me!

You can't just strip me!" I didn't waste another breath. I grabbed the collar of the dress and ripped it downward.

The expensive silk tore clean down the seam, exposing her cheap camisole underneath. Morgan shrieked.

She hugged herself, wailing at the top of her lungs like I was executing her. "Help! Call the cops! The rich bitch is trying to kill me!" The hallway was already packed.

Dozens of students crowded the doorway, craning their necks. The whispers multiplied. A sea of phone cameras rose in the air, recording every second. Morgan saw the cameras.

She cranked the volume up. She scrambled on her hands and knees toward the doorway, sobbing to the crowd. "Look at this! I just borrowed a dress from my roommate!

Her sister broke in, assaulted me, and ripped my clothes off! "Is this how rich people treat us?

We're just trash to them!" [ That's so messed up. ] [ You can't just humiliate someone like that, I don't care how much money you have. ] [ Someone call the cops.

That's straightup assault. ] I stood perfectly still in the center of the dorm. I pulled a wet wipe from my bag and meticulously cleaned my hands. Classic victim manipulation.

Wrap yourself in a sob story, flash the broke college student card, and hijack the room's empathy. Right on cue, the Resident Director and Advisor Douglas pushed through the mob.

Douglas took one look at Morgan—bleeding lip, torn silk, hysterics—and his face flushed dark red. "What is going on here?! Who started this?!" Morgan lunged at Douglas.

She threw her arms around his legs, sobbing wildly. "Mr. Douglas, help me! Chloe's sister broke in and tried to kill me!

She ripped my clothes off right in front of everyone!" Douglas snapped his head toward me. "You're Chloe's sister?

You think you can just march onto my campus and assault my students?! Do you realize that's a crime?!" I tossed the crumpled wet wipe into the trash can. "Advisor Douglas, right?

She manipulated my sister into sneaking into my house to steal forty thousand dollars worth of jewelry. "I'm the victim of a robbery. I came to deal with the thief.

Is there a problem?" Chapter 4 Douglas froze. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd in the hallway. "Forty… forty thousand? Robbery?" Douglas stammered.

His eyes darted down to Morgan. Morgan shook her head frantically. "I didn't! Mr. Douglas, don't listen to her! "I just asked Chloe if I could borrow it for one night!

How was I supposed to know she was going to steal it? I didn't do anything wrong!" Douglas exhaled, his shoulders dropping in visible relief.

He turned back to me, slipping right into mediator mode. "Ma'am, look, this is clearly a misunderstanding. Morgan is on a full needsbased federal grant. She's a model student.

She would never orchestrate a robbery." He lowered his voice, trying to sound authoritative. "Since you still have the necklace, keep your family drama behind closed doors. "Assaulting a student on campus crosses a serious line.

Apologize to Morgan, cover her medical bills, and we'll drop the whole thing." A laugh punched its way out of my throat. "Apologize?

Pay her?" I walked straight up to Morgan. "Where is Chloe's skincare?" Morgan cowered behind Douglas. She clamped her mouth shut.

I shoved Douglas out of my way and stepped up to Morgan's desk. The surface was lined with highend glass bottles and jars. I bought every single one of them for Chloe.

I snatched a threehundreddollar bottle of serum and hurled it at the floor. Crash. The glass shattered.

Viscous liquid splattered across the linoleum. "What are you doing!" Douglas shouted. I ignored him. I grabbed a perfume bottle. Then a moisturizer. Then the foundation.

I smashed them into the floor, one by one. The sharp sound of exploding glass echoed through the dorm room.

Morgan stared at the glittering shards, her whole body trembling. "You're insane! That's my stuff!" "Yours?" I stopped moving.

I locked eyes with her. "You're on a poverty grant, yet you have five grand worth of luxury cosmetics sitting on your desk, and you're telling me it's yours?" The whispers in the hallway flared up again.

The crowd's stares shifted, zeroing in on Morgan. Morgan's face flushed, then went dead pale. She dug her heels in. "Chloe didn't want them anymore, so she gave them to me!

What, poor people don't deserve nice things?!" I was done listening to her bullshit. I strode to her closet and ripped the door open.

A dozen designer dresses hung neatly in a row, flanked by three luxury handbags. I walked Chloe into the boutiques and paid for every single item in there.

I grabbed the hangers and ripped the clothes off the rack. I threw the entire pile onto the floor and stepped right over the silk fabrics. "Did Chloe give you these, too?" I asked.

Morgan ground her teeth together. Tears streamed down her face. "Yes! "She has more clothes than she can wear!

What's the big deal if I borrow them!" "You call this borrowing?" I whipped out my phone, pulled up Chloe's bank transaction history, and shoved the screen inches from Douglas's face. "Look at it, Mr.

Douglas! This month alone, Morgan made Chloe cover her DoorDash orders over a dozen times. "Fifty bucks a meal. Chloe pays her phone bill. Morgan's brandnew iPhone?

Chloe put it on her own credit card and is paying the monthly installments." I turned my head to look at Morgan. "You stuck a dozen IV lines into my sister to bleed her dry, and you convinced her that's just how friends share.

You aren't just broke. You're a parasite." Morgan panicked. She shot to her feet and pointed a trembling finger at me. "Shut up! "Chloe wanted to spend her money on me!

It's none of your business! You're just a coldblooded bitch who doesn't understand friendship!" I took a single step forward.

She flinched, scrambling backward until her spine slammed against the wardrobe door. That was when I saw it. Sitting inside her halfopen desk drawer was a burner phone.

Chapter 5 I reached for it. Morgan lunged at me like a feral cat, clawing frantically. "Don't touch my stuff! You thief!" I kicked the side of her knee.

Her leg buckled, and she slammed onto the floor. I picked up the burner phone. No passcode. I tapped the camera roll. My lungs seized. The screen was packed with thumbnails.

Hundreds of them. No selfies. No landscapes. Just Chloe. Chloe from behind, halfdressed. Chloe asleep in her bed, wearing a slip nightgown.

The blurry silhouette of Chloe in the dorm shower, shot through the frosted glass. Every single angle was invasive. Predatory. Blood roared in my ears. The back of my neck burned.

I swiped over to her messages. There was only one pinned group chat: Resource Exchange. I scrolled through Morgan's texts. [ Fresh meat. Rich roommate.

Totally naive. ] [ Body is a ten. Five hundred for the whole photo set. No lowballing. ] [ I'm bringing her to the party this weekend. You guys have the pills ready.

She's easy to play, just takes a little fake sisterhood bonding. When this is done, that corporate internship spot is mine.

Nonnegotiable. ] My fingers clamped around the phone until my knuckles turned white. Morgan slumped on the floor. All the color drained from her face. She shook violently.

Douglas caught the shift in the room. He took a step forward. "What is it? What's on the phone?" I twisted my hand into Morgan's hair and hauled her up.

I dragged her out the door, right into the middle of the crowded hallway. "What are you doing! Let me go!" Morgan shrieked.

I shoved the glowing screen inches from her nose. "Come on. Tell everyone.

Tell them exactly why you wanted Chloe at that party so badly." Morgan squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head frantically. "No… I didn't…" "Not going to say it?" I backhanded her again.

Blood dripped from her split lip, sliding down her chin. "Then I will." I turned to the wall of students.

I held the phone high in the air, projecting my voice down the corridor. "Morgan, the girl living off financial aid, has been secretly taking invasive photos of my sister in their dorm.

She's selling them to creeps online for cash!" I pointed down at Morgan. "And it gets better. She set up a deal to drug my sister at a party this weekend.

She was going to trade my sister’s body to a bunch of scumbags in exchange for a corporate internship!" Dead silence. Every ounce of sympathy in the hallway vanished instantly.

Disgust rippled through the crowd. Dozens of eyes glared daggers at Morgan