Maya's POV
My hand touched the car door handle.
"Maya, no!" Ethan grabbed my arm. "You can't just get in a stranger's car!"
But I was already pulling away from him, already opening the door. What did it matter anymore? My life was ruined. Everyone at school had seen the video. Everyone was laughing at me.
"Wait." The woman held up one perfectly manicured hand. "Your friend is right to be cautious. Let me introduce myself properly." She removed her sunglasses, revealing sharp green eyes. "My name is Victoria Laurent. I'm a talent scout for Starlight Entertainment."
"Talent scout?" I repeated, confused.
"I saw your drawing. The one in your card to that hockey player." Victoria's smile was like a cat's. "You have real talent, Maya. The kind of talent my company pays very well for."
My brain felt fuzzy. Nothing made sense. "How did you see my drawing?"
"The video is everywhere, dear. I zoomed in on the card when that boy held it up." Victoria leaned back in her seat. "I work with artists, designers, creators. And I think you could be special."
"She's a high school student," Ethan said firmly. "Whatever you're selling, she's not interested."
"I'm offering her a future." Victoria's eyes never left mine. "A future where boys like Jake Morrison don't matter. Where she has power, money, and respect. All she has to do is come to my office and hear me out. One conversation. That's all I'm asking."
Part of me—the smart part—knew this was weird. Suspicious. Wrong.
But the hurt part, the part that was bleeding and broken, wanted to believe her.
"One conversation," I heard myself say. "That's it?"
"Maya!" Ethan looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "This is insane!"
"My whole life is insane right now," I said, my voice shaking. "At least this woman is offering me something instead of just laughing at me."
I got in the car before I could change my mind.
Victoria smiled and hit the gas pedal. Through the window, I saw Ethan standing in the parking lot, looking horrified and helpless.
Then we turned the corner, and he disappeared.
---
We drove in silence for ten minutes before I realized we weren't heading toward any office building.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my survival instincts finally kicking in.
"Somewhere we can talk privately." Victoria glanced at me. "Don't worry. I'm not kidnapping you. We're just going to my hotel suite."
Hotel suite. With a stranger. In a car I'd gotten into without telling anyone where I was going.
Ethan was right. This was insane.
"Actually, I changed my mind," I said. "Can you take me back to school?"
"We're almost there." Victoria pulled into a fancy hotel parking lot. "Just give me five minutes. If you don't like what I have to say, I'll drive you back myself. Deal?"
I should have said no. Should have jumped out of the car and called the police.
But I didn't.
---
Victoria's hotel suite was huge—bigger than my entire dorm floor. She poured herself a drink and gestured for me to sit on the couch.
"Let's get to the point," she said. "I don't actually work for an entertainment company."
My stomach dropped. "Then who are you?"
"Someone who helps people get revenge." Victoria sat across from me, her green eyes sharp. "Someone who saw that video and recognized a girl who's tired of being invisible. Tired of being laughed at. Tired of boys like Jake Morrison treating her like garbage."
"Revenge?" The word tasted strange on my tongue.
"Don't pretend you haven't thought about it." Victoria leaned forward. "Haven't you imagined Jake regretting what he did? Imagined him realizing he made a huge mistake? Imagined everyone who laughed at you suddenly seeing you as powerful instead of pathetic?"
I had. God help me, I had.
"What are you suggesting?" I whispered.
Victoria pulled out her phone and showed me a website. It looked professional—testimonials, before and after photos, success stories.
"I run a specialized consulting service," she explained. "We help people transform themselves. New look, new confidence, new life. But more importantly, we help them make the people who hurt them pay attention."
"This sounds illegal."
"Nothing we do breaks any laws." Victoria's smile was dangerous. "We just... level the playing field. We give you the tools to become someone Jake Morrison can't ignore. Someone he'll want. And then, when he comes crawling back, you'll have all the power."
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw more notifications—more comments on the video, more people sharing it, more laughter at my expense.
"How?" I asked. "How could you possibly do that?"
"First, we make you disappear for a while. Christmas break is perfect—everyone goes home anyway." Victoria counted on her fingers. "Second, we give you a complete makeover. Hair, clothes, confidence coaching. Third, we create a new social media presence for you. Mysterious, artistic, intriguing. By the time school starts again, you won't be the girl who got rejected. You'll be the girl everyone wants to know."
It sounded like a fantasy. Like something from a movie.
But wasn't that exactly what Jake had accused me of? Living in fantasy land?
"And what do you get out of this?" I asked.
"Payment. My services aren't cheap." Victoria named a number that made my head spin.
"I don't have that kind of money."
"You will. Part of the transformation includes building your art portfolio and selling your work online. We've made dozens of artists successful." Victoria pulled out a contract. "This is a six-month commitment. You do exactly what I say, when I say it, and by summer, you'll be a different person. A better person."
I stared at the contract, my hands shaking.
This was crazy. This woman was clearly manipulating me. Everything about this screamed DANGER.
But when I closed my eyes, all I could see was Jake's cruel smile. All I could hear was his laughter and the laughter of his friends.
"I need to think about it," I said.
"Of course." Victoria stood up. "But Maya? The offer expires at midnight. After that, you go back to being the girl in that video. Forever."
She drove me back to campus in silence. When I got out of the car, she handed me a business card.
"Midnight," she repeated. "Choose wisely."
---
I stumbled back to my dorm room in a daze. My roommate Emma was sitting on her bed, her face pale.
"Oh my God, Maya!" She jumped up. "Where have you been? Ethan called me freaking out, saying you got in some strange woman's car!"
"I'm fine," I said automatically.
"No, you're not." Emma grabbed my shoulders. "You're shaking. What happened?"
I told her everything. About Victoria, about the offer, about the contract and the midnight deadline.
Emma's face went from concerned to horrified. "Maya, this is a scam. Or worse. You can't seriously be considering this!"
"Why not?" I heard the desperation in my own voice. "My life is already ruined. What do I have to lose?"
"Everything!" Emma pulled up her laptop. "Let me search this woman's name. I bet she's a con artist or—"
She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the screen.
"What?" I asked. "What did you find?"
Emma turned the laptop toward me slowly. On the screen was a news article from six months ago:
"Local Teen Missing After Meeting with Mysterious 'Talent Scout'"
Below it was a photo of a girl about my age. She had the same desperate look in her eyes that I'd had in the parking lot.
The same look I'd had when I got into Victoria Laurent's car.
"Maya," Emma whispered. "This girl was never found."
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: 11:47 PM. Thirteen minutes until your new life begins. Don't keep me waiting.
Outside my window, I saw a black car idling in the parking lot.
Victoria was waiting for my answer.