The briefing room wasn’t what Selene expected.
No fancy velvet chairs. No gleaming boardroom table.
Just a wide, empty room with cold white walls and a single large screen mounted on the far side.
Half a dozen students were already inside, standing stiffly in groups of two or three. They all wore that same nervous, self-important look—the one people wore when they thought they were being judged.
At the front stood Mr. Carrington, one of Hillwood’s most ruthless economics professors.
Beside him stood the real power: Sebastian Ford, arms crossed lazily against the wall, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips.
Next to Sebastian was Kairo Hyun, third-ranking leader of the Hillwood Investment Club, watching with cool, unreadable eyes.
"Welcome, applicants," Mr. Carrington barked, his sharp voice cutting through the uneasy chatter. "Today marks the first stage of the Hillwood Investment Club trials. You will be tested not just on academic skills, but on your ability to survive under pressure."
Several students visibly tensed.
Selene just raised an eyebrow.
Mr. Carrington continued, "You will be divided into teams. Each team will be given a business scenario involving a failing company. You must propose a full investment turnaround plan within twenty minutes. Best plan wins. The weakest team..." —his lips curled slightly— "is eliminated."
A simple strategy test?
Selene hid a smirk. They might as well have gift-wrapped this for her.
Sebastian’s voice cut in smoothly. "One more thing."
He pushed off the wall and strolled closer, Kairo beside him, both evaluating the students like predators sizing up prey.
"Some details in the scenario will be fake. Misleading. Incorrect. Your job is not only to build a winning strategy, but to spot the sabotage before it sinks you."
A few students looked like they might pass out.
Selene felt a spike of excitement.
A game within a game.
Finally, something interesting.
Teams were assigned quickly by one of the club's officers, and Selene heard her name last:
"Selene Parker… and Ethan Zhou."
A tall, lean boy with sharp features and quick, calculating eyes nodded at her from across the room.
Selene sized him up instantly: smart, ambitious, but probably someone who played it safe. She could work with that.
Mr. Carrington handed each team a sealed envelope. "Your time starts… now."
The room exploded into motion.
Selene and Ethan ripped open their envelope and scanned the contents: a brief dossier on a fictional struggling tech company called "Novalink Solutions." According to the file, Novalink had once been a rising star but had suffered a massive loss in market share due to "employee mismanagement" and "lack of innovation."
Selene’s eyes narrowed.
Too obvious.
If something looked that easy, it wasn’t.
"Focus on rebranding and product development," Ethan muttered, already scribbling notes. "We should suggest restructuring their R&D department."
"Slow down," Selene said sharply.
Ethan blinked at her. "What?"
Selene skimmed the document again, faster this time. Then she spotted it—small but glaring.
In the financial section, Novalink’s operating expenses were listed at "18 million USD quarterly."
In the growth forecast, however, the margin calculation was based on 28 million.
It was wrong.
Deliberately wrong.
"This is a trap," Selene said coolly.
Ethan frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. They want us to assume the company’s bleeding money from bad products when it’s actually drowning because someone inside is siphoning funds. Embezzlement."
Ethan stared at her like she’d grown a second head.
"We have fifteen minutes," she reminded him briskly. "Either you trust me or you fail."
After a second’s hesitation, Ethan nodded.
Together, they switched gears.
Instead of suggesting a new product line, they crafted a forensic audit plan, employee restructuring to root out corruption, and a strategy to boost shareholder confidence.
When they turned in their proposal, Mr. Carrington raised a bushy eyebrow.
Sebastian, who had been lounging at the back, stood up straighter as he read it.
Kairo leaned over, scanning their paper briefly, exchanging a sharp glance with Sebastian.
Five minutes later, the results were announced.
Three teams were eliminated immediately—
Their "strategic turnarounds" had been based on the false information planted in the dossiers.
Only two teams passed.
Selene’s team, of course, was first.
Mr. Carrington’s cold smile was almost approving. "Congratulations. Few catch the error."
Selene nodded politely, ignoring the glares being thrown at her from the other applicants.
Sebastian’s gaze lingered on her the longest.
There was a spark there now—a grudging respect mingled with something darker, sharper. Interest.
He hadn’t expected her to survive the first trial.
Selene didn’t just survive.
She dominated.
As she turned to leave the room, her sandals clicking softly against the polished floor, she caught a low, amused voice behind her.
"You’re dangerous, Selene Parker," Kairo murmured under his breath, half impressed, half warning.
She didn’t turn around.
She didn’t need to.
Instead, she simply smiled to herself.
Because Sebastian Ford, Kairo Hyun, and the rest of Hillwood  Investment Club were finally starting to understand something very important:
Selene Parker wasn’t here to play by their rules.
She was here to rewrite them.
And this was just the beginning.