After a massive landslide, our college trekking club was trapped in a cave for seven days. I finally cracked the code on a survival cache we found that contained a satellite phone. Everyone cheered. Chase, our trip leader and my boyfriend, immediately snatched the case and handed it to Tiffany, the group's resident "It Girl" and self-proclaimed heiress. "This is a great photo op. Let’s let Tiff do the honors. She needs the clout for her influencer profile." Tiffany, looking flustered, punched in the wrong code. Twice. The system locked out after three tries. In my past life, seeing that there was only one attempt left, I snatched the box back and punched in the correct sequence to save us. After we were rescued, instead of thanking me, the whole group accused me of stealing Tiffany’s thunder. They claimed she had solved it and I just jumped in at the last second. Later, Tiffany stole my credit card information to buy everyone expensive gifts and threw a party at my family’s villa, claiming it was hers. When I confronted her with the bank statements, she cried, "Harper is just jealous because my family has money and hers doesn't." Chase sneered at me, "You think anyone cares about your pennies? Stop trying to make yourself look important." During the argument, they shoved me into the river. The whole group watched coldly as I drowned. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the cave. Back to the moment Tiffany was punching in the code. This time, I stood back and watched her fail. Chapter 1 "Tiff, babe, the code is cracked. Go ahead and input it!" Chase stood beaming as I finished scratching the mathematical sequence into the dirt floor with a twig. I had solved the riddle locking the survival case we found in the debris. The moment the solution clicked, I looked up at Chase, a smile forming. But before I could speak, he grabbed the case, completely ignoring my two days of mental gymnastics, and shoved it into Tiffany’s hands. Tiffany smirked at me, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "Chase, Harper found this case. She solved the math. If I take the credit, won't she be mad?" Her tone dripped with fake apology, but her eyes were mocking me. Chase scoffed. "Her? She wouldn't dare get mad. She’d be happy to hand over her entire food stash if I asked her to." Hearing that, Tiffany smiled, satisfied. My heart turned cold. I didn't argue. I just watched silently as Tiffany’s manicured fingers clumsily punched in the wrong numbers. Twice. The group started getting restless. "Come on, Tiff!" She was shaking. In my last life, panic set in. I knew if the case locked, we were doomed. So I grabbed it, saved everyone, and got branded a glory-hog. Not this time. Beep. Beep. The red light flashed. Tiffany, living up to expectations, entered the wrong code for the third time. Click. The mechanism seized. The case was permanently locked. The satellite phone was bricked. The cave erupted. "Tiffany! Are you blind? Two and nine aren't even close to each other!" "Are you kidding me? We’ve been stuck here for a week! That was our ticket out!" "Nobody asked you to solve it! You just had to type four digits! Did you do that on purpose?" Tiffany dropped the case like it was hot coal and looked at Chase with tear-filled eyes. "Chase... I didn't mean to. It’s just... Harper took so long to solve it, and I’m so hungry and dizzy... and it’s dark..." Then, she turned her watery gaze on me. "Maybe Harper’s math was wrong! Maybe she gave me the wrong code!" Chapter 2 Hilarious. I spent forty-eight hours verifying that sequence. Now that she screwed up, she wants to pin it on me? In her dreams. Without me, they wouldn't have even found the box. "I solved the puzzle. I didn't tell you to type it in," I said, my voice flat. "And considering you typed three different combinations, none of which matched my solution, how exactly is my math the problem?" I let out a cold laugh. I wasn't playing the doormat anymore. Tiffany’s face went pale. Being called out wasn't part of her script. Chase frowned, but the rest of the classmates were fuming. "Well, if Harper wasn't so slow, Tiff wouldn't have been so stressed!" "Yeah, blame Harper. She’s so desperate for attention." "Exactly. Tiffany is top of the class. Harper is just a try-hard." It was absurd. Tiffany’s "top of the class" status was entirely because Chase, using his position as a T.A., doctored her grades. When the real work started, Tiffany conveniently "fainted." "I'm sorry, everyone," Tiffany sobbed, bowing to the group. "It’s my fault. Don't blame Harper. She didn't mean to be difficult." Chase immediately pulled her up, glaring at me. "Babe, this isn't on you. It's Harper's fault." Seeing him defend her, the group directed their rage at me. Chase comforted Tiffany, whispering sweet nothings while casting me as the villain. I walked to a corner and sat down, clutching my necklace. Inside the pendant was a GPS tracker my brother had custom-made for me. I was kidnapped once as a kid, so my family was paranoid. Before this trip, I told my brother: If I'm not back in seven days, come find me. Suddenly, a hand yanked me up. It was Chase. He looked furious. "Harper, give your food to Tiffany. She’s looking pale." He said it like it was an order. Before the trip, I told everyone to pack emergency rations and water. Tiffany mocked me. "We're going glamping, Harper. I’m not carrying a heavy bag. We can catch rabbits or something." Her bag was full of makeup and ring lights. Chase had packed snacks, but he’d given them all to her days ago. I slapped his hand away. "She needs to eat? What about me? Do I photosynthesize?" "I'm your girlfriend, Chase. Yet you prioritize her every single time. Do you think that's normal?" Chase froze. I had never talked back to him before. I used to be the "cool girl," the one who accommodated everything. He gritted his teeth, poking my forehead. "Why are you so selfish? People are starving, and you're hoarding? If anything happens to Tiff, are you taking responsibility?" Me? Responsible? "Chase," I said calmly. "Let's break up." Chapter 3 Chase looked at me with pure disdain. "Break up? You're using that to threaten me?" "Fine. Hand over the food in your bag, and I’ll agree to the breakup." I almost laughed. I was worthless to him. "I carried this food up the mountain. Why should I give it to you?" Chase felt entitled to my labor. Just like in school, when I did the group projects and he put Tiffany’s name on the credits. "You wanted to break up, right? Consider the food your breakup fee. You’re getting off easy." Even though I hated him now, hearing him say that still stung. "No," I said. "Get away from me." "Chase!" Tiffany wailed from the ground. "I think I’m gonna faint..." Chase lunged, ripped my backpack off my shoulders, and dumped the contents. He grabbed the last few energy bars and threw them to Tiffany. She caught them with surprising agility for someone about to faint. She shot me a smug look. I grabbed my empty bag off the dirt. Tiffany tore open a wrapper and bit down. Immediately, she spat it out. "Ew! This tastes like cardboard! Even a dog wouldn't eat this." These were high-calorie survival rations. Not gourmet cookies. Chase patted her back, glaring at me. "Harper, did you do this on purpose? Bringing trash food to poison her?" I snapped. I walked over, grabbed the half-chewed bar from the dirt, and shoved it toward Tiffany’s face. "Did I force you to eat it? You stole it!" Tiffany gagged, rinsing her mouth with the last of Chase’s water. "Harper, you're a psycho!" Chase yelled, raising his hand to slap me. I dodged effortlessly. They cursed at me for ten minutes. I tuned them out. Suddenly, a beam of sunlight pierced the darkness. The storm outside had cleared. Chase grabbed Tiffany’s hand. "Tiff, look! Light! Let’s go find a way out. I have the map!" He dug into his bag and pulled out... confetti. Tiffany bit her lip, looking up at him with puppy eyes. "Chase... I'm sorry. I tore it up to make confetti for the summit photo... I thought it would be romantic." Chase sighed, his anger melting instantly. "It's okay. We’re smart. We can find the way." As they headed for the opening, I spoke up. "The soil is unstable. There could be a secondary landslide or flash flood. It's safer to stay put." Chapter 4 Chase stopped and turned around. "Harper, you love hiking, right? You go scout the path." I wasn't going to be their cannon fodder. "No. If you want to go, go yourself." Chase sneered. "I knew you were a coward. You don't have half the courage Tiffany has." They rolled their eyes at me and left. I shouted after them, "Seriously, watch out for the mud!" They ignored me. Twenty minutes later, a drone buzzed into the cave. I saw the logo on the side. I smiled. It was my brother's tech company. The group waved frantically at the drone. It ignored them, hovered in front of me, nodded its camera, and zipped away. "We're saved!" "I knew Chase and Tiffany would find help!" "Yeah, Harper almost ruined it by telling them to stay." Suddenly, the sky darkened. Rain poured down in sheets. A while later, two mud-covered figures stumbled back into the cave. They were limping, bleeding from gashes on their legs. "Does anyone have antibiotics?" Chase screamed. "We fell! It’s deep!" I touched the pocket of my jacket. I had a first-aid kit with a single dose of broad-spectrum antibiotics and a tetanus shot. When I told them to pack first-aid kits, they laughed at me for being paranoid. The classmates shook their heads. Chase limped over to me. "Harper. You hoard everything. You must have medicine. Give it to me, and I might consider taking you back." I laughed. "I only have one dose. Who gets it?" Tiffany lunged, snatching the kit from my hand. She injected herself immediately. "Chase, you know I have a weak constitution! You're strong, you can handle it!" Chase stared at her, betrayed. He tried to grab the empty syringe. I watched them turn on each other. So much for true love. An hour later, the rain stopped. The sound of rotors filled the air. A sleek, private helicopter landed on the flat rock outside the cave. Chapter 5 A tall man in a tactical jacket stepped out. "Oh my god! That's Asher Xu! The pop star!" "It's Tiffany’s brother! I knew she was legit!" "Tiffany, you saved us! Your brother came personally!" The classmates were practically kneeling before Tiffany. Tiffany stood there, frozen. Chase, seeing a luxury chopper, forgot his pain. He rushed forward to shake Asher’s hand with his muddy paws. Asher recoiled, his face showing visible disgust. "Asher, bro! I'm Tiffany's best friend. I'm the leader here. Take us back first, yeah?" Asher looked confused. I hadn't told anyone at school that Asher was my brother. I wanted a normal life. The classmates pushed Tiffany forward. "Go on, Tiff! It's your brother!" Tiffany lowered her head, voice trembling. "Brother... you came for me? I know you're busy..." Asher’s expression went from confused to icy. I couldn't help but chuckle. Asher spotted me in the back. He pushed through the crowd and pulled me into a hug. The group gasped. A few months ago, Asher posted a photo of us hiking with the caption: Hiking with Sis. Tiffany posted a photo of the same mountain with the caption: Hiking with Brother <3. Everyone assumed she was the sister. She never corrected them. "Asher... don't you recognize your own sister?" someone asked. "Is Harper paying you to act like this?" "I'm unfollowing you. Abandoning your sister for a peasant?" Chase stepped up. "Harper is my girlfriend. If she gets on, I get on. I need to supervise her." Asher looked at the crowd like they were bugs. "You people are delusional. I don't know who 'Tiffany' is." "Harper is my biological sister. I'm here for her." "As for the rest of you... Search and Rescue is an hour out. Wait here." He pulled me onto the chopper. We lifted off, leaving them in the mud.
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