I've Become Rich And I Want Revenge

07. Viper

Brittany looked up, her eyes meeting those of Leon. Real fear was present on her face.

As he stared at her, Leon remembered the tender kisses they had shared, the nights they had spent together, the promises they had both made to each other. The love story they had, or at least the boy thought it was one.

"You liked to spread rumors and create lies about me, didn't you, Brittany?" said Leon, keeping his cool.

"You always acted like a snake, poisoning my existence without me even noticing your tyranny. Now, the consequences of your actions are knocking at your door."

He approached her, and Brittany swallowed nervously.

"Dean is now my employee. You, on the other hand, will not have this enormous privilege. For you, I've chosen something particularly terrible."

With a flourish, Leon pulled out a brown paper envelope from inside his jacket.

"Open it," he ordered, holding it out to the girl.

Pursing her lips to prevent them from quivering with nervousness, the girl hesitantly obeyed. 

Her eyes widened as she saw some of the contents.

"What's that?" she whispered, looking around to see if anyone else had noticed.

Leon lowered the microphone as he muttered:

"What a short memory you have. Remember all the photos I took of you dancing for me? You really thought I'd turn into a bitter man and delete them all, didn't you? After all, in your mind, I'm just a loser. They're all there. All of them."

Faster than Brittany could have predicted, he snatched the envelope from her hands.

"Give it back!"

"Or what?"

She ducked her head nervously and tried to keep her voice calm, but failed:

"Let's negotiate. What do you want for them?"

"Negotiate? You can't be serious?"

Then the girl completely lost her composure.

"You know what? Dean's right. You're a pauper, you'll never stop being one, and you're behaving ridiculously! Even if you humiliate me, him and whoever else you want, you're still a loser who'll never know what it's like to be well-born!"

Brittany continued, her voice getting thinner and thinner:

"I did spread the rumors, and I'd spread them again! Because you're a loser. A piece of garbage. And yes, you're still as weak as ever."

She took the microphone from Leon's hands and shouted to the other students:

"This man is a joke and always has been! We're not going to stand by and watch this worm take power. Let's call the police and make him pay!"

But to his total surprise, the students were still hesitant. Frightened. And they weren't at all willing to stand up to Leon.

"Oops, looks like things didn't go as you planned," muttered the boy, taking the microphone back.

"You lost, bitch."

"How dare you-"

"Do you think that's the only envelope I have? Do you think I don't have dozens, or rather hundreds, of copies of these photos? You'll love the collection I have in my house. I even made a frame that goes from floor to ceiling. And you know what? I think I'm going to sell them at this year's Art Fair. Your father is a famous painter, so I wonder what he'll think of my product."

Brittany's mouth went dry.

"No."

"No?"

"No. No! You can't do that!"

Leon smiled coldly, observing Brittany's anguish.

"I can and I will. You thought you could play with me, but you forgot that two people can play this game."

Brittany felt her legs go weak as the gym remained in a tense silence. 

"You'll never change. As you made a point of saying from the top of your imaginary pedestal, I'm not well-born. You're right, I'm not rich by birth. But think of it this way: with the power you had at birth, you could have been better. Stronger. But you're stupid. Dumb for having seen someone who could destroy you, and yet turned against him. Do you think I'll have any mercy?"

Brittany's eyes were watery, but she refused to shed tears in front of everyone. Her wounded pride wouldn't allow Leon to see her weakness.

He approached her again, whispering menacingly:

"You can't challenge me. You can't beat me. No matter what you do, you will always lose. You and everyone on your side. The photos I have, darling, are to make sure everyone knows that, even when I seem to be losing, I'm in control."

He took a step back, looking at the still hesitant students in the stands.

"Do you all see now? It's not about money or status. It's about power, control and knowing how to play the game."

Leon looked directly at Brittany and said:

"If you're still willing to use your head, girl, I have a proposition for you."