THE HEIR'S AGONY TRIAL BY FIRE

The scholarship

The letter of acceptance to Pacific West University arrived on a rainy afternoon, its crisp envelope standing out starkly against the faded mailbox. Aidan’s hands trembled as he opened it, the words “Full Scholarship” leaping off the page. It was a dream he hadn’t dared to dream, a chance to escape the shadows of his small town and prove to the world—and himself—that he could rise above his circumstances.

Pacific West University was a prestigious institution, a world of polished marble floors, towering libraries, and students dressed in designer clothing. To Aidan, it felt like stepping into another universe, one where the wealth and privilege he had always been excluded from were now on full display.

---

Aidan’s arrival on campus was anything but smooth. His thrift store duffle bag and second-hand clothes marked him as an outsider. Students glanced at him with mild curiosity, some with open disdain.

“Hey, is that guy lost?” a blonde-haired student whispered to her friend as Aidan walked past.

“Looks like he wandered in from the wrong zip code,” the friend replied with a laugh.

Aidan clenched his jaw, ignoring the comments. He had endured worse before, and he wasn’t about to let their words distract him. His focus was on his studies—and on solving the puzzles that life kept throwing his way.

---

The first few weeks were challenging. Aidan buried himself in his coursework, spending long hours in the library. His professors quickly recognized his brilliance, often singling him out during lectures for his insightful questions and razor-sharp analyses.

One of them, Dr. Evelyn Marks, a no-nonsense woman with a sharp intellect, became a mentor of sorts.

“Aidan, you have a gift,” she told him one afternoon after class. “Don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t belong here.”

Despite her encouragement, Aidan couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. The feeling was subtle at first, a prickling at the back of his neck when he walked across campus. Then, there were the incidents: a note left on his dorm room door that simply read, “Keep your head down,” and an anonymous email warning him not to dig too deep into Pacific West’s history.

---

One night, while working late in the library, Aidan stumbled across an old university yearbook. Flipping through its pages, he froze when he saw a photograph of a younger William Cross standing alongside other board members.

His father had ties to Pacific West University.

The revelation hit Aidan like a punch to the gut. The scholarship, the mysterious warnings—it suddenly made sense. Someone had ensured he ended up at this school, and it wasn’t out of kindness.

---

Determined to uncover the truth, Aidan began digging deeper into the university’s archives. He discovered that Pacific West was more than just a prestigious school—it was a breeding ground for power and influence, a place where the elite forged alliances and kept their secrets hidden.

The deeper Aidan dug, the more connections he found between the Cross family and the university. There were endowments made in William’s name, anonymous donations that funded key programs, and whispered rumors about a secret society that operated within the campus.

---

One evening, while walking back to his dorm, Aidan was approached by a man in a tailored suit.

“You’re Aidan, right?” the man asked, his voice calm but firm.

“Who’s asking?” Aidan replied, his guard immediately up.

The man handed him a card. “You might want to think twice about what you’re looking for. Curiosity isn’t always a good thing.”

Aidan stared at the card, which bore only a single name: The Meridian Society.

---

The next day, Aidan attended a lecture by Dr. Marks, trying to push the encounter out of his mind. But after class, she stopped him as he was leaving.

“Aidan,” she said in a low voice, “we need to talk. I know what you’ve been researching, and I know about the Meridian Society.”

Aidan’s heart raced. “What do you know?”

Dr. Marks glanced around the empty lecture hall before speaking. “The Meridian Society is not just a myth. It’s real, and it’s dangerous. If you’re not careful, they’ll come after you.”

“Why would they care about me?” Aidan asked.

“Because of your name,” she said. “You’re a Cross. And whether you like it or not, that puts you in their crosshairs.”

---

That night, Aidan sat in his dorm room, staring at the card the man had given him. The Meridian Society. The name sounded like something out of a conspiracy theory, but everything he had uncovered so far pointed to its existence.

As he weighed his options, his phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number: “Meet me at the clock tower at midnight if you want answers.”

Aidan arrived at the clock tower as the bells chimed midnight. The shadowy figure waiting for him stepped into the light—it was Dr. Marks.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she said, her voice trembling. “They know you’re here. And now, they’ll come for both of us.”