The Black Swan's Final Revenge Pirouette: The 99th Game Was Mine All Along by Kylie Homme

Chapter 3

Before Ariana could refuse, Luigi had already grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her to his Tesla.

The car pulled up outside The Box, Manhattan's most exclusive members-only club. After parking. Luigi circled

around to her side and opened the door with a theatrical flourish that once would have made her

heart flutter.

Ariana gave him a flat, empty stare as she stepped out.

The moment they entered the dimly lit space, Ariana’s attention was immediately drawn to a familiar

figure.

Leila Brown.

She wore a champagne silk slip dress with a dangerously high slit, Louboutins, and just enough. diamonds to

look effortless. Her glossy hair fell in loose waves, and her calculated smile drew everyone in as she held court in

the VIP section, cocktail in hand.

Leila had been Luigi's childhood friend. Though they had grown up together, during the years Ariana had dated

Luigi, the two women had never crossed paths.

So she'd never suspected that Luigi had been obsessed with Leila all along.

When Leila spotted them, her eyes flickered with recognition, then narrowed into the slightest smirk-a look that

confirmed everything. She’d been in on the 99-part revenge schall along.

This is revenge #97, Ariana realized with stomach-turning clarity. Coming here

was a setup.

Luigi also noticed Leila’s presence. His fingers tensed around Ariana’s before he abruptly dropped her hand like it

had burned him.

He leaned in, his breath hot against her ear: “Gotta take this call. Network with people or whatever. Back

in five.”

Ariana stood frozen, watching Luigi's retreating figure, a cold emptiness spreading through her chest. The

casualness of his dismissal felt like another slap in the face.

Before she could react, Leila was already gliding across the room with runway precision, following directly in

Luigi's wake.

Their silhouettes-one leading, one following-disappeared around a corner, no doubt heading somewhere private.

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Ariana had no tto dwell on what they might be doing together, as Luigi's friends quickly surrounded

her.

“Well, if it isn’t Luigi's favorite charity case! Tyler's voice boomed as he showed a glass of something amber

colored into her hand.

Ariana shook her head firmly. | don’t drink.”

“Don’t be such a fucking buzzkill,” Blake sneered. “What's wrong, afraid Daddy Luigi will get mad?” They

all laughed, exchanging knowing glances.

“Or maybe she can’t handle her liquor.” Derek added, pushing the glass toward her lips. Tittle Mi Perfect

probably gets wasted off one shot.”

Ariana tried to step back, but Josh blocked her path. “Either drink it or wear it, sweetheart.”

When she tried to break free, Tyler gave her a hard shove. “Oops, my bad.”

“Ah-

She cried out as she lost her balance and fell straight into the adjacent infinity pool

The freezing water engulfed her instantly.

She couldn’t swim. Her limbs flailed desperately, but her clothes quickly becwaterlogged, dragging

her down.

Water rushed into her nose and mouth, burning her lungs. The club lights above the surface blurred and

distorted as her consciousness began to fade, darkness closing in until everything went black

When Ariana next opened her eyes, she found herself back in the bedroom of Luigi's apartment. Her head

pounded with each heartbeat, and her body burned as if she were being roasted alive.

She struggled to focus her vision and saw Luigi sitting by the bed, holding a glass of water and spills

“You're burning up. Take these,” Luigi said, his voice soft with what might have seemed like concern-if she didn’t

know better now.

Ariana hazily accepted the pills and swallowed them with the water.

Too weak to think clearly, she only registered that her throat felt like she'd swallowed glass and her body

seemed to have turned to concrete.

She closed her eyes, wanting to escape back into unconsciousness, but her temperature kept climbing.

Chapter 3

something scorching through her veins.

Stlater-minutes or hours, she couldn't tell-she forced her eyes open again and realized Luig

was gone.

Of course, she thought bitterly. He can’t even be bothered to maintain the charade anymore.

She struggled to sit up, touching her forehead. It was terrifyingly hot.

She knew she couldn't wait any longer. She needed medical help.

With trembling fingers, she ordered an Uber to the nearest ER.

Ariana dragged her leaden body through the hospital doors, barely making it to the reception desk before a

nurse rushed to help her.

The doctor immediately put her on an IV drip, which finally brought her fever down slightly.

After examining her thoroughly, the doctor frowned: “Ms. Collins, your temperature was 104.3 when you came

in. You're bordering on pneumonia from aspiration. Why didn’t you cin sooner?”

Ariana leaned weakly against the hospital bed, her voice barely audible: “I thought the medicine would help.”

The doctor looked concerned. “What medicine were you taking?”

Ariana pulled a small bottle from her pocket and handed it to the doctor. “Aspirin. My boyfriend gave it to

a,

The doctor opened the bottle, examined its contents, and his expression darkened: “These aren't aspirin at all.

The bottle is labeled correctly, but these are nothing but sugar pills. Taking these instead of actual medication

could have been extremely dangerous in your condition.”

Ariana’s heart plummeted, her fingers trembling slightly.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed repeatedly.

She weakly raised her hand to check it. A series of Whatnotifications lit up her screen.

They were from a group chat with Luigi's friends.

Tyler: Revenge #97 EPIC WIN!!! 22?

Blake: Whoever cup with the pool + fake meds combo deserves a fucking medal! First we “accidentally”

push her in, then Luigi swoops in with sugar pills? She’s gotta be DYING rn

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Josh: Luigi's face when she swallowed those pills tho 77

Derek: HOLY SHIT DELETE THIS! WRONG GROUP! SHE CAN SEE THESE 777

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