Chapter 106

**Summer's POV**

"Summer? Summer!" Brandon's voice came through sharply, but before I could respond, something caught my ankle. I lost my balance and crashed to the floor, my phone flying from my hand and skittering across the tiles.

I tried to stand but a sharp pain shot through my lower back where I'd slammed into the edge of the sink. Grimacing, I pushed myself up anyway,only to feel a stabbing pain in my ankle that sent me tumbling back down.

"Shit!" I hissed, gingerly touching my throbbing ankle. Something had definitely grabbed me - this wasn't just me being clumsy.

I crawled toward where I thought the door might be, desperate to escape the suffocating darkness. When my hands finally found the cool metal of the door handle, I pulled myself up and twisted it frantically.

It didn't budge.

"Hello?" I called out, pounding on the door. "Is anyone out there? Help! I'm locked in!"

Nothing but silence answered me.

"Help!" I screamed louder, my fists hammering against the door. "Someone please help me!"

Panic bubbled up inside me as memories from childhood flooded back -being locked in the dark closet by Victoria when I was six, crying until my throat was raw while she and her friends laughed outside. The same suffocating darkness, the same helplessness.

*No, not again. Not this time.*

I forced myself to take deep breaths, trying to slow my racing heart. This wasn't a coincidence. The lights going out, the door mysteriously locking-someone had planned this.

Victoria was the obvious suspect. And Anna? I remembered how she'd glared at me earlier. Anna had always been obsessed with Chris Diaz in college. but he'd asked me out instead. She'd never forgiven me for that,even though I'd turned him down.

I drew in another deep breath, feeling my mind clear as I analyzed the situation. This was deliberate, not random. Victoria and her friends were behind this-it had their petty cruelty written all over it.

*Don't panic. Brandon will realize something's wrong. Ruby and Scarlett will come looking for you. You're not alone.*

"Is anyone there?" I called again, my voice steadier now. "Hello? Can someone open the door?"

As I pressed my ear against the door, straining to hear any response, a soft.slithering sound came from behind me. At first, I thought I was imagining it - just pipes or the building settling.

Then I heard it again. A distinctive "ssss" - like something sliding across the tiled floor.

My blood turned to ice as I recognized the sound. The soft, unmistakable hiss of a snake.

Every muscle in my body froze. Goosebumps erupted across my skin as terror spread from my core to my fingertips.

"Hello? Is someone in there?" A male voice called from the other side of the door, startling me.

"Yes!" I called back desperately. "Yes, I'm locked in! Please help mne!"

"Summer? Is that you?" The voice became clearer,more familiar.

"Chris?" I recognized his voice with a surge of relief. "Chris, the door's locked from the outside! Can you open it?"

"It won't open," he called back, jiggling the handle. "What happened?"

"I don't know. but-" Something slithered across my foot, and I jerked away instinctively. "Chris, there's a snake in here! Please, get me out!"

"A snake? Are you sure?"

"Yes!" My voice rose with hysteria. "Please, just break the door down!"

"Okay, Summer, move away from the door," Chris instructed. "I'm going to kick it in."

I scrambled to the side, heart pounding as I heard him back up. The snake.disturbed by the commotion, moved faster now - I could hear it sliding across the floor,getting closer.

"Hurry!" I pleaded.

A loud bang shook the door as Chris's foot slammed into it. Once,twice-on the third try, the lock splintered and the door flew open, letting in a sliver of light from the hallway.

In that moment of illumination, I saw it - a dark, sinuous shape on the floor, mere inches from my leg.

Before I could react, a searing pain shot through my calf as the snake struck, its fangs sinking deep into my flesh.

"AHHH!" I screamed, collapsing to the floor as Chris burst into the bathroom.

"Summer!" He crouched beside me, his face contorted with concern. His eyes darted around the darkness before spotting the snake, which had recoiled and was preparing to strike again.

In one swift motion, Chris grabbed the snake behind its head and slammed it against the sink. The snake writhed violently before going limp in his grasp.

"Summer, are you okay?" He knelt beside me, examining my leg in the dim light spilling from the hallway.

"It bit me." I gasped, pointing to the burning pain in my calf where two puncture marks were already visible.

"Shit," Chris muttered, his face grim. "That looks venomous. We need to get the poison out."

Without hesitation, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the bathroom. The hallway lights seemed blindingly bright after the darkness, making me squint as Chris gently set me down against the wall.

"I need to suck out the venom," he said, rolling up my pant leg.

"No,don't-" I protested weakly.

"Summer, this poison is dangerous,"he said firmly."Ineed to get it out before it spreads."

Too weak to argue, I watched as he bent down, his lips sealing over the wound as he sucked and spat repeatedly. My head swam, the world blurring around the edges as the poison and shock took their toll.

"Chris? Summer?" Victoria's voice cut through my haze. "What the hell are you doing?"

I looked up to see Victoria standing at the end of the hallway, surrounded by a group of our classmates. Behind them,Ruby and Scarlett were trying to push through the crowd.

"Summer was locked in the bathroom," Chris explained,wiping his mouth as he stood up. "Someone put a snake in there,and it bit her."

Victoria's perfectly made-up face registered shock, though her eyes remained calculating. "A snake? In Manhattan Club? That's ridiculous."

"This wasn't an accident," Chris said, his voice hardening as his gaze swept over Victoria and Anna. "Someone deliberately locked Summer in that bathroom."

Anna stepped forward, her face flushed. "What are you implying.Chris?That one of us would do something like that? Maybe you should ask why Summer was alone with you in a dark bathroom!"

"Are you serious right now?" Chris's voice rose with indignation. "Summer could have died!"

"Snake? What snake?" Anna sneered. "I don't see any snake. Maybe this was just your sick way of getting Summer alone."

Before Chris could respond, the crowd parted suddenly as a group of men in black suits appeared, led by a tall, imposing figure with a stern expression.

"What's going on here?" the man demanded, his authoritative voice silencing everyone instantly.

The man's cold eyes swept over the group before landing on me,slumped against the wall with my injured leg exposed.

"The nerve of some people, causing trouble at Manhattan Club," he said,his voice dangerously soft. "Don't you know whose establishment this is?"

His gaze fixed on me more intently, recognition flickering in his eyes."Miss,are you alright?"

I tried to respond, but my tongue felt thick and unwieldy. The venom was taking effect, making my vision swim.

He turned to his men. "Take her to the doctor immediately."

Two suited men stepped forward to lift me, but Ruby and Scarlett finally broke through the crowd, positioning themselves between me and Landon's men.

"Hold on," Ruby said fiercely. "Who the hell are you people?"