“Hi everyone, I’m Mia. Please take care of me.”

My voice was calm, polite, neutral.

Josephson didn’t even pretend to acknowledge me. He had looked stunned when I first stepped on the bus—clearly taken aback by my appearance—but the moment he remembered I was the “special invite,” likely sponsored by some backdoor deal…all that admiration vanished, replaced with quiet disgust.

Justin and Lilith? Their reactions were even colder.

They looked up, startled to see me—but just as quickly looked away, as if they didn’t recognize me. As if I was nothing more than a stranger taking up space.

Yvonne offered a small smile. Duke gave me a nod. But it...