Chapter 26 : The Storm (2)
The principal of Migan City college sighed, sliding a tablet across the table.
"Please, just watch this video first… and then tell me what you think.
Violet took the tablet with steady hands, though her heart was pounding.
The moment the video started, her brows furrowed.
It showed a girl dressed completely in black walking into the teachers' office.
The lighting was poor, but the silhouette looked… familiar. The girl's figure, her posture, even the little part of her face that wasn't covered by the cap—it was almost identical to Violet's.
The girl reached for a drawer, pulled out a folder, flipped through some papers, took pictures, then placed it back carefully before leaving.
Vira: Host, those clothes…aren't they yours
Those clothes were indeed Violet's.
Her black hoodie, the one she kept folded back in her dorm.
It was even a custom made one.
One of her favorite.
Violet's throat tightened. She looked up, meeting the principal's calm but questioning gaze.
"Sir, that isn't me," she said clearly. "Those clothes are mine, but whoever this is—she isn't me. I've never entered that office before."
The man standing beside the principal clicked his tongue softly, crossing his arms.
"Principal, I really don't think we should waste time with stories. The evidence is right there."
The principal shot him a warning glance, shutting him up immediately.
Then he turned back to Violet, his tone calm but firm.
"Miss Violet, we're not saying anything for certain yet. But until this matter is cleared, the award ceremony will be paused. Imperial High's trophy will be held temporarily, pending investigation."
Violet's fingers tightened around the tablet, but she kept her expression composed.
"I understand," she said, voice low but steady.
""Whoever did this… she won't let them go",she thought.
The principal sighed quietly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"You may go now. Pls contact your homeroom teacher,and your school's principal and inform them that their presence is needed."
"Yes, sir."
Violet stood, bowed slightly, and walked out.
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The moment Violet stepped out of the office, she contacted miss irena just as they asked her to.
Emery and Jeff stood up immediately when they saw her.
They waited until she was done calling, Before Emery ran up to her, immediately grabbing her shoulders.
"Violet, what happened? What did they say?, Are you okay?."
Violet forced out a smile. "Nothing… I'm fine. they just said there'll be an investigation. We can't receive the award yet."
Emery frowned, "Investigation? For what?"
Before violet could answer,Jeff cut in
"Don't tell me it's about what you did, Violet," asked Jeff.
"What are you talking about?" Said Violet, confused.
"Didn't I warn you?!" Jeff snapped, his voice rising. "I told you to just stop it already! I told you—we've worked too hard, come too far to get here, for you to destroy it like this. Look at the consequence of what you did now!" he screamed.
"Hey, you can't just speak to Violet like that," said Emery, stepping forward, ready to fight Jeff, but Violet quickly stopped him.
"Jeff, you've indeed said this to me before,what exactly are you talking about?" Violet asked, her voice calm but cold.
"Oh, don't act innocent," Jeff said bitterly. "Four days ago, didn't you see me? Just after you stepped out of the teachers lounge—you even did the 'shh' sign to me!"
"'Shh' sign?" asked Violet, confused.
Vira answered immediately, I think he means you putting a finger on your lips to tell him to keep quiet. Host, I think this crack head knows something about the video.
"Mmm," Violet hummed softly, her mind racing. "You said you saw me. What time was this?"
"It was around 8:30 in the morning, the day of the third round," Jeff said quickly. "I remember checking the time just as you left."
Vira inside her immediately piped up, Host, isn't that the same day you and this always-nervous friend of yours—
"You mean Emery," corrected Violet.
Yeah, him. Whatever. You guys took a stroll to check out the college grounds, Vira continued.
"8:30 in the morning…" Violet's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't me. Emery, do you remember? That was the day we took a stroll to check out Migan City College."
"Yes, I remember" Emery quickly nodded in agreement.
"If only I could prove that the person in that video isn't me," Violet muttered, frustrated.
Jeff's expression faltered. "So you're serious? That wasn't you
"Of course it wasn't me," Violet shot back. "How many times do I have to tell you that ."
Jeff looked down, guilt flashing in his eyes. "Then… who was it?"
"That's what I don't know," she said, her tone low and steady.
Vira sighed inside her, It's obviously another one of your sister's cheap tricks, host.
Violet ignored her, focusing on Jeff instead. "If you saw someone that day, why didn't you report it to the teachers? That would've solved everything. Are you stupid?"
Jeff flinched, his ears reddening. "I thought it was you!"
"Even if it was me, you should've reported it," Violet said sharply.
Jeff clenched his fists. "But we're a team, Violet. If something happens to you, it happens to all of us. There's a reason we came here together."
Vira hummed inside her, Well, well. Who could've thought crack person number two could be this loyal.
Emery blinked, looking between the two of them. "Hold on—before you two start acting like a drama series, can someone please explain what's going on? Because I'm lost."
Violet took a deep breath, rubbing her temples before slowly explaining everything that had happened again to Emery.
But while Violet was trying to hold herself together, the world outside was already burning her name alive."
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Meanwhile, across the city, chaos had already begun.
Before Migan City College and imperial high could even release an official statement, someone else did it for them.
Anonymous News (Migan City Forum):
Breaking — shocking footage shows Imperial High's representative sneaking into the teachers' office day's before the final round.
Rumor says the student may have stolen the exam questions ahead of time.
Could this explain their sudden comeback in the last round?
Within minutes, the post spread like wildfire.
Soon, it wasn't just on Migan College's forum — it was on the city news pages, trending online, with headlines like:
"Imperial High Cheating Scandal: Was the Champion Title Rigged?"
"Video of Star Student Leaked — Who Is the Girl in Black?"
And of course, the comments were merciless.
"So that's how they won? Disgusting."
"Imperial High has always been full of fake elites."
"That girl looks like Violet, doesn't it?"
"She fooled everyone with her innocent face."
Claras fans where quick to join in
@Julias_OnlyOne: "Look who's back in the spotlight — Miss Perfect caught red-handed 🤣."
@Julia Forever: "After cheating her way through Imperial High, now she's doing it at Migan? Some people never change 😭."
@CrescentBaby: "She might be a heir to a conglomerate,but she has no class, our Julia would never. Now it's karma's turn to embarrass her."
And while all this was going on online, in a quiet corner of a hotel room in Migan City, Clara sat cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through the posts with a lazy smile.
She turned her screen toward the window, her reflection grinning back at her.
"Do you like my surprise, sister?" she whispered softly, the corners of her lips curling into a wicked smile.
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At the De'ora's
As the Imperial High students were told to follow the staff and Excellence High was allowed to leave, the rest of the audience—parents, teachers, and guests—were also asked to exit the premises, including Kingsley and Lily De'ora.
As soon as they got home,Lily scrolled through her phone, while Kingsley chose to watch some news on the TV.
Both still tense about the sudden interruption. But then her eyes widened.
There it was—already flooding every social platform.
A post with the headline:
Breaking: Girl in black caught sneaking into the teachers' office—rumors claim she's the Imperial High representative.
Could this be the reason behind their "miracle comeback"?
The photos and video clips were everywhere.
And in the comment section, people were already tagging Violet's name.
"Kingsley!" Lily gasped, turning the screen toward her husband with trembling hands. "Look at this—look at what they're saying about our daughter!"
The moment Kingsley saw the post, his face darkened. The TV remote in his hands almost breaking.
"How dare they," he muttered, his voice low but furious. "How dare they accuse my daughter of such an atrocity."
Lily's eyes welled up with tears. "Husband, what do we do? That girl isn't our Violet—how could they twist things like this?" she said, her voice cracking as tears finally spilled down her cheeks.
Kingsley turned toward her immediately, pulling her into his arms. "Shh… calm down," he murmured, holding her tight.
But then, suddenly, Lily froze. A thought flashed through her mind.
She sat up abruptly, looking straight at him.
"What if… it's that lookalike actress?"
"He frowned, but something about her words made his chest tighten."
"What do you mean?" .
"That girl—Julia Crescent," Lily said quickly. "She already looks exactly like Violet. What if she just used some of Violet's things and made it look like it was her? What if this is her revenge?"
"Revenge? For what?" Kingsley asked, confused—but something in him didn't reject the idea.
"Ever since that comparison video from Imperial High's entrance exam, I can't stop thinking about her," Lily said, her tone low and heavy. "And I heard she's not even Joe Crescent's real daughter. Kingsley… what if she's the twin we abandoned?"
The car fell into complete silence.
Kingsley didn't say a word for a long time—but the look in his eyes said everything.
"If she's really the twin," he muttered finally, his tone dark and cold, "then maybe the ancestors were right after all. Maybe it's better to kill them than to let them live."
"Kingsley!" Lily gasped, horrified. "Don't say that! If she's really our blood, I won't allow you to harm her. Isn't that why we left her at the adoption center in the first place? And besides—we don't even know for sure yet."
Kingsley sighed, rubbing his temple. "You're right. We'll confirm it first before jumping to conclusions."
He took out his phone, dialing a familiar number.
"John," he said when the call connected, his voice calm but sharp. "Look into Julia Crescent again. And this time—I want everything. Not just the surface. Go deeper."
"Yes, sir," came the reply from the other end.
As the call ended, he pulled Lily into his arms again.
But this time, the air felt heavier.
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Meanwhile,
At imperial high,as soon as Miss Irena received Violet's call, she didn't waste a second. She rushed straight to imperial high principal's office.
When the principal heard what was going on, his expression turned grim. "Get the car," he said immediately. Both of them quickly headed for Migan City College.
Inside the car, Miss Irena scrolled through her phone, hoping to understand what kind of mess they were about to step into. But the moment she saw what was trending, her face went pale.
Breaking — Shocking footage shows Imperial High's representative sneaking into the teachers' office before the final round.
Rumor says the student may have stolen the exam questions ahead of time.
Could this explain their sudden comeback in the last round?
Her hands trembled slightly as she turned her phone toward the principal.
"Sir, look at this! What do we do now?"
The principal's jaw tightened, but his voice stayed steady. "Don't panic, Miss Irena. Hold on."
He looked straight ahead, deep in thought, before asking, "When Violet talked to you, what exactly did she say?"
"She said the girl in the video isn't her, sir," Miss Irena replied quickly.
"Then why does the girl look exactly like her?" the principal murmured, frowning. "Unless… it's a lookalike."
There was a heavy pause — until both of them seemed to reach the same thought at once.
"Julia," Miss Irena said.
"Julia Crescent," the principal finished, his tone darkening.
But then he exhaled slowly. "Hold on. We can't just jump to conclusions yet. Both are our students.
Let's go there first and hear what Migan City College has to say. Then we'll start our own investigation."
"Yes, sir," Miss Irena nodded firmly, clutching her phone tight as the car sped toward Migan City College.
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Back at Imperial High,
Andrea had just finished a meeting when his phone buzzed.
He opened the link, and the moment he saw Violet's name trending beside "cheating scandal," his expression turned dark.
"Who did this…" he muttered, voice low and dangerous.
Dannon, standing nearby, immediately froze. "Boss—"
Andrea's hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles whitening.
"Call Clay. Now."