Adrian let out a quiet scoff.
So, my goodwill meant nothing to her. Fine. I will just wait and see how she planned to handle this.
Even as he told himself that, his heartbeat quickened. What had happened the night before replayed vividly in his mind. He had cornered her with questions, and she had been unable to answer. In the end, she had kissed him, then bolted. A low chuckle escaped him, and a faint smile curved his lips. Interesting.
Across the desk, Zachary froze. Then he nearly jumped in outrage. "Adrian! Are you even listening to me? I just told you there was a collapse at that unfinished building in the south district. Three people were seriously injured, and you're smiling? What is wrong with you?"
Adrian cleared his throat at once, his expression smoothing over as though nothing had happened. "I'm not smiling."
"You did. I saw it." Zachary glared at him, visibly offended. "This is serious. And you're laughing? That's cold."
"I said I'm not smiling." Adrian leaned back in his chair, his tone returning to its usual calm. "Handle the situation your way and calm the victims' families. We will take over the project."
"Got it," Zachary huffed. Still clearly irritated, he grabbed the files and stormed out. The moment the door closed behind him, Adrian picked up his phone. He wanted to see exactly how Riley planned to turn things around.
Meanwhile, the campus forum was spiraling out of control. The outrage had grown so intense that even the university's official announcements could not suppress it. Some students had already begun calling the academic affairs office, demanding that Riley be stripped of her title as freshman representative.
The posts spread quickly.
[That idiot Riley as freshman rep? Since when did our university lower its standards this much? Just because she has someone backing her?]
[Look at this. Clear video evidence of Riley bullying another student.]
The video link spread like wildfire. It showed Riley kicking a chair and injuring Celeste. Another clip showed Victor kneeling in Auremere and being humiliated. The moment the video surfaced, the forum exploded.
Even Class Seven was stunned. They didn't know their queen was actually that fierce. To them, Victor wasn't exactly easy to provoke. He had connections on campus, not to mention a wealthy girlfriend. He wasn't someone most people dared to offend casually. And yet he had been humiliated by their supposedly foolish classmate. No matter how they looked at it, something felt off.
But the people in the video were unmistakable. Riley. Victor. No room for doubt.
Most of them didn't know the full story, but Rylie did. She slammed her hand against the desk so hard the sound made everyone jump. "Don't believe any of that. It's all fake, they made it up. Riley is gentle and quiet. There's no way she'd bully anyone. She's basically a bookworm. Aside from studying all the time, what else is there to criticize?"
The students of Class Seven exchanged glances.
What Rylie said, at least, was true. Ever since Riley transferred in, she had barely spoken. One could count how many times she spoke with one hand. She didn't cause trouble, didn't stir conflict, and if anything, she carried herself with a calm, almost delicate reserve. Bullying really didn't fit her image at all.
Riley thought silently. Who's pretending to study? I'm actually studying, okay?
Rylie was still furious, her chest rising and falling as she glared at the others. "I don't know what happened with Victor, but I saw the incident with Celeste myself. They started it. They threw insults first. Then when we turned to leave, Celeste threw a chair at us. If Riley hadn't reacted in time, I would've been the one injured. They edited the footage and twisted it to frame her."
Henry frowned. "Rylie… are you sure?"
"Of course I am," she snapped, eyes blazing. "If I'm lying, I'll curse myself and never find love in this lifetime."
The room fell silent. That was a serious oath.
Henry's expression sharpened. "Then this is simple. Every room has surveillance. I'll pull the footage and shut them up."
But that only explained the so-called bullying. The rumors about Riley being kept were something else entirely. That was personal, and not something they could step in and solve so easily. His gaze lingered on Riley's back, confusion flickering in his eyes.
She was beautiful, from a wealthy family, and by all appearances far above this sort of gossip. So why would she be… kept? Unless she had been tricked. Given her supposed condition, it wasn't impossible.
Just as Henry and the others were about to retrieve the surveillance footage, Riley made her move.
She uploaded a video.
The clip showed everything clearly from beginning to end. Her bet with Victor. Felicia's sugary, manipulative words. Every detail was laid out in plain sight. Whether it was stripping and running naked or humiliating him, it had all been Victor's idea from the start. Nothing had been forced. Nothing had been fabricated.
And that wasn't all.
Riley released the full surveillance footage of Celeste throwing the chair at her and Rylie. Every accusation in the smear post, she answered one by one. She offered no long explanations and no emotional ranting. She simply posted evidence. Cold, precise, undeniable evidence.
They said she was a spoiled rich girl, cherished by her parents while Felicia had been denied of education because of her? She posted proof of her parents' divorce, her childhood in the countryside, and the fact that after being brought back to the Cole family for less than a month, she had suddenly "become foolish" and then been sent overseas to fend for herself.
They said she cheated on her exams? She uploaded a video of herself solving problems in front of the entire school.
They said she had forced Felicia to carry her bag? She posted an audio clip of Felicia volunteering to do it.
One accusation after another was crushed beneath hard proof. No wasted words. No unnecessary drama. Just evidence layered over evidence until there was nothing left for the other side to hide behind.
Everyone reading the comments were shocked.
[Holy crap. What did I just read?]
[I said Felicia was fake from the start. None of you believed me. You all chased me down with insults. Who's getting slapped in the face now?]
[Wait, didn't Felicia say she had no status at home? Why does it look like she and her mom are the scheming ones?]
[Are you guys blind? She grew up fine in the countryside, came back to the Cole family, suddenly became "foolish," then got shipped overseas? Wealthy families are terrifying.]
[This is straight out of a telenovela. Evil stepmother and stepsister. Riley's the victim, and her reputation still got ruined? I'm on her side.]
[And Victor too. Everyone knows he and his rich girlfriend act superior. He proposed the bet himself, then edited the video to frame her? Taking advantage of someone they thought couldn't defend herself. Disgusting.]
The speculation spread rapidly, and right on cue, someone exposed the IP address.
The account that had uploaded the bullying video was traced directly to Celeste's home. The original smear post targeting Riley came from the same location. Not only that, but several other accounts that had aggressively fueled the narrative were also traced back to Class One.
At that point, the truth became impossible to ignore. This had never been about justice. It was retaliation. Class One had seized the chance to settle personal grudges under the guise of moral outrage.
The crowd finally began to see it clearly. And just like that, the tide turned. What had started as a one-sided storm of accusations began to collapse. Reason returned, followed by doubt, scrutiny, and the growing realization that something had been deeply wrong from the very beginning.