The situation escalated unexpectedly.
The largest meeting room in the school was crowded with people.
The principal, vice-principal, head of education, and class teacher.
Reporters from various newspapers.
Both the Daugherty and Burke families’ parents were present. The Burke stood protectively next to Asia, who was tear-stained, in a corner of the meeting room, looking aggrieved and furious.
The Daughertys, initially, upon receiving the call about my situation, did not want to come.
But when they heard that even the newly appointed director of the Education Bureau was present, they rushed over hurriedly.
J City No. 1 High School was the best high school in the city and served as a model institution for the Education Bureau.
Mr. Gu clearly had a prior relationship with the director of the Education Bureau. As soon as he entered, he approached the director and smoothly said:
"This is such a trivial matter, yet you’ve been bothered."
"It’s really just a conflict between kids…"
But the director of the Education Bureau was completely unswayed:
"President Daugherty, bullying is never a minor issue."
"I know that Destiney is your daughter, but every child here is a student, a sapling. I cannot allow them to grow crooked."
Having said this much, Mr. Daugherty found it inappropriate to continue and could only force a smile. "Yes, yes, we’re not sure what happened. Please conduct a thorough investigation."
Back next to Mrs. Daugherty, the two exchanged a silent glance.
I understood.
If it were confirmed that I had bullied others, the Daugherty Family would immediately abandon me, their adopted daughter with whom they had little emotional connection, and cut ties with me.
Even the Daughertys held such attitudes, let alone Cayden…
He stood next to Asia, who was sobbing continuously, whispering words of comfort and occasionally lifting his dark eyes to give me a cold glance.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the principal addressed Asia:
"Asia, please tell us what happened."
Asia raised her tear-streaked eyes and repeated what she had said to Cayden in a low voice.
The reporters were already indignant.
One of them began, "Through our preliminary investigations, we found that Destiney and Asia were once friends at the same orphanage and used to refer to each other as sisters."
"Later, Destiney was adopted by the Daugherty Corporation, while Asia’s adoptive parents were merely ordinary school employees."
"Destiney, does being adopted into a wealthy family give you the right to bully your former friend and steal opportunities that rightfully belong to them?"
There was a silence.
The reporters’ eyes were fixed on me, and the red lights of the cameras blinked incessantly.
Everyone was eager to uncover a sensational story.
After all, this was a highly sensitive social issue. In today’s society where social classes are increasingly solidified, if children from wealthy families continue to take educational resources that should belong to poorer students, blocking their paths to advancement, it could generate significant public outrage.
Not to mention, the protagonists of the news event were me and Asia, a dramatic contrast in characters.
In the office where you could hear a pin drop, I suddenly laughed out loud, the sound abrupt.
The reporters exchanged puzzled looks.
"Guys, I read that information obtained by journalists needs to be cross-verified and fact-checked."
"How is it that in order to rush out a sensational story, you can skip the necessary steps in your work?"
For a moment, the reporter’s face turned red.
I stood up and pointed at Asia coldly:
"The only source of information is her, and all the information comes from her side of the story."
I looked at Asia, who was pale from crying.
I did consider you a sister.
But in the previous life, you killed me out of jealousy.
In this life, you try to climb by framing me.
If I ruin you, you brought it upon yourself.
"Since the journalist is asking me now, I’ll tell you what I know."
"Asia envies me. She believes that we started out the same, and she considers herself prettier and smarter than me, so why am I now living a better life than her?"
"Driven by envy, she fabricated this story to frame me."
Upon hearing this, Cayden immediately refuted:
"But…"
He meant to say that Asia had chosen the poor family willingly.
So, she couldn’t possibly be someone who resents the poor and loves the rich. My claims were clearly a distortion of the truth.
But before he could finish, the door to the principal’s office was suddenly thrown open.
Standing outside the door was a slim figure with short hair, quiet, like an unnoticed weed.
Our class teacher recognized her. "Claire? What are you doing here?"
In the previous life, Claire had already committed suicide at this point.
But in this life, she had survived.
Step by step, Claire came inside and stood next to me.
She whispered, "I’m here to testify."
