Chapter 221
“They tried to cover it up, but people still tab,” lina said with a serious look. The fory in her eyes was obvious. “Some people are saying Qulana committed suicide because she was being bullied”
People were saying the bully was ve
However, Tina wasn’t sure. That was why she had been secretly looking into it, but hadn’t found anything solid yet.
Emily’s expression grew tense as she was suddenly reminded of wilsat Quiana had said to her on the rooftop before she jumped, he said, “vonne destroyed me. She ruined my life”
Emily’s chest tightened so much she could barely breathe, “Yvonne really drove Quiana to suicide, someone must have spoken up. There’s no way a whole school could be blind to that kind of bullying”
Emily was in the same grade as Quiana and Yvonne, but growing up spoiled by the Bennett family had made her too proud to fit in. That was probably why she never heard anything about Yvonne bullying people.
However, the moment she woke up from her coma, she told Andrew what Quiana said before she died and asked him to tell the others.
Emily’s heart suddenly dropped: She thought, ‘Damn, Andrew always cares about the Bennett family’s reputation than anything else of course, he wouldn’t touch a scandal like this”
Back then, she trusted him too much and never even considered that he wouldn’t help.
Tina didn’t know any of this. Seeing how pale Emily looked, she hesitated before saying “The school strictly forbade anyone from talking about it. And didn’t want to stir things up too soon.
“They say Quiana’s grandma made a scene about it, but after that, no one else brought it up. That poor old lady eventually disappeared.”
Emily wasn’t surprised. She already knew what kind of person Andrew was, but still, the disappointment stung
Seeing Emily’s face so tense and her not saying a word, Tina asked with concem, “What’s wrong?”
Emily shook her head, saying nothing. She pulled herself together, looked at Tina, and said, “I’ll take care of the rest. Don’t get involved anymore.”
The Zwick family wasn’t quite on the Bennett family’s level, but Walter got lucky years ago with a diamond deal and ended up thy rich. Since then, their family had made it into Cloudridge’s upper class.
People like Tina, from a normal family, wouldn’t stand a chance going up against them.
Emily didn’t spell it out, but Tina understood what she meant. Honestly, she felt Emily had already done plenty for her friend. No one would blame her for letting it go now,
Even Tina, as an outsider, knew that Emily was no longer the pampered heiress of the Bennett family. Taking on the Zwick family now would be nothing short of reckless.
However, Emily’s eyes held a quiet determination, untouched by fear of what her choice might cost her. And at that moment, Tina finally understood why Louisa always liked her so much
With that thought in mind, when she got home and saw Louisa hunched at the computer with her glasses slipping down, she didn’t feel annoyed like she usually did.
Even though Louisa had already resigned, she still couldn’t let go of the fact that Steven had destroyed the evidence. Therefore, whenever she had time, she would dig through her devices and accounts, hoping to recover what was lost.
It wasn’t easy it took her two years before she finally found a clue.
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Chapter 221
Louisa was so desperate for leads that she contacted almost everyone connected to Emily When that didn’t work, she started digging through thri social media and even paid shady sources for private photos and videos of their daily lives.
Because of these actions, when someone anonymously accused her of harassing students, she had no way to defend herself.
Louisa went over countless videos and photos over and over again,
he end, she found a clue in something posted by one of Emily’s old roommates.
In a video the girl had posted, there was a quick flash of Emily drawing at her desk. When Louisa paused and zoomed in, she could make out part of the drawing. It was a peacock.
From the composition to the style, it was obvious this was the very piece Emily had once submitted, the one everyone had accused her of copying.
However, the video’s timestamp showed it was recorded shortly after Emily started college. It was earlier than the date Lydia had claimed she created
The Disheartened Peacock.
Finding that plece of evidence thrilled Louisa more than winning the lottery. She rushed to Steven with it, only to be met with a response she never saw coming.
Now that all the drama had died down, Tina figured Louisa should probably let it go, no matter how much regret or unwillingness she still felt inside. However, seeing how tirelessly Louisa had been digging through all those devices and accounts, Tina realized she hadn’t.
She thought of Emily, who had poured her soul into honoring her friend’s last wish. She had been forced to flee abroad after being labeled a plagiarist, and even after returning, people still macked her.
All of a sudden, Tina felt it just wasn’t fair that Emily had to go through all this,
Tina hesitated for a moment, watching Louisa, but instead of stepping into stop her like she usually did, she just turned and headed straight to her bedroom. She sat down at her desk and opened the bottom drawer to pull out a USB drive.
The black USB looked ordinary enough, but Tina’s eyes were filled with hesitation and conflict. She thought, ‘Should I hand it over?”
After saying goodbye to Tina, Emily went straight back to the Bennett residence. She hadn’t been back much since Bob’s accident, but there were still a few things she needed to pick up. She waited until the afternoon to avoid bumping into anyone.
At this time of day, Gale and Andrew were usually at work, Emma and Lydia out shopping or at the spa, and Lucas off somewhere with his friends.
Emily quickly gathered her things and was about to leave when she ran into Lucas. His face was pale, and the looked totally out of it.
Emily barely glanced at him before walking right past. She treated him colder than a stranger because to her, that was exactly how things should be between her and the Bennett family,
However, the moment Lucas saw her, he rushed over at once, “Emily, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t know you-
AD
