Chapter 72

They even went all out by dropping all the receipts right there in the comments for everyone to see.

The students who followed Aiden and his crew were all over the comments, insisting it wasn’t them who made those posts and saying there’s no way they’d ever do something like that.

Anyone could tell that someone who hated Natalie or Josie had paid for trolls to do their dirty work.

Josie got more and more excited the more she read, especially when she spotted a post that totally outed the paid posters, complete with all the receipts.

Josie practically leapt out of bed. “Zoey, do you know who this is?”

Zoey yawned as she climbed down from the top bunk. “No idea. What did they say? Let me take a look.”

Zoey continued, “Damn, who is this absolute legend? They just did everything we wanted to do.

“If I’d known someone this awesome was on it, I wouldn’t have even bothered asking Colby for help.

“Seriously, look at how deep they dug. They even found out what department those paid posters are from, what kind of posts they’ve made, and exactly how much they got paid.

“This is next-level stuff!

“You don’t think one of the paid posters is spilling the beans, do you? Maybe Natalie stiffed them on the payment?”

Zoey was so hyped up that she was wide awake now.

“Let me see!” Allison leaned in and skimmed the post.

“So those people really are paid posters? That means Natalie is definitely the mastermind behind this, right?” Allison asked.

Adeline leaned in too.

She said, “Keep scrolling. There’s a link, and if you click it, it takes you to an analysis post.

“The post basically breaks down how, after all this drama, the one who benefits the most is Natalie.

“And check out the comments. People are already roasting Natalie, saying she’s the one who hired trolls to spread rumors about her plagiarism in order to smear Josie.

“Some folks are trying to explain for her, but the second they start, they get instantly shut down by even more people.

“The reasons are actually pretty funny. They’re all saying the school needs to investigate the plagiarism claims, and that’s the only way to clear both of your names.

“Otherwise, stop trying to make excuses for her.”

Josie clicked on the link Adeline mentioned and saw that most of the comments were indeed roasting Natalie.

A person wrote: [What a manipulative witch!]

Another commented: [Pulling the pity card, huh?]

A third wrote: [Talk about the boy who cries wolf!]

Someone else said: [So Natalie really did plagiarize her way into Professor Lawson’s team?]

A person wrote: [If she really did plagiarize, doesn’t that mean Josie was the one who actually deserved to be on the team?]

Another asked: [Seriously? The fake gets to stay, and the real one gets kicked out. Is there any justice left in this world?]

Someone else asked: [Why did nobody look into this back then? Was there some kind of cover-up or what?]

A person explained: [Well, she’s pretty. Of course, pretty girls always get special treatment!]

Another person said, [Poor Josie. Not only did she get kicked out, but now she’s getting dragged and trashed online, too. How can people be so vicious?]

Someone else wrote: [No wonder she chose to leave the team.

[She’d rather go for an unpopular major than stay somewhere she’d always feel wronged. That takes real gut!]

A person declared: [We don’t know the whole story yet, so don’t be so quick to judge. Let’s wait for the plagiarism investigation results before making any comments!]

A lot of people were asking for the authorities to investigate the plagiarism.

A person wrote: [This kind of shady behavior can’t be tolerated. If what the OP says is true, just imagine how many underprivileged students will be discouraged by this!]

Josie’s hands trembled as she scrolled through the posts. She never thought things would go so smoothly.

The whole thing with exposing the paid posters, and even this analysis post, all went off without a hitch.

She realized that there were a lot of decent people out there. People were not going to take Natalie’s side just because she claimed she was right.

This time, Josie was determined to see how Natalie would get herself out of this mess.

Just as she was about to exit the forum, her phone rang. When she saw the caller ID, her heart skipped a beat.

“Are you going to answer it?” Zoey asked, gripping her hand.

Josie hesitated, then turned to wash her face. She managed to pick up just before the call could end. “Professor Lawson…”

Before she could say a word, David’s furious voice exploded from the other end.