Chapter 53

Alex's words made me second-guess myself. Returning to the dorm, I immediately reopened the Hastings Group recruitment website. Sure enough, there was an opening for an office assistant—one I'd slightly overlooked. Had I really missed this before?

That evening, the university swiftly released a video clearing my name, officially stating I had been falsely accused. However, the response wasn't what I'd hoped for.

"Who are these people?" Lila fumed, pacing angrily. "They're saying the university is biased?"

I listened to her rant while checking the video's comments. As expected, they were flooded with hate. I frowned and set down my phone; I lacked the energy to engage.

A few days later, Lila woke me, shaking me frantically.

"What's going on, Lila?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes. I'd been up late studying for three nights and had barely slept four hours.

"You need to check the internet!" she cried, close to tears. "Someone posted a video of Julian proposing to you and your rejection! And… and that photo Kevin edited!"

I took her phone and watched. The video, clearly recorded on-site, showed Julian's proposal and the obscene photo Kevin had edited. Worst of all, it cut off right after I confronted Kevin, leaving enough ambiguity to fuel further speculation.

"Who is this woman? Why is she acting so entitled?" one comment read.

"Seriously. That poor barista who liked her got investigated and threatened," another replied.

"Rich people these days, huh? They can investigate whomever they want. What chance do regular people like us have?"

The hate comments were worse than before. I groaned. The incident had happened so suddenly; after all this time, I couldn't track down the original surveillance footage.

Defeated, I flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. Then, my phone rang. It was Mom.

I hesitated before answering. "Hi, Mom."

"Serena, are you okay? I saw the news online. Is it true?" Her voice was full of concern.

"Of course not," I said quickly, my voice trembling slightly. Hearing her voice brought a wave of emotion I couldn't hold back.

"I knew it," she said with a relieved sigh. "My daughter would never do something like that. What's happening now?"

"Well," I hesitated, then decided to be honest. "I'm still trying to find evidence to prove the truth. But it's been so long, I don't even know if I can." Honestly, I didn't feel confident.

There was muffled conversation on her end before Mr. Hastings Senior's voice came through.

"Hey, Serena, it's me."

"Mr. Hastings Senior?" I asked, confused.

"Serena, do you have any leads on this yet?" he asked, cutting straight to the point.

I shook my head. "Not yet."

"If you're struggling, you should ask Alex for help. He's got a lot of people working for him. He'll find something. There's always a trail if you look hard enough."