Chapter 102
Betty said, โZinnia deserves this! She never should have come back. Iโm the true daughter of the Shaw family. That bitch Zinnia dares to dress our circle? Iโll crush her under my heel. How dare she even think of competing with me?โ
With no one around, Bettyโs eyes flashed with a crazed crimson.
โAnyone who dares challenge me deserves to die!โ Betty seethed inwardly.
โWho wouldโve thought our sweet and gentle Betty could be so vicious behind that facade?โ a cold voice cut in from behind them.
Both of them turned, their gazes icy. Ethan stood there, phone in hand, his handsome face expressionless. โBrian, letโs go,โ he said flatly.
At that moment, Brian, who had been hiding in the study room behind them, came out.
Lydia really had it all figured out, even down to where theyโd be talking.
Before Betty could even react, Ethan and Brian darted past her and raced straight downstairs toward Class 19.
โAnne, youโre in on this too?โ Bettyโs eyes widened in disbelief as she suddenly swung her hand and slapped Anne hard across the face.
Anne staggered back two steps from the force of the slap. They had reached the edge of the staircase.
โBetty, I swearโI had no idea they were here!โ Anne pleaded.
A wave of unspeakable sorrow flooded her, but she swallowed her emotions, stepped forward, and desperately grasped Bettyโs hand, trying to explain.
โGet out of my way, you bitch!โ Betty spat, her eyes icy as she violently yanked her hand away from Anne.
Anne had been standing precariously close to the edge of the stairs. The sudden force sent her reeling backward. She lost her balance and tumbled down the steps, her body thudding against each one.
As she fell, Anneโs eyes widened in terror, her desperate gaze locking onto Betty looming above.
โAnne! Someone, help! Please, help! Anne fell down the stairs!โ Betty screamed, her voice sharp with panic.
Her blood ran cold as she watched Anne tumble down. A cold wave of fear belatedly gripped her chest, her legs turning to jelly as she stumbled down the steps.
She had never imagined Anne would actually fall. Only one thought echoed in her mind, โItโs over.โ
She thought, โThe Carson family would never let me off the hook for this, especially Hugo. He definitely wonโt let it go! Once those online posts surface, the Shaws will realize I orchestrated everything. They hate nothing more than someone scheming against their own.โ
That was exactly why they despised Zinnia because she schemed against them.
She continued to think, โBut if they find out it was me, God knows what theyโll do. They might even disown me completely! Anne must be okay. As long as sheโs fine, sheโll definitely forgive me.โ
Chaos erupted as Anne was rushed to the hospital.
Anneโs fall left her severely injured. Doctors warned she might slip into a vegetative state. Besides her earlier slander of Zinnia, Betty now faced attempted murder charges.
The Carson family immediately called the police. After reviewing the surveillance footage, it was clear Betty had pushed Anne. Police quickly found Betty hiding in the restroom and took her into custody.
She was placed under criminal detention for 15 days, pending whether Anne regained consciousness. During this period, even the powerful Shaws couldnโt get her out.
The Carson family was not to be trifled with. Anne, their beloved heiress, had been pushed into a vegetative state, which sent Daniel into a towering rage. He issued a stark warning, โAnyone who dares plead for Betty will face the Carsonsโ unrelenting wrath.โ
Though not among Jinstonโs absolute elite, the Carsons still wielded considerable influence in the city. The influence of the Carson Family in Jinston was pretty strong too. Even the Shaw family couldnโt afford to act rashly right now.
Especially after seeing the truth of the matter sent to their phones, the Shaw family was in utter chaos and didnโt even know where to start clearing up the mess.
No one expected it was all Bettyโs doing. Maelis was so shocked that she fainted right away.
Yosefโs mind flashed back. Maisie had warned him not long ago that Betty was planning to go after Zinnia again.
Heโd thought his warning would make her back off, but no one could have imagined sheโd bring such a catastrophic disaster upon them all.
With Bettyโs situation resolved and a morning of classes behind them, they were on their way to the cafeteria when they finally got news about Anne.
โI always said Anne would eventually fall victim to Bettyโs schemes. Now Betty wonโt be coming back to school for quite some time,โ someone remarked.
Ethan and the others exchanged looks of dismay when they heard the news.
No one had expected Anneโs condition to be this critical, nor could they believe Betty would actually go so far.
After everything Anne had done for her, they couldnโt have imagined sheโd be pushed down the stairs by the very person she always protected.
โHonestly, weโre partly to blame here. We should visit Anne at the hospital after school,โ Ethan said.
Ethan glanced at Brian with guilt as he spoke.
โYeah,โ Brian replied.
Although they left early, they were still partly responsible. If they hadnโt confronted Betty, maybe she wouldnโt have snapped like that.
They couldnโt stomach what Betty was saying. They didnโt expect her to be so stubborn and out of control. They heard she even slapped Anne across the face.
โI warned her again and again. Betty is bad news, not someone you should befriend. But she just stubbornly refused to listen."
โIf Betty laid a hand on her own family, then itโs no surprise sheโd go after Anne, who sheโs only known for two months,โ Maisie said.
Maisie hadnโt expected things would turn out like this for Anne either. She jabbed at her bread, her irritation clear.
Maisie thought, โIโve known Anne for over a decade. We were never particularly close, but we did cross paths from time to time. She spent most of her life abroad and was gentle-natured, and always easy to get along with before she met Betty. But God knows what tricks Betty used to worm her way into Anneโs life. Ever since then, Anne has become her staunchest defender, almost like a different person.โ
The mood among them was heavy. Everyone looked troubled. Zinnia picked at her bread in silence, listening to their conversation without saying a word.
Zinnia only met Anne twice. Betty was always on her watch list. But hearing about what happened to her brought Zinnia no satisfaction. Zinnia didnโt even know if she could or should help her.
Anne was innocent. She didnโt want her feud with Betty to drag innocent people into this mess.
โEnjoy your food,โ Lydia said calmly and served her some food.
Zinnia nodded softly.
โDamn, Lydia, you were so cool today! Those hacker-level skillsโyou totally blew us away. We never knew you could pull off something like that!โ Ethan said.
Ethan turned to Lydia, admiration shining in his eyes.
The others at the table looked over too, still amazed by the impressive hacking skills Lydia had demonstrated today.
โSelf-taught,โ Lydia said calmly.
Under their curious gaze, Lydia, now wearing her glasses again with her usual quiet grace, meticulously picked out every last bit of lobster shell with calm precision.
Ethanโs jaw dropped. โHoly shit, thatโs insane!โ
Brian chimed in, โImpressive.โ
Maisieโs eyes widened as she gave Lydia a big thumbs up. โLydia, youโre an absolute genius!โ
Lydia was a straight-up genius. She had been hiding these insane hacking skills all along. They had been classmates for two years and had no clue she could pull this off.
For a moment, the three of them all thought the same thing. โDid we ever do anything to piss her off?โ they thought.
With skills like that, if she ever hacked their phones, theyโd be toast. Everyoneโs got some embarrassing crap on the phone.
Lydia wasnโt part of their original friend group. She hadnโt grown up with them.
The school had specially recruited Lydia from another city to boost its reputation, and later, William got her transferred into their class to help improve their academic performance.
After two years as classmates, her grades were exceptionally brilliant. Anyone hoping to pass the finals just needed her study tips, and she always knew what to focus on. This earned her the classโs absolute trust and admiration.
And after seeing what she pulled off today, their admiration for her skyrocketed.
Facing their uneasy stares, Lydia shot them a cool glance. โRelax, Iโm not that bored. I have zero interest in getting arrested,โ she said calmly.
Honestly, sheโd only gotten involved this time because theyโd seriously ticked her off.
Chapter 103