Chapter 98

Realizing he couldn’t hide it any longer, Ethan handed his phone to Zinnia. She wasn’t much of a phone person and rarely browsed the online forum.

Ethan reassured her, “Zinnia, don’t worry. We don’t believe what’s in those forum posts. We’ve already stood up for you. If we have surveillance footage, this whole mess will be cleared up quickly.”

Ethan studied her expression carefully. He thought, ‘Clearing her name wouldn’t be hard as long as there was surveillance footage. The truth would come out, just like last time. If we can get the surveillance footage from the Shaw family this time, this can all be cleared up quickly. But given the strained relationship, and since this involves both Zinnia and Betty, they probably won’t hand it over.’

If Ethan could think of it, Zinnia certainly could.

Zinnia calmly handed the phone back to him and said, after reading the negative comments about herself on the forum, she pressed her lips tightly together. “It’s fine. Don’t mind it.”

Lydia scrolled through the online comments, labeling Zinnia as having an arrogant and domineering personality and being scheming. Her pale lips curled into a razor-sharp smile, frost glinting in her eyes.

Lydia looked at Zinnia with concern and asked, “Zinnia, can you walk me through what happened between you and Betty? When and where exactly did it all happen?” She didn’t believe Zinnia could have done such things.

Zinnia met Lydia’s gaze. Lydia’s eyes brimmed with tender concern.

Zinnia wasn’t bothered by the online drama. What truly surprised her was how much they cared about her, despite barely knowing her. They were already so protective.

Zinnia felt a strange mix of emotions. Facing Lydia’s question, she clenched her fists and slowly exhaled, trying to calm down.

Zinnia continued, “July 2nd, 1:30 PM, end of the second-floor hallway. Betty broke the vase. I had stepped out when she deliberately threw it to the floor and accused me of breaking it. She picked that spot on purpose. The cameras probably didn’t catch anything.

“On July 5th, at 9 a.m., Betty went downstairs to pick up the jewelry the store had delivered to Maelis. She knocked on my door and asked me to send it with her. But when we opened the box, the necklace inside was already broken.

“The necklace was intact when it was delivered from the jewelry store. Betty must have broken it when she came to find me, maybe between 9:00 and 9:05 AM.

“On July 15th at 9:23 PM, Timothy returned from the law firm. I had the maid prepare soup. I supervised the brewing and then let the maid bring it to him. But within twenty minutes, Timothy started having diarrhea.

“Betty accused me of drugging Timothy. Somehow, there was white powder at my room door, and the doctor confirmed it matched what was found in Timothy’s soup. It must have happened between 9:38 and 9:41 PM.

“On August 1st at 7 a.m., I was heading out to take the trash when Betty insisted on doing it for me. I refused and took it downstairs myself. But Yosef’s shredded bid documents later turned up in the trash bag in my room.

“On August 5th, after Howard returned home from his race at noon, he told the Shaw family that someone had tampered with the screws on his car. Betty immediately said she saw me near Howard’s car earlier.

“I went to the garden to help Alfred tidy up the flowerbeds. I did pass by Howard’s parking spot, but never actually went near his car. I have no idea when the screws on his car got tampered with. Betty never really guarded against me, so some of her schemes weren’t that well-hidden. But after what happened last time, she must have deleted the surveillance footage.”

They fell silent.

Zinnia recounted incident after incident. With each incident, her disappointment in the Shaw family deepened.

As Zinnia began to speak, they fell silent. After laying everything out, Zinnia felt a weight lift off her chest. Thinking back on all that had happened with the Shaw family, she felt relieved.

“Zinnia,” Maisie said, her heart aching at Zinnia’s calm words. She strode over and added, “Don’t worry, I’ve already called in some favors. I must make Betty pay this time.”

Brian said thoughtfully, “This whole thing was probably deliberately stirred up by Betty’s trick. Someone with an agenda. And if we dig a little deeper, it might even be…”

“Does anyone have a laptop?” Lydia’s expression was gloomy. She took her seat and scanned the classroom with a piercing gaze.

“Here, Lydia. Take mine,” a guy in the back row offered, handing her his laptop.

Lydia took her seat and removed her glasses, revealing a pair of intensely cold, piercing eyes. She typed quickly on the keyboard.

A tech-savvy guy in the class immediately recognized what Lydia was up to and exclaimed, “Whoa, Lydia, you know how to code?”

“Just a bit,” Lydia said coolly, removing her glasses. Instantly, her presence turned razor-sharp, her whole aura suddenly commanding.

“You’re not only doing ace your studies, but you’re slaying at coding too!”

Some students couldn’t take their eyes off Lydia’s flying fingers; it was almost impossible to follow.

Lydia said coolly, “Duane from Class 3. He’s the one who posted on Facebook. Ethan, Brian, go deal with him. Info’s on your phones.”

Lydia’s fingers froze mid-typing as a photo and profile materialized on her laptop screen. With a quick pivot, she angled the screen toward Ethan and the others.

“Got it. We’re on it right away! That bastard is bold, coming after Zinnia again!” Ethan and the others barely had time to marvel at Lydia’s skills. After glancing at the file and memorizing Duane’s details, they grabbed their phones and stormed out.

“Lydia, I had no idea you could have such skills!” a classmate exclaimed.

Lydia was too preoccupied to answer them; her fingers flew across the keyboard.

“Wait, are you hacking into the Shaw family’s surveillance system?“ Zak, who’d lent Lydia his laptop, adjusted his glasses as he watched lines of code scroll rapidly across the screen in disbelief.

The whole class crowded around. Some students got a look at Lydia’s laptop, while others watched her fingers fly across the keyboard.

Those baffled by the code stared at her hands in awe, while the tech-savvy ones were glued to the screen, completely absorbed. Even Zinnia couldn’t help but look over, unable to tear her eyes away.

After a moment, Lydia’s fingers finally slowed and stilled as multiple surveillance feeds split across the laptop screen. Zinnia stared, frozen in shock at what she saw.