Chapter 244

"What's going on? Why's everyone looking at me with those weird, disgusted looks?" Sylvie wondered.

"What are you all talking about?" Sylvie asked.

The girl closest to her recoiled like she'd just brushed up against something filthy, quickly dodging away in disgust.

"Sylvie, you're seriously disgusting. I can't believe you set up Winifred. You even led the whole posting thing; this was all your scheme from the start. I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you," the girl snapped.

Sylvie was stunned, her heart pounding in panic. She hurried to explain, "No, it wasn’t me. How could it be me? You guys must have misunderstood."

"Misunderstood? The surveillance footage shows everything. You stole Rowena’s necklace and stuffed it into Winifred’s bag," the girl shot back.

Hearing this, Sylvie quickly pulled out her phone, her eyes widening as she saw the flood of videos all over the forum.

This can’t be. How could there be surveillance footage? It must be fake. Yeah, it’s definitely fake. It’s not me. This isn’t me," Sylvie hammered.

Sylvie’s face went pale as she tried to defend herself. I checked that place so many times; there were never any cameras there. Where did this surveillance footage even come from? she thought, panic rising in her chest.

And yet, the video captured her every move in perfect detail.

"It’s fake. It’s not me. I’m not a thief. The thief is Vivian," Sylvie shouted, her voice trembling.

"People like her are just gross. She should totally be expelled."

"Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone so manipulative. And to think I used to be her fan..."

"Pfft, first she plagiarized Winifred’s work, and now she’s framing people? Sylvie is seriously the worst."

"No, it’s not me. It can’t be," Sylvie screamed inwardly, disbelief and panic crashing over her.

Where did that surveillance footage even come from? she thought frantically, only for Winifred’s devilish words to echo in her mind. The game had begun.

Sylvie’s actions sparked a huge public outcry, and the Grant family got dragged into the mess. Their stocks plummeted, and all sorts of dirt and scandals kept surfacing.

Obviously, one could tell the Grant family was being targeted.

Even Triv’s background was dug up, and people started questioning her medical skills.

"What’s so great about this so-called miracle doctor? I met her once, and she was super rude. She acted like she was better than everyone."

"[Same, and I heard she used her position to yell at a nurse until the poor girl cried.]"

"Is she even legit? She totally doesn’t look like it."

Iris was burning with rage as the internet exploded with doubts and criticism. She slapped Sylvie hard across the face and snapped, "Look at what you’ve done, Sylvie."

"Didn’t I tell you to keep a low profile and behave yourself? You’ve completely screwed me over."

Sylvie clutched her cheek, glaring at Iris with defiance. "If you didn’t have something to hide, why are you so afraid of people suspecting you? Iris, you’re no better than me. For all I know, your credentials are fake too."

Iris had always been the so-called miracle doctor, the pride of the Grant family. They were always comparing Sylvie to Iris. If it weren’t for Iris, Sylvie never would have stolen Winifred’s draft in the first place.

Iris raised her hand, ready to hit Sylvie again, but when she saw the hatred burning in Sylvie’s eyes, Iris took a deep breath and let her hand drop.

"Winifred is our real enemy. She’s the reason you got expelled. I’ve got a plan that’ll help you get your revenge and make her pay," Iris said, her voice low and scheming.

Sylvie wasn’t dumb, she knew Iris was just using her as a pawn to vent her anger.

But it didn’t matter. As long as Winifred suffered for it, Sylvie didn’t care what she had to do.

"You want me to make a move during the competition? That’s a public event for the whole city. If I get exposed, my life will be over," Sylvie said, her voice full of doubt.

Iris gave Sylvie a look of disdain. "Just follow my instructions, and no one will ever find out."

After hesitating for a long moment, Sylvie’s eyes burned with hatred.

The Grant family tried everything they could to get rid of the negative press and trending topics, but it was like trying to stop a flood.

Problems kept piling up, and they were so furious with Sylvie that they wished they could just strangle her with their bare hands and be done with it.

Getting expelled from school was bad enough, but now the Grant family had become a thorn in the Hart family’s side.

Calvin’s surgery was a success, and three months later, he was finally able to get out of bed and walk around again.

Jacob sat by the bedside, peeling an orange. "Calvin, thanks for all these years?"

Calvin turned his face away with a cold snort. "So you actually realize how much I’ve suffered! And yet you were busy playing crazy in that psych ward."

"If it hadn’t been for Sienna this time, were you planning to hide out for the rest of your life?"

Jacob let out a wry laugh. "Yeah, that was the plan–hide forever. Turns out, there’s no running away."