Chapter 357

The school would have to handle this with the utmost seriousness.
The Dean of Students pressed her lips into a thin line, hands clasped behind her back as she fixed Emily with a cold, almost cutting gaze.
“The administration’s decision is this: you must publicly share all your social media accounts, issue apologies to Isabella Austin on every major platform, and, in your statements, make it clear that the school had no involvement in this incident. You need to say these were entirely your own actions, independent of the school, and that any consequences are solely yours to bear—no blame on the school or anyone here.”
Not that the Dean needed to say it-Emily Blair had already decided she’d distance herself from the school as much as possible.
But apologizing to Isabella Austin…
Emily listened in silence, her face and eyes utterly unreadable, so calm she seemed almost detached-a bystander in her own life. Her voice was steady, almost icy: “Is there anything else you need me to do?”
For a moment, the Dean’s gaze softened, tinged with pity and regret.
Anyone paying attention could see the truth: in this entire spectacle between Emily Blair and Isabella Austin, Isabella was far from innocent. In fact, to put it bluntly, Isabella was the only one truly at fault—she’d manipulated public opinion to paint herself as the victim.
When Isabella’s plagiarism was exposed, she’d immediately shifted the spotlight to her “voluntary” decision to relinquish her Starlight Piano Competition trophy, making sure the media splashed the story everywhere. The drama over the trophy quickly eclipsed the plagiarism scandal.
Then, Isabella announced she was suffering from depression. The combination of abandoning the trophy and her illness drew all public attention away from her wrongdoing, replacing outrage with sympathy and concern.
And through it all, Emily Blair had been utterly blameless.
She was, in truth, the only innocent party.
Yet it was Emily who became the target of Isabella’s manipulation, her name dragged through the mud again and again by waves of online slander.
Now, the innocent was being forced to apologize to the one who had wronged her. The cruelty of Isabella’s schemes was on full display.
Anyone with a sense of justice could see what was really happening-but those people had no voice online. The narrative belonged to Isabella Austin and, more importantly, to Andrew Lane-the man whose influence could sway the entire conversation in Isabella’s favor.
Against Andrew Lane’s power, Emily Blair didn’t stand a chance.
Her only mistake was not having someone like Andrew Lane in her corner.
So she lost, completely.
Reflecting on this, the Dean felt a flicker of compassion for Emily. “Emily, we’ve already prepared the statement for you. As long as you cooperate with our requirements, the school will consider a serious disciplinary note instead of expulsion. That way, you can stay enrolled and continue preparing for your college entrance exams.”
With that, she handed Emily a sheet of paper, densely filled with text.
Emily took it and lowered her eyes, reading carefully.
Expulsion?
Ms. Carter, who had followed Emily in, gasped in shock. Without thinking, she blurted out, “How can you expel her? Emily’s about to take her college entrance exams—you know how important those are! Expelling her now would ruin her future!”