Alex''s words made me second-guess myself. When I got back to the dorm, I


    immediately reopened Hastings Group''s recruitment website. Sure enough, there was an opening for an office assistant.


    I frowned slightly. Had I really missed this before?


    The university acted quickly. By that evening, they released a video clearing my name, officially stating I had been falsely used. But the response wasn''t exactly what I had hoped for.


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


    I listened to her rant while pulling out my phone to check thements for myself.


    Just as I had expected, thement section of the video the university posted was flooded with hate. I frowned and set the phone down. I didn''t have the energy to deal with this right now.


    A few dayster, L woke me up again, shaking me frantically.


    "What''s going on, L?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes. I had been upte studying for three nights straight and had barely managed four hours of sleep.


    "You need to check the inte!" she cried, on the verge of tears. "Someone posted a video of Julian proposing to you and your rejection! And... And that fake photo Kevin edited of you as well..."


    I took her phone and watched the video.


    The video was clearly recorded on-site. It showed Julian''s proposal, along with the obscene photo Kevin edited.


    The worst part was that the video was cut right after I confronted Kevin and forced him to admit the truth, leaving enough ambiguity to spark even more discussion.


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


    "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 regr people like us have?"


    The hatements this time were worse than before.


    I frowned. The incident had happened so suddenly back then. After all this time, there was no way I


    could track down the origin way I


    surveince footage.


    Defeated, I flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling.


    Then, my phone rang. It was Mom.


    I hesitated for a second 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 be honest. "I''m still trying to find evidence to prove the truth. But it''s Censo long. I don''t even know if I


    can."


    Honestly, I didn''t feel confident with what I said.


    There was some muffled conversation on her end before Mr. Hastings Senior''s


    voice came through the phone.


    "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 for him. He''ll find


    working


    something. There''s always actrail if you look hard enough."