<b>Chapter 176 </b>
Author’s POV:
Dominic and Archer Sullivan escorted Catherine through the side entrance of the administrative building. Their faces were grim, matching the stormy clouds gathering outside. Catherine walked between them, her designer heels clicking against the marble floor, chin held high despite the circumstances. Her Burberry coat was immacte, not a wrinkle in sight, as if she were attending a business meeting rather than facing consequences.
President Thornton sat behind his desk, fingers steepled, his expression severe. The deep lines in his forehead had deepened further since this morning. Chase stood by the window, arms crossed, his normally yful demeanor reced by cold anger. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.
The door had barely closed when a frantic student burst in, eyes wild with panic. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he rushed toward Catherine, shoving a ck bank card into her hand.
“Take it back! All of it!” he shouted, voice cracking. “You need to tell them this was all your idea. I’m not going down for this! I don’t want to get expelled. Please!” His hands shook violently, desperation emanating from every pore.
Catherine shrieked, jumping backward as if she’d been burned. “Get away from me, you freak! Don’t touch me!”
Dominic and Archer quickly stepped between them, Archer firmly guiding the student back while Dominic kept a vice–like grip on Catherine’s arm. The student struggled against Archer’s hold, nearly hyperventting.
“That’s enough,” President Thornton said, standing with authority. “Young man, please wait outside. We’ll deal with your situation separately.”
After the student was escorted out, his sobs still audible through the closed door, Dominic turned to Catherine, his face flushed with anger.
“You still won’t admit it?” he growled, fingers digging into her arm. “Look at what you’ve done! That boy’s academic career is ruined because of you!”
Catherine’s eyes narrowed, a practiced look of innocence washing over her features. “I told you it wasn’t me, Daddy. I’m being set up.” She shot a venomous nce toward Chase. “That Morgan girl is obviously trying to frame me because she’s jealous of me.”
Chase let out a short, harshugh from his position by the window, “Frame you? Please, Jade doesn’t even care enough about you to bother. Who exactly do you think you are?”
“We have proof,” President Thornton said quietly, his voice carrying more weight for its softness.
Chase pushed off from the window, pulled out his phone and ced it on the desk with a decisive tap. “Jade hacked into the campus coffee shop’s security system. We have footage of you meeting with that kid, handing him money, and giving him explicit instructions on what to post.”
8:16 Thu, Sep <b>25 </b>
…
<b>97 </b>
The color drained from Catherine’s face as the video yed, clearly showing her passing an envelope to the student, their conversation caught perfectly by the audio. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into her palms as she watched herself being exposed.
“So what if I did it? Catherine suddenly snapped, her voice rising to a near–screech. “I only told the truth! Everyone knows she’s being kept by some rich guy. I just made sure people were talking about it. She deserves to be exposed!”
Dominic’s hand came down hard across Catherine’s face. The p echoed through the office like a gunshot, silencing everything else. A perfect red handprint bloomed on her pale cheek.
“She is your cousin!” he shouted, his voice breaking. ‘Conrad’s daughter. Your blood! How dare you spread these filthy lies about your own family!”
President Thornton’s eyes widened in shock. ‘Conrad Sullivan’s daughter? The Conrad Sullivan?” He looked startled by this revtion.
Catherine’s hand went to her reddening cheek, her eyes filled with tears <b>of </b>shock and rage. “So what if she <b>is</b>? She’s still trash from the slums. She’s still sleeping her way to the top. Her voice took on a mocking tone. “She even had the nerve to im she’s with Ethan Haxton! Can you believe that? As if someone like him would look twice <b>at </b>gutter trash like her. She’s ruined now, and you want to bring her into the Sullivan family? She’ll drag <b>us </b><b>all </b>down with her pathetic lies!”
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8:17 <b>Thu</b>, <b>Sep </b><b>25 </b>
Badass in Disguise