Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 316

As soon as Lucinda finished talking, Cameron stepped in, his voice steady. “There’s no need for that.”

“But what about your sister…”

Kylie looked at Lucinda, trying to reassure her. “Lucinda, your sister earned her spot fair and square. She’s not the type to be shaken by online gossip. We’re just furious that people are slandering her like this. It’s honestly disgusting.”

Garrett scoffed. “They’re spreading lies without a shred of proof. Someone’s definitely stirring things up behind the scenes, probably paid for some fake accounts to make it worse.”

Cameron’s eyes grew cold, his tone sharp. “I’ll get someone to look into this. Whoever’s spreading rumors and saying Lydia cheated, they’re going to regret it.”

Lucinda couldn’t believe it. The whole internet was in chaos, yet Cameron, Kylie, and Garrett were still rallying behind Lydia, refusing to back down.

Well, they could fool themselves for now. Once the school revealed Lydia’s awful grades, Lucinda wondered how long they could keep pretending.

“Final exams matter a lot. We need to find out the truth and make those people apologize to Lydia. She deserves her name cleared,” Mr. Norwood said, looking just as angry.

Lucinda hurried over and gently rubbed his back, trying to calm him.

“Grandpa, please don’t get too upset over all this. These rumors can’t touch us. Dad, Mom, Garrett, and Lydia will figure out a way to set things straight.”

Mr. Norwood took a slow breath and gave Lucinda a grateful look. “I’m all right. This isn’t even that hard to solve. All we need is the surveillance footage from Lydia’s exam and everyone online will have to shut up.”

Cameron nodded. “I’ll contact the school right away.”

Lucinda pretended to look anxious and picked up her phone. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Wait… Lydia’s homeroom teacher just posted something.”

Mr. Norwood immediately asked, “Did she speak up for Lydia?”

Garrett had already seen Ms. Santoro’s post, and his face grew even more serious.

Right underneath were Lydia’s usual test scores, mostly in the two or three hundreds. She’d never even come close to a perfect score.

There were also screenshots from the class group chat.

[This is a joke! Perfect scorer? More like top slacker. Lydia really has some nerve.]

[Seriously, we’re in the same class. We all know her. A perfect score? She’s acting like we’re all stupid.]

[Her grades are always terrible, worse than mine. Now she’s the top scorer? Someone definitely leaked the test. This needs to be investigated!]

[I can’t believe it. Now everyone online thinks Silverpine High is full of cheaters, and we’re all getting dragged down with her. How does someone who never studies suddenly get a perfect score?]

[Lydia doesn’t even join the class group chat. She ignores all the homework and assignments. How does someone with that attitude end up with a perfect score?]