The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“Are you out of your mind? When did you see me post those papers?” Hannah chuckled lightly. “And are you even sure you did all those questions yourself?”

The crowd gasped at her words.

‘So rude. How dare she insult Owen?’ they thought.

Owen was momentarily speechless, feeling uneasy, especially with the confident tone she used, as if she saw through something.

“How dare you talk to Owen like that? Don’t you think this isn’t serious enough?

“Even if you didn’t post them, cheating is still wrong. Apologize now.” Dorian shouted at Hannah, then turned and bowed slightly to Owen.

The onlookers whispered and laughed, while reporters wildly snapped photos and recorded videos that were immediately uploaded.

Dorian’s party, meant to show off the family’s glory, had become a ridiculous circus.

The atmosphere was unbearably awkward until Jett arrived after receiving the news and dispersed the crowd. “What are you all doing crowding here? Stop watching and get back to class.”

After the curious students reluctantly left, Jett approached Hannah and Owen. “Owen, Hannah, Mr. Croft is expecting you.”

Owen’s face darkened instantly; he hadn’t expected his father to get involved so quickly.

He shot a glare at Hannah before turning and leaving.

Hannah said nothing.

“Mr. Drumm, I’m Hannah’s guardian. May I accompany you?” Dorian quickly asked.

He didn’t want to defend Hannah; on the contrary, he wanted to push her to take the blame.

‘I absolutely cannot let the Scott family make enemies of the Croft family because of Hannah,’ he thought.

“Mr. Scott, you should deal with your reporters first,” Jett said before leading Hannah away.

Dorian almost had a heart attack thinking about the villa being mortgaged while the reporters still held evidence of the Scott family’s scandal.

He shot a harsh look at Hannah’s retreating figure and thought, I’ll deal with you later.

After everyone left, only Susie remained by the bulletin board, a victorious smile curling on her lips.

*****

In Wolfram’s office, Lyra smirked provocatively as Jett brought Hannah and Owen in.

If Susie hadn’t come to her last night wanting to see Hannah’s test papers and discovered the secret behind them, today’s spectacle wouldn’t have happened.

‘A genius? Just a fraud. She dares to celebrate perfect scores? Enter Class 1? Dream on. Wait for Mr. Croft to personally expel her,’ Lyra thought.

Cavalor valued teaching quality and student conduct above all.

Now that Hannah had cheated and even copied Owen’s test paper, Lyra was certain Wolfram wouldn’t let her off easily.

Hannah was doomed to be kicked out of Cavalor.

“Who did this?” Wolfram, sitting behind his desk, shifted his gaze from the computer screen to the people standing before him.

‘No wonder he’s the dean of Cavalor; his serious and authoritative demeanor is imposing, Lyra thought, shivering slightly at his presence.

“Mr. Croft, regardless of who’s responsible, Hannah cheated on her exams. The media knows.

“For the academy’s reputation, she must be disciplined first,” Lyra said, swallowing nervously.

Wolfram ignored her and asked Jett, “Is the surveillance footage ready yet?”

Jett replied, “I’m working on it.”

Hearing about the surveillance, Lyra felt suffocated; exposure was inevitable. She decided to confess first. “Mr. Croft, I posted the test papers.”

Jett stared at her in surprise; Owen looked at her with a hint of hatred, but Hannah’s expression remained calm and unreadable.

From the moment Hannah entered and met Lyra’s provocative gaze, she had already guessed the truth.

Hannah casually sat down on the sofa, opened her phone, and continued playing a match-three game.

Seeing her disrespectful attitude, Owen felt a mix of disgust and schadenfreude, waiting for her to be scolded.

However, Wolfram seemed not to notice Hannah sitting down; he showed no anger whatsoever.

“Lyra, you’re a teacher; how could you do something so reckless?” Jett asked.

“Reckless?” Lyra laughed bitterly, throwing caution to the wind. “I exposed cheating and upheld Cavalor’s discipline.

“What’s wrong

with that? You’re the one crossing the line, giving me demerits, docking my salary and bonuses, and covering for cheating students. That’s what’s unethical.”

“Giving you demerits was definitely the right call,” Jett said. “You posted the test papers before the investigation was over, and the reporters caught it all on camera.

“You’ve directly damaged Cavalor’s reputation. Your actions were way too extreme.”

“What’s there to investigate? Owen is Cavalor’s top student. Hannah comes from the slums. Who do you cheated and plagiarized? Do we really need an investigation?” Lyra fired back.

“Enough.” Wolfram slammed his hand on the desk.

Lyra opened her mouth to argue, but immediately clammed up alongside Jett.

Wolfram turned to Lyra. “What exactly did you hope to achieve by doing this?”

Lyra’s heart leapt with joy. ‘So Mr. Croft truly won’t tolerate cheating students, she thought.

think

“Mr. Croft, my purpose is simple. As a member of Cavalor’s faculty, I must protect the school’s discipline and dignity.

“Cheating and plagiarism must be eradicated, and students who violate the rules should face strict punishment,” Lyra declared with conviction, standing tall and proud.

Wolfram nodded. “Cheaters must be punished.”

Those words echoed in Owen’s ears, causing his heart to skip a beat. “Dad-”

“You address me as Mr. Croft at school,” Wolfram said sternly.

“Okay, Mr. Croft,” Owen replied.

“Bow.” The authoritative command made Owen’s legs tremble.

Lyra’s excitement grew. ‘Mr. Croft is righteous; he’s angry. Hannah is doomed,’ she wondered.

The next second, Owen bowed solemnly.

Lyra and Jett were stunned.

“Owen, why did you bow? Shouldn’t it be-” Lyra turned to look for Hannah, only to find her calmly sitting on the sofa, playing on her phone.

Jett looked puzzled.

Though he thought Lyra’s behavior was extreme, he still believed the cheater was Hannah, after all, she came from the underprivileged slum with limited educational resources.

“When did this all start?” Wolfram asked gravely.

Owen stared painfully at the floor, eyes red, lips moving but no words coming out.

“Are you mute now?” Wolfram snapped.

“F-five years ago.” Owen finally looked up, face timid.

Wolfram raised his hand as if to strike, but thought better of it with others present and lowered it.

He sighed in disappointment, “You’ve truly let me down.”