The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218 This Is A Lie

wat off. Her eyes nanowed slightly as she koked up from her phone got turned.

spamicked aga

Natalie caught her reaction, but she had no idea who Emma was

Emma wasn’t sure if it was Natalie’s sharp, cold stare of her own quilty conscienc tumed to run away

panicked and im

Natalie watched Emma bolt, then just looked away, unfazed

Just then. Milo called “Boss, we’ve tracked down the people from Greenstone Alley. The one behind it is Emma goes to your school”

Natale said, “Send me the info.”

Milo replied. “Got it.”

After hanging up, Natalie opened the file Milo sent her. When she saw Emma’s photo, her brows shot up

Natalie had absolutely no clue who Emma was. She’d never laid eyes on herf

She put her phone away and continued walking toward the classroom.

Natalie had classes all afternoon, going straight until nine at night. After her second class, she had an hour and a half for dinner

To keep things simple, she chose a cafetería right on campus.

This was her first time eating there, and it was the dinnertime rush. The place was packed with people.

Natalie looked around, but there were no seats available. Just as she was about to leave, someone called out to her.

“Natalie! Over here!”

She turned and saw Ryan and Evan waving frantically at her from a table not far away.

They were still in their basketball team jerseys, clearly fresh from practice.

Natalie nodded to acknowledge them, then headed to the least crowded counter to grab some pasta and carried it over.

She sat down next to Ryan, her tray loaded with scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried broccoli, and a bowl of assorted

soup.

Ryan glanced down at her tray and frowned. “Natalie, is that all you’re eating?”

Natalie picked up her fork and nodded. “I’m not really hungry.”

Ryan slid his plate of barbecue pork ribs over to her. “Here, try some of this.”

Then he handed her the tomato dish as well. “And have some of this, too.”

Evan pushed his plate of Banoffee her way. “Natalie, you gotta try this. It’s super crispy today.”

Ryan gave Evan a side-eye, his expression screaming, ‘Dude, I’m her brother, that’s my job. Why are you butting in?” Evan snickered, raising his brows with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Natalie stared at the pile of dishes that had suddenly appeared in front of her, her fork hovering in the air, hesitating to dig

After a brief pause, she picked up a piece of braised pork rib and took a bite, then tried some Banoffee, and finally scooped up a forkful of tomato.

Seeing her actually eat everything, Ryan and Evan exchanged satisfied glances and started digging into their own pasta Halfway through his pasta, Ryan suddenly paused, looked up at Natalie, and said, “Natalie, from now on, why don’t you have dinner at the cafeteria every night? I always finish practice around this time, so we can eat together.”

Evan jumped in, “Yeah, sounds great!”

Natalie blinked and said, “I only have evening classes tonight this week.”

Ryan made a face. “Okay, fine.”

“Do you have any classes tomorrow morning? Successfully unlocked! un!” Evan looked at Natalie with an eager grin.

Natalie replied, “Nope, but I still need to swing by campus.

Ryan took a bite of his pasta. “What are you coming to campus for? Going to the lab?”

Natale shook her head Nope, I’m hers to settle suns scores.

Back in class Neale had gone through Milo’s file and suddenly spotted a name that rang a bell it hit her, the person who

her of cheating on the SAT at the opening ceremony was actually Emma’s close friend.

She never said she’d just let it side. Just because she hadn’t made them pay yet didn’t mean she’d forgotten or forgiven Rumors were way too cheap. Anyone could throw out a he like “she cheated, then just walk away without a care, leaving the target to face all the whispers and dirty looks alone.

She had nothing against them, but they kept messing with her over and over Tomorrow, it was time to settle everything, old grudges and new.

Ryan paused mid-bite, his fork hovering in the air

“Settle scores? What are you talking about?” he asked.

Natalie just smiled. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

The next morning, around ten, in the Redvale University Library auditorium.

Emma was about to give an important speech in the competition to become the school’s outstanding student representative. School leaders, professors from every department, and some well-known figures from Harbor City’s education world were all in attendance.

Backstage, Emma clutched her speech. She’d revised it more than twenty times, and took a deep breath.

This was the opportunity she’d spent the whole semester preparing for. If she got selected, her name would go up on the honor roll, and it would mean everything for her applications to foreign universities.

Amid applause, Emma walked onto the stage with a smile and a quick bow, then stepped up to the podium.

“Good morning to all the leaders, teachers, and my fellow students. I’m Emma Archer from the School of Law.

“Today, I want to talk about a hot topic in public administration, the role of transparency in government decisions and how it helps build public trust.”

She spoke with confidence, tossing out stats and real-world examples like it was nothing. People in the audience started scribbling notes.

She caught the principal in the front row giving her a subtle nod, and the dean of the Law School, shot her a look of approval.

Emma was feeling pretty pleased with herself as she moved to the next slide, completely unaware that the mood in the audience had shifted. People started whispering to each other, their eyes fixed on the screen.

Emma’s stomach sank as she spun around. On the giant screen behind her was a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat. [Get some reliable people. Do it tonight.]

[Relax, I’ve already got the crew ready. They’re all experienced.]

[Rape her, then ruin her face. Make sure the photos are clear. I want her so destroyed she can’t stay at school anymore.]

ľ [When it’s done, you’ll get the rest, 150 thousand dollars, every penny.]

[Will do!]

This was the WhatsApp conversation between Emma and the fixer, hard evidence, right there for everyone to see. Emma went white as a sheet. ‘Impossible! I deleted those messages ages ago. How did they end up on the big screen?’ she thought, panic flooding her chest.

She jabbed desperately at the presentation remote, but the slide wouldn’t budge. She was completely powerless.

“Hey, that profile pic looks just like Emma’s WhatsApp avatar. I recognize it.”

“That’s hers, for sure!”

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