Chapter 553:

“What did he say to you?” Corrine’s voice was steady, but there was an edge to it.

She did not need to clarify who she referred to, but Natasha understood.

“The Holland family offered me compensation—money and an apartment—if I dropped the lawsuit and let Clarissa off the hook,” she said, her lips curling into a faint smile.

Corrine’s eyes darkened, her expression tightening.

“Did you agree to it?”

“No.” Natasha let the answer linger in the air before adding,

“As the trusted aide of the heiress of the Ford family, such trivial offerings do not interest me.”

A small, approving smile flickered across Corrine’s lips.

“It’s just a shame we won’t get to see Clarissa and Leah tear each other apart,” Natasha mused.

Corrine turned to the window, her gaze distant but sharp.

“It’s not a shame,” she said, her voice calm yet calculating.

“Clarissa will not take this loss quietly. But before she moves, we need to ensure the fire is already burning.”

An hour later, a post went viral online.

It featured a middle-aged couple who had been silently protesting outside Pinetree High School for five years, braving the scorching sun, bitter cold, and relentless rain. Public attention swarmed the post.

Then, an insider stepped forward to reveal the story behind it.

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Five years ago, a senior at Pinetree High School had jumped to her death. At the time, the tragedy was blamed on academic pressure—a young girl crushed under the weight of expectations.

But her parents never believed that explanation. While sifting through her belongings, they found a suicide note.

The truth that followed was gut-wrenching. The police uncovered that she had been relentlessly bullied for a year.

She had sought help from her teachers, only to be brushed off—her suffering dismissed as mere childish cruelty, nothing serious.

That indifference had given the tormentors free rein. The abuse escalated.

And when she could take no more, she ended her life.

Even after the truth surfaced, the school refused to bear responsibility.

They pinned the blame on a single student, who was seen as a troublemaker, and expelled her—conveniently washing their hands of the scandal.

The real perpetrators walked free. A young life, full of promise, was forever frozen at seventeen.

Leah’s expression darkened as she scrolled through the post, her grip tightening around her phone.

Then, her screen lit up with an incoming call. Jocelynn.

She swiped to answer.

“Leah, have you seen the trending post?”

“I have,” Leah said coldly, a dangerous gleam flickering in her eyes.

“What on earth is going on?” Jocelynn’s voice wavered.

“Was this not buried years ago? Why is it suddenly resurfacing?”

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