Chapter 5

I didn't call the police right away.

I knew that against a powerhouse like the Howards, if the evidence wasn't airtight and absolute, they would easily slip away.

I called Chloe out of school for three days and kept her at home.

The moment we got home, I contacted an old friend from my journalism days—a highly skilled ethical hacker.

I sent him the IP address of the cloud transmitter card and asked him to track where the uploaded videos were going.

But while I was frantically gathering evidence, a muffled scream came from Chloe’s bedroom.

I burst inside. Chloe was staring at her phone, shaking like a leaf in autumn, tears streaming down her pale face.

"Chloe, what's wrong?" I asked, grabbing the phone from her hands.

It was her class Snapchat group.

Stephen had posted a heavily pixelated screenshot.

Even though the critical areas and her face were blurred, the tear on the school blazer in the photo was unmistakable. Chloe had accidentally torn it a few days ago, and everyone in class knew it.

Stephen: [Wow, someone acts like a saint in class, but turns out she’s quite the wild one in private. ]

Boy A: [Damn, Stephen! You got the good stuff! Send the unblurred version!]

Boy B: [Honestly, she's so flat. Waste of data.]

Girl C: [Omg, disgusting. I always knew she was a fake.]

The group chat exploded with vulgar jokes, disgusting comments, and malicious rumors.

Ms. Gable, the group administrator, did absolutely nothing to stop the cyberbullying. Instead, she posted a cold, formal announcement.

Ms. Gable: [Everyone, focus on your midterms. Do not discuss non-academic matters here.]

[Also, certain students need to reflect on their own behavior. There is no smoke without fire. Don't bring shame to our class reputation.]

On the surface, she was telling everyone to stay focused. In reality, she was throwing Chloe to the wolves.

Chloe stared at the screen, her face completely drained of color. She couldn't even cry anymore.

She looked entirely broken, sitting on the edge of the bed with hollow, empty eyes.

"Mom... why are they doing this to me?"

"I didn't do anything wrong. I just went to the restroom..."

"How am I ever going to show my face again?"

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart and thrown into boiling oil.

I grabbed her phone and recorded a voice note straight to the group chat.

"Stephen Howard, this is cyber harassment and distribution of explicit material of a minor. I have documented everything. Get ready to go to prison!"

The group chat went dead silent.

A second later, a direct message from Stephen popped up.

[Who do you think you're scaring? My dad plays golf with Deputy Chief Paul of the city police. Go ahead and report it, see what happens.]

[If you go to the cops or say another word to anyone, the unblurred, high-def version of Chloe will be on every site in this state by tomorrow morning.]

[Get Chloe ready to be famous! ]

Pure, unchecked arrogance.

This was the power his family’s wealth gave him—the belief that he could stomp on anyone's dignity without consequence.

I took a deep breath, turned off the phone, and looked at Chloe.

I walked over, cupped her cold cheeks, and forced her to look me in the eyes.

"Chloe, listen to me."

"You did nothing wrong. The ones who are wrong are that predator, the disgusting bystanders, and the corrupt teacher covering it up."

"The more you hide, the more they laugh. The more you fear them, the worse they will get."

"We are not running away."

Chloe shook her head violently, her eyes filled with terror.

"No! Mom, please, I don't want to go back there!"

"They’ll laugh at me! I'd rather die!"

I pulled her into a tight embrace, my tears finally slipping down.

"Don't worry. Mom is here. Even if I have to tear the sky down, I will not let them hurt you."

"Go change into your uniform. We are going to school right now."

"We are going to take back your dignity, proudly and publicly."