Chapter 3

I grabbed the bucket of filthy water, which reeked of mold and stale grease, and headed downstairs.

The moment I pushed open the stairwell door, several cameras were shoved right into my face.

Ava's eyes lit up the moment she saw me. She pinched her thigh hard, then came rushing toward me with tears streaming down her face.

"Zane Sinclair! You finally showed your face! Give me back the three years of my youth!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Behind her, a heavily tattooed guy named Ethan Carson raised his microphone and shouted, "Guys, the scumbag is here! Get a good look at his pathetic face!"

I didn't waste a word on them. My arm muscles tensed as I swung the bucket toward Ava and the group of influencers.

The filthy water flew through the air and drenched them all.

Ava took the full force of the splash. Dirty water streamed down her hair and into her eyes. Her mascara ran down her face, making her look like something out of a horror movie.

To make matters worse, a few soggy vegetable leaves clung to her spaghetti straps.

The influencers holding the equipment weren't spared, either. Water seeped into their ring lights. The lights crackled with an ominous electrical buzz, then began to smoke and short-circuit.

"What the heck! How dare you throw water on me!" Ethan roared. He wiped a handful of muddy grime off his face, clenched his fists, and charged toward me.

I grabbed the iron shovel leaning by the stairwell entrance and slammed it against the ground.

"Come on! I dare you to take one more step!" I snapped. "You're trespassing on private property and causing a public disturbance. If I beat you to death right now, it'll count as self-defense!"

I glared at Ethan. My sudden move caught him off guard, and he froze in his tracks.

Ava shrieked and pointed an accusing finger at me. "Zane, have you lost your mind? Hundreds of thousands of people are watching this livestream, and you actually dare to hit a woman?"

She turned back to her phone, her voice rising into an ear-splitting screech.

"He's going to hit a woman! Look at this abuser!"

The comment section erupted, but I couldn't have cared less.

Just then, sirens wailed in the distance. Two police cars pulled up at the entrance to the apartment complex.

Several officers marched toward us, their expressions stern.

"What's going on here? Who called the police?" one of them demanded, scanning the scene.

I immediately dropped the shovel and pointed at Ava.

"Officer, these people have been making a racket and disturbing the residents. They've also been spreading lies about me online and damaging my reputation," I said calmly.

The moment Ava saw the officers, she slipped right back to her usual helpless, pitiful act. She covered her face and burst into tears.

"Officer, please don't listen to him!" she sobbed. "We're just a couple going through a breakup. He looked down on me because I didn't get into college. Not only did he dump me, but he also threw filthy water all over me!"

Ethan quickly chimed in. "That's right. It's just a lovers' quarrel. We're her family. We're here to stand up for her."

The officer frowned as he looked at the mess scattered across the ground and the crowd of onlookers.

"Even if this is a personal dispute, you can't go around causing a scene like this! All of you are coming to the station so we can sort this out!" he snapped.

At the police station, I insisted that they open a case and investigate Ava for defamation.

However, Ava stubbornly refused to admit any wrongdoing. She claimed the caption on her video was just an emotional outburst and argued that she hadn't mentioned me by name.

Without clear evidence that her post amounted to defamation, and with no financial losses to point to, the police could only give them a verbal warning.

The moment we walked out of the station, Ava dropped her helpless act. She stepped closer to me and lowered her voice.

"Zane, are you getting mad already? The real show hasn't even started," she murmured, her voice dripping with malice.

"Believe it or not, all I have to do is shed a couple of tears, and those idiots online will tear you apart. I'm going to turn you, the top scorer, into a public enemy. I'll make sure you never get into university," she added, sneering.

I stared at her twisted, greedy face without flinching.

"Go ahead," I replied.

Then, I walked away without looking back.

That evening, a heavily edited version of the video showing me throwing water on Ava shot to the top of the trending charts.

The caption read, "Top scorer exposed as a violent lunatic? Female victim doused in filthy water and threatened while seeking justice!"

The comment section erupted into chaos.

Overnight, tens of thousands of self-proclaimed do-gooders launched a frenzied doxxing campaign against me.