Chapter 3

Albert and the principal, Jonathan Humphrey, stared at me sternly.

The police officer, Sam Deacon, asked, “Lucy, does this belong to you?”

I looked at Theo.

Theo’s eyes were red, and he looked at me pleadingly. He was confident that I would help him.

We had grown up together. Whenever he ran into any problem, I would help him. He would always look at me with the same expression.

He was still expecting me to save him at such an important examination.

I pursed my lips and shook my head.

“No.”

Theo gasped and roared at me.

“You’re lying! You’re jealous of Flora and me. It’s clearly you!

“Besides… I grabbed your elbow just now. I bet you stuffed that gadget into my bag at that time!”

I looked at Officer Deacon.

“You can retrieve the surveillance footage at the entrance. I did not touch his bag at all.”

Officer Deacon immediately did that.

Theo did not expect surveillance cameras to be around.

He stared anxiously at the screen. When it was clear that I was not the culprit, he simply looked dejected.

“No… It should be Lucy…”

I ignored him. I asked Officer Deacon, “Can I return to the hall now?”

Officer Deacon nodded. I was brought back to the examination hall.

Even though not much time was left, I managed to complete all the questions on time.

Outside the window, I saw Theo being taken away by Officer Deacon. In the past, Flora was the one who had been taken away.

I wondered how Flora would feel when she saw this.

However, it had nothing to do with me.

After the morning exam ended, since my home is close to the school, I went home to rest. When I walked in, I saw Theo’s parents sitting on the couch at my place.

When his mother, Liz Anderson saw me, she immediately stood up with teary eyes.

“Lucy, I’m asking you for a favor.

“The thing in Theo’s bag… Since the surveillance footage only shows the area right in front of the school, there’s still a chance to salvage it.

“Could you please tell the police that you secretly snuck that into his bag while you were on the way to school?

“I’ll give you two hundred thousand dollars. That’s more than enough money for you.”

I looked down and frowned.

In the past, I had helped Theo to escape from his fate. Far from being grateful toward me, they had actually praised Theo when he changed my college application.

“Didn’t she do as expected? Why would you need to be grateful for life?

“Stay far away from her. Don’t ruin your engagement with Flora.”

The Anderson family believed that it was a given that I had to sacrifice myself to help Theo.

“I’m not doing that.”

I freed my arm from her. Theo’s father, Peter Anderson slammed the table and stood up.

“How dare you? Why aren’t you listening to the adults? So what if you get into a good college?”

“I’m building my own future, and I won’t be selling off my future for just two hundred thousand dollars!”

My father put out his cigarette and yelled at me.

“So what if you admit to doing that? It’s not like it’ll have a huge consequence!

“With your ability, you won’t be able to get into a good college anyway. Now, there’s two hundred thousand dollars on the line! Why are you acting this immature?

“How many times do I have to tell you that your younger brother is planning to go into a private high school!”

No huge consequence?

In the past, after I saved Theo, I had lost my life.

“Mom, Dad, I will be able to get into a good college and give you double the amount they’re offering now.

“But I won’t be taking the blame this time.”

I turned around and went into my bedroom.

I flipped my revision book open and put on my headphones so I did not have to listen to their curses.

Very soon, it would all be over.

In the afternoon, Flora stopped me at the school entrance.

“Lucy, why didn’t you help Theo?”

I frowned.

She glanced around as she was afraid others would overhear our conversation.

“It’s not a big deal to take the blame for him. Now, he’s a suspect, and he’ll miss out on the chance to take the examinations. If worst comes to worst, he would go to jail! He won’t even get a fresh start!”

“I’m not the one who caused this,” I calmly answered.

She sounded anxious.

“How could you be so selfish? If he’s jailed, his future is ruined!

“It’s just a matter of taking the fall for him. Don’t you like him? Can’t you sacrifice your future for him?”