Chapter 2

After watching the interview, people online started praising Terence, saying he had saved someone without caring about fame or money and deserved special consideration.

Some even argued that top universities should give him guaranteed admission on the spot.

But Terence seemed to underestimate how messy public opinion could get.

Before long, people dug up Kendall's identity.

[That's the Lawsons' daughter, right? Isn't she supposed to be some academic genius?]

[Exactly. My son said the teachers all expected her to be valedictorian material. So why does she just happen to fall into a river on the day of the SAT?]

[Do you think maybe that rich-girl image was fake all along? She couldn't cheat on the SAT, panicked, and staged the whole thing herself.]

[Honestly, that makes sense. If she wants to ruin her own life, that's her business, but pulling an innocent student into it, too? Classic rich people behavior.]

That was exactly the kind of reaction I had been waiting for.

Sure enough, after I put my phone away and looked up, I spotted members of the Lawsons' security team nearby. They had people combing through the area around the bridge where Kendall fell into the river.

The Lawsons were obviously in a hurry to clear Kendall's name. How long could Terence keep what he had done hidden?

But he was too busy living inside his fantasy to realize the Lawsons had already started suspecting him.

At noon, I was studying in my bedroom when Terence suddenly shoved my door open with a smug grin.

"Hey, did you see the news?"

I didn't even look up. "Yeah."

He let out a snort and started bragging in a shrill voice.

"You have no idea how famous I am right now. Who even cares about the SAT anymore? My future's already set."

As he spoke, he yanked the textbook out of my hands and sneered at me.

"What's the point of people like you, who study your whole life just to get good grades? You should learn from me. I don't even have to try anymore. I'm basically guaranteed admission to a top school already!"

Dad was in the living room cutting fruit for him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Good job, Terence. We're proud of you."

In my last life, overhearing their conversation was how I discovered Terence's plan in the first place.

Dad and my stepmother, Melanie Read, hadn't just supported it; they praised him for being clever.

Thinking about that made me laugh under my breath. "He's your wife's kid, not even your real son. What exactly are you proud of?"

Dad immediately kicked my bedroom door hard enough to rattle the frame, then slapped me across the face.

"You're exactly like your dead mother. Always acting like you're better than everyone else!

"If your mom hadn't trapped me into marrying her with that pregnancy, Melanie never would've ended up married to an abusive man and suffered all those years!

"Everything I do for Terence is making up for what your mother owed her!"

A dull ache twisted in my chest.

Even on her deathbed, Mom was still worried about whether he would remember to eat properly after she was gone.

I never imagined this was how he saw her.

Melanie shot me a smug look. "He's obviously jealous of Terence."

Then her voice rose even higher.

"Kendall is the only daughter of the Lawsons. Terence saved her life. The Lawsons are definitely going to be grateful to our family. Forget guaranteed admission. Maybe they'll even marry Kendall to Terence someday to repay him."

The more Terence listened, the brighter his eyes became.

He shoved past me with a smug laugh.

"When I become the Lawsons' son-in-law, maybe then you'll finally understand."

Hearing that made me clench my teeth.

I snatched my book back from him.

"She crossed that bridge every day for three years without a problem, but suddenly she falls into the river on SAT day?" I said coldly. "Do you think the Lawsons are idiots? You should stop celebrating already. Once they find out…"

Before I could finish, Dad kicked me hard in the leg.

Furious, he ripped off his belt and started lashing me with it.

"You really can't stand seeing Terence do well, huh? Now you're talking crap about him, too? I'll knock some sense into you! I'm telling you right now. If you run your mouth about this outside this house, you're dead!"

The belt split the skin on my arms and legs almost instantly. Burning pain spread through my entire body.

How ridiculous.

He pitied Terence and Melanie for suffering abuse, then turned around and beat his own son.

I stared straight at him. "Go ahead, then. Kill me. You could beat me to death, and I still wouldn't stoop as low as you people."

Melanie pointed at me furiously. "I told you years ago to get rid of him! Look at him now. He's got the nerve to talk back!"

I laughed and spat blood onto the floor.

"I was never really part of this family, anyway. You only kept me around because Grandma was sending you money every month."

Dad clearly hadn't expected me to know that, and he definitely hadn't expected me to say it out loud.

His face was red with rage as he grabbed my stuff and flung it out the front door piece by piece.

"Get out! From today on, you're not my son anymore! When we're officially tied to the Lawsons, don't you dare come begging me for anything!"