All Chapters of My Best Friend's Betrayal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Cassandra Jones! Look what you did to your classmate!""Are you out of your mind? If you've got problems, go get help. Stop taking it out on people at this school!"The vice principal, John Brown, was practically spitting in my face. I stood there with my hand pressed against my bleeding forehead.I wasn't doing great, honestly.My school jacket was torn to shreds. My back was covered in bruises. And the gash on my forehead, the one a rusty steel pipe had put there, was still seeping blood.Still, I didn't say a word in my defense. I just stood straight and kept my mouth shut.Because thirty minutes ago, Wendy Smith, the most popular girl in school, had cornered my best friend Samantha Lane in a bathroom stall with three of her followers. They'd torn at Samantha's clothes and pulled out their phones to take pictures.I'd heard Samantha's desperate crying and kicked the door open.To buy her time to escape, I'd held all three of them off alone, fighting them with chairs while t

Chapter 2

Samantha's footsteps faltered for just a second.Just one second. Then she walked away without looking back.I made it back to the run-down apartment I rented near school and pulled out my first aid kit on autopilot. I cleaned and disinfected the gash on my forehead, hissing through my teeth as the alcohol hit the wound. The physical pain was nothing compared to what was going on inside my chest.I'd come to this school hiding who I really was. I was a Jones, one of the wealthiest families around. I'd wanted to know what a normal life felt like, so I'd kept that part of myself buried.When I met Samantha, struggling to get by but pushing through school anyway, I made her my best friend.When she couldn't afford the hot meals in the cafeteria, I'd pile extra food onto my tray every day and pretend I couldn't finish it, sliding it over to her. When she couldn't pay for school materials, I'd made up a story about winning a scratch-off and covered it for her. When guys from outside sch

Chapter 3

After a week's suspension, I went back to school.I sensed something was wrong the second I reached my classroom door.I pushed it open and heard a loud crash above me. A bucket of filthy water came pouring down from the door frame. If I hadn't reacted quickly and stepped back at the last second, I would've been drenched from head to toe.Even so, the dirty water splattered all over my pants and shoes.There was a beat of silence, then the whole classroom erupted."Ha! The mad dog's back in her cage! Everyone, cover your noses before the crazy spreads!""Cassandra, you actually showed your face? If I were you, I would've jumped off a building by now!"I lifted my head and looked past the laughing faces to the center of the room.Wendy was sitting at her desk, admiring her fresh manicure without even glancing up.Samantha was sitting in my old seat. She was laughing louder than anyone.When our eyes met, there wasn't a trace of guilt on her face. She pointed a finger straight

Chapter 4

Samuel froze for a second, his eyes darting nervously to the stack of evidence on his desk.He didn't look at a single page. He shoved the whole pile into his drawer and slammed it shut."Enough of this." He slapped his hand on the desk hard enough to slosh water out of his teacup. "Cassandra, are you out of your mind? You think you can walk in here with forged chat logs and smear a good student?""Forged?" I almost laughed. "You can pull the records directly from the phone carrier.""Pull what records? You want me to investigate one of this school's top students over a troublemaker like you? Do you have any idea how much Wendy's father has donated to this school? Do you know Jones Group's executives are coming for the Founders' Day next week? And your little reputation as the school's violent problem student has already done enough damage to our image."I'm making it official. You're expelled. Get your things and get off this campus. I won't have you dragging this school's reput

Chapter 5

My brother, Benjamin Jones, caught something in my voice immediately. His tone shifted, going quiet and cold."Who picked on you?"I didn't answer that directly. I wiped the rain off my face."I need you to look into the principal at Westwood High, and the Smith family, the nouveau riche who clawed their way up. And one more thing."I paused. Samantha's fawning, flattering face flashed through my mind."They want that Jones Group job offer so badly, right? Go ahead and let the school know that for the Founders' Day ceremony next week, Jones Group's top representative will be attending in person to award the exclusive job offer on the spot."Less than three minutes after I hung up, a Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up to the curb in front of me and stopped.The lead bodyguard stepped out, opened the rear door, and bowed low."Welcome back, Ms. Jones."I walked through the puddles and got in.The door closed behind me, and just like that, the version of me that had been foolish enou

Chapter 6

Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "You're going to promote their video for them?""You have to let people get comfortable before you pull the rug out from under them. They love being in the spotlight, so I'll build them the biggest stage they've ever seen. I want everyone online to remember exactly what they look like right now, playing the victims."Benjamin looked at me, reading the coldness in my eyes, and smiled. "Good. That's the Jones family heiress I know. I'll be there with you at the ceremony next week. Right beside you."For the next week, I didn't go back to the apartment. I moved back into the family estate. While I settled in, our PR team quietly stoked the fire online until it was fully burning.Wendy became "the wealthy girl standing up against campus bullying." Samantha became "the resilient scholarship student who refused to be broken." A few small influencer agencies even reached out to sign them.They were getting everything they'd ever wanted. The attention, the ad

Chapter 7

The entire area went silent.Samantha screamed and ducked behind Wendy. Samuel stood there shaking, his finger pointed at me."Y-you brought gangsters onto school property? I'm calling the police. I'll have you arrested!"I stepped around my bodyguards and calmly walked right up to him."Mr. Miller, haven't you been waiting for Jones Group's top representative? That's me. Lead the way. We can start the ceremony."Silence.Then Evan was the first to laugh, cutting through the quiet."Ha! This little delinquent has completely lost it. She actually thinks she's someone important."He walked over, beer belly jutting out first, and jabbed a finger toward my face."Jones Group's representative? You? Do you have any idea what that actually means? I've had drinks with Mr. Moore from their project division. He told me personally that today's guest is a real insider, actual Jones family leadership.""She's insane," Samantha jumped in. "She rented some knockoff designer clothes, hired a

Chapter 8

The stage inside the hall had been set up for an award ceremony. Now it was mine.I sat in the leather chair at the center of the stage, with Jones Group's senior executives standing behind me in a solid line. Below, the press and the entire school population had gone completely quiet. Evan, Wendy, Samantha, and Samuel stood at the front of the crowd like four criminals waiting to hear their sentence.However, Evan still wasn't ready to give up. His hands were shaking as he pulled out his phone and dialed."Commissioner Langley? It's Evan Smith. Yeah, I'm at Westwood High right now. Someone's impersonating a Jones Group executive and coming after me. I need you to step in."I watched him without moving. I even signaled Wayne to let it play out.The voice that came through the phone was rushed and anything but calm."Evan, are you crazy? The Jones Group CEO called me personally. You went after the Jones family's daughter. There's already a task force assembled. They're looking i

Chapter 9

The farce finally came to an end with the arrival of the police.Evan was taken away on the spot, facing serious charges of financial fraud and bribery. Wendy and Samantha were escorted out for questioning on charges of harassment and bullying. The Founder's Day ceremony had turned into the biggest scandal in the school's history.When I walked outside, the rain had stopped. The air was cool and clean.I was heading toward my car when a figure broke free from beside one of the police cars and threw herself at my feet.It was Samantha.Wendy's nails had left bloody scratches all down her face. She was a mess of tears and snot, nothing left of the girl who'd been looking down at everyone just an hour ago."Cassandra, I'm sorry. I swear I mean it this time. Please help me. I still have to go to college. We were best friends, weren't we? I used to walk to school with you every single day. I was always there for you. You're such a good person. You literally put yourself in danger for

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