The screaming hit like a wall—parents howling over each other, faces twisted, veins standing out in their necks.
"It wasn't our Miriam! Our Miriam doesn't need to cheat!"
"Doesn't need to?!"
Austin Henson's fist clenched and slammed straight into my father's face.
"Ethan just told us—your little brat forced every single one of them! My son doesn't lie!"
The proctors and security guards rushed forward to intervene,
but fifty-six students' parents meant over a hundred people in the crowd.
Before the staff could even get close, the mob shoved them to the edges.
A couple of proctors went down under the crush.
"That little brat had the nerve to buy cheating devices—these two put her up to it!"
Austin's bloodshot eyes swept the crowd as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"I could kill them! These two are the ones who ruined our children! Everyone, hit them!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the wall of bodies surged forward.
Fists and feet rained down on my parents from every direction.
Blood—bright, ugly red—was already spreading beneath them before I could even scream.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
A clear, sharp voice cut through the chaos.
Ms. Simmons was running toward us as fast as she could.
"Stop it! I've already called the police!"
She rushed in and helped me lift my parents, then turned to face the furious crowd.
"What is wrong with you people?! Your children are in trouble and your answer is to beat an innocent family half to death?!"
"Ms. Simmons, you don't know! That cheating device—Miriam forced the kids to buy it!"
The moment Molly saw Ms. Simmons arrive,
she put on a tearful voice and grabbed hold of the teacher's hand.
"My mom's telling the truth, Ms. Simmons. Miriam forced everyone to buy those electronic cheating devices."
"She said she wanted to get into Westbridge but wasn't confident enough, so she wanted to buy them and gamble on it..."
"Hold on!"
Ms. Simmons cut her off.
She pulled her hand free from Molly's grip and looked her dead in the eye.
"Say that again."
"You're standing here telling me Miriam Winfield—forced all of you to buy electronic cheating devices—so she could get into Westbridge?"
"Yes!"
All fifty-six classmates stepped forward in unison, fingers pointed at me.
"Ms. Simmons, Molly's telling the truth! Miriam put us up to it!"
Ms. Simmons's expression darkened.
She climbed onto the steps behind her, face grave, and raised her voice so every person in the crowd could hear.
"Miriam Winfield already received early admission to Westbridge University!"
"She didn't even sit for the national college entrance exam! So you tell me—how did she cheat?!"
