Chapter 9

Demetri Anderson POV:

The screen flickered, displaying grainy security footage from USC. My stomach dropped. It was the cafeteria. The infamous incident.

And there she was. Claudia. Not as the tearful victim I remembered, but as a calculated puppet master. I watched in stunned silence as she deliberately bumped into Josie, spilling a cup of coffee on herself, then immediately dissolving into theatrical sobs, pointing a finger at Josie. It was a staged performance, a chillingly precise act of manipulation.

My fiancée. My heart hammered against my ribs, a dull, sickening thud. The woman I was supposed to marry.

Beside me, Claudia's face drained of all color. She stammered, pulling at my sleeve. "Demetri, no! This isn't... it's doctored! It's a fake!"

Jordan, calm and collected, addressed the camera. "This footage is directly from the university's untouched security archives. It's authenticated. Unlike some other... fabricated narratives." Her gaze, sharp and knowing, flickered to Claudia.

Claudia's breath hitched. The live chat, already a torrent of speculation, exploded. The viewer count skyrocketed.

OMG! Claudia is a liar!

It was all fake? I can't believe it!

Demetri, what do you say to this? Your fiancée is a fraud!

Claudia's eyes darted around frantically, searching for an escape. She tried to force a smile, her voice trembling. "Everyone, please, there's a misunderstanding. This is a cruel attack! Josie is just trying to-"

Jordan cut her off, her voice ringing clear. "Do you want to know the real story? The full, unedited truth about how Claudia Vazquez built her entire career on a foundation of lies and destroyed an innocent woman's life?"

The chat boiled over. YES! TELL US! WE WANT THE TRUTH!

Claudia, her face contorted with panic, suddenly lunged at Jordan, trying to push her away from the microphone. "Get out of here! You slut! You're lying!"

Jordan, surprisingly strong, held her ground, keeping Claudia away from the camera. "I'm not going anywhere. The truth needs to be heard."

"Claudia!" I roared, my voice echoing through the studio. My carefully constructed world was crumbling around me. "Let her speak! Tell us what happened!"

Claudia shrank back, her eyes wide with fear, her body trembling. Her gaze flickered to mine, filled with an uncharacteristic vulnerability.

Jordan, seizing the moment, continued speaking directly to the camera, her voice unwavering. "Claudia Vazquez fabricated the entire bullying incident. She orchestrated it because she was pathologically jealous of Josie. Josie had everything Claudia craved-popularity, talent, and my best friend, Demetri." She paused, letting the words sink in. "Claudia framed Josie, manipulating the situation to make it appear as though Josie had severely hazed her. This led to Josie's expulsion from USC. It led to her losing her scholarship, her future, and ultimately, a devastating argument with her parents that ended in their tragic deaths."

My blood ran cold. Parents' tragic deaths. The argument. The phone call. You screamed at them, made them upset, and then they crashed! It's all your fault, Josie! I hate you! Bennie's words. Josie's desperate, angry phone call where she'd said my 'justice' had killed her parents. It wasn't just a bitter accusation. It was the truth.

Claudia's face was ashen, her lips moving silently, no words coming out.

"And it didn't stop there," Jordan continued, a fierce anger in her voice. "Claudia then used this fabricated trauma to launch her career as a 'trauma influencer' and author, monetizing her lies while Josie was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. She even went so far as to ensure Josie had to publicly apologize for something she never did." Jordan's voice rose, filled with righteous indignation. "Tell me, Claudia, do you feel any remorse? Any shame for what you did to Josie? For forcing her to grovel for your lies, even today?"

The live chat was a firestorm. Accusations, denunciations, a chorus of outrage swelling against Claudia.

Claudia's head snapped up. Her eyes, filled with a desperate plea, fixed on me. "Demetri, please... it's not true! You know me! You believe me, don't you?"

My heart was a block of ice in my chest. The woman I had loved, the woman I had sworn to protect, was a monster. A liar. A manipulator. All the 'evidence' she had presented, her tearful stories, her delicate fragility-it was all an act. A performance to destroy Josie and elevate herself.

My gaze was cold, empty of all emotion. "Get out, Claudia." My voice was a low, dangerous growl. "I'm disgusted by you."

Claudia's eyes widened in horror. "Demetri? But we're... we're engaged! You can't just-"

"I would never marry a woman as despicable as you," I spat, the words tasting like bile. I stood up, pushing my chair back with a violent scrape. "Our engagement is off. Don't ever speak to me again."

I turned, walking away from the shattered remnants of my illusions, from the woman who had poisoned my life and Josie's.

"Demetri, no!" Claudia screamed, scrambling to her feet. "Please! Don't leave me! We're meant to be! I love you!"

I didn't look back. There was nothing left for me there.

Behind me, I heard a sickening thud. Claudia had collapsed. Jordan's voice, calm and efficient, called for an ambulance. But I kept walking. The air in the studio felt toxic, filled with the stench of lies and betrayal.

Outside the building, the crisp air did little to clear my head. My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone, my fingers fumbling as I tried to dial Josie's number. It was the old number, the one I had memorized long ago. The one I had called in anger, in frustration, in disappointment. Now, I called in desperation.

The line rang once, twice, then an automated voice cut in. The number you have dialed is currently unavailable.

An icy tendril of despair snaked around my heart. Unavailable. She was gone.