Chapter 6

Early the next morning, a harsh notification sound from her phone woke Adela up.

She grabbed the device from her desk.

The school's anonymous gossip app, GossipHive, showed over a hundred new alerts.

The number one trending post was a blurry photo of Adela standing in the banquet hall last night in her wet clothes.

The caption read: "The evil fake princess went crazy with jealousy and pushed her sweet sister into the pool."

The comment section was flooded with students cursing at Adela and demanding she be expelled.

Adela touched her forehead. It was still burning hot, and a dull, throbbing ache hammered against her temples with every heartbeat. She swallowed hard, tasting the metallic tang of blood from her cracked lips.

The corner of her mouth twitched into a cold smirk.

She did not break down and cry like she used to.

She opened the backend terminal on her phone.

Using the elite engineering skills from her past life, her fingers moved rapidly.

In exactly three minutes, she traced the poster's hidden IP address.

The data pointed directly to Tiffany, the head cheerleader and Kalyn's most loyal follower.

Adela saved the screenshot of the IP logs.

She changed into her crisp, pressed school uniform and walked out the door.

She stepped into the wide, marble-floored hallway of her elite prep school.

The moment the students saw her, they scattered like she had a disease, whispering and pointing at her back.

Adela kept her eyes straight ahead.

She walked to her locker and punched in her combination.

Tiffany marched down the hall, flanked by three other girls, looking aggressive.

Tiffany slammed her hand hard against the metal locker next to Adela's.

The loud bang echoed down the hall.

"How do you even have the nerve to show your face here, you attempted murderer?" Tiffany mocked loudly.

The students in the hallway stopped walking.

Several people pulled out their phones, ready to record the fight.

Adela slowly placed her textbook into her backpack.

She turned around.

Her throat was raw from the fever, making her voice raspy, but it carried a piercing weight.

She called out Tiffany's full legal name.

Adela shoved her phone screen directly into Tiffany's face.

The screen displayed the exact IP tracking data and Tiffany's hidden account details.

Tiffany stared at the screen.

All the color instantly drained from her face.

Adela took one step forward, invading Tiffany's personal space.

She lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear.

"If you do not delete that post and issue a public apology in the next ten minutes," Adela whispered.

"I will send the bank transfer records of you buying the SAT answer keys last month directly to the admissions office."

Tiffany's pupils shook violently.

She stared at Adela in pure terror, realizing the girl standing in front of her was completely different.

Adela took a step back, her voice returning to a normal volume.

"Now, move out of my way," Adela commanded.

Tiffany jumped backward like she had been burned, crashing into the student behind her.

Under the shocked stares of the entire hallway, Tiffany frantically pulled out her phone and started deleting the post.

Adela didn't even glance at her.

She grabbed her backpack and walked toward her classroom.

The hallway was dead silent.

Every single student was paralyzed by the freezing, dominant aura radiating from Adela.