Chapter 3
Monday arrived.
Madison had barely finished reading her self-criticism when the school forum exploded.
A user called Ethan’s Wife began posting nonstop.
“Ethan wore a white shirt today. So handsome.”
“Want to lick.”
“Want to lick.”
“That idiot Madison. Why is she so close to my boyfriend?”
“Ethan and I are childhood friends. I’m Mrs. Lane’s handpicked daughter-in-law. Does she really think she can compete with me?”
The attached photos were even worse.
Private shots of Ethan eating, sleeping, wearing a tank top, all taken from intimate angles, all obviously taken inside his home.
The posts were written in a way that made it painfully clear they were trying to frame me.
The clues weren’t subtle.
They were practically a confession written in neon.
The student next to me gave me a thumbs-up.
“Holy crap, Lily. You’re bold.”
Another leaned over his desk. “This is insane. Academic love really is more dramatic.”
Soon afterward, the homeroom teacher called me to the office.
Mrs. Lane and Ethan were already there.
The moment she saw me, Victoria Lane lunged to her feet and raised her hand.
Before the slap could land, my father caught her wrist.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He pulled me behind him.
The teacher sighed heavily.
“You know about the forum posts, right? This is having a terrible influence. And Ethan’s grades have already been affected.”
Ethan glanced at me, his eyes dark.
“Lily, what’s the point of doing this? I don’t like you at all.”
Hearing that only made Mrs. Lane more certain.
“I knew it. I knew you had bad intentions. First the lingerie, then this disgusting nonsense online.”
Both my parents spoke at once.
“Our daughter would never do that.”
I placed a hand on my mother’s arm, then stepped forward.
“Teacher, these posts have spread all over the school. The impact is huge. This is cyber harassment and defamation. We should call the police and have the IP traced. Whoever posted it should be arrested.”
Mrs. Lane froze.
Then, to my surprise, she nodded fiercely.
“Yes. Call the police right now.”
That was when Ethan finally lost color.
“We can’t call the police.”
His voice cut through the room sharply.
Mrs. Lane turned to stare at him. “Ethan?”
He avoided her eyes.
“We’re classmates. If this gets bigger, it’ll affect my studies even more. Let’s just drop it. I promise I’ll rank first in the grade next time.”
Mrs. Lane looked at him suspiciously.
Then she looked at me.
Then finally, grinding her teeth, she left.
My parents followed the teacher back inside to discuss the situation.
Only Ethan and I remained in the hallway.
He leaned down and lowered his voice.
“What’s wrong with you lately? Changing seats, fighting people, and now you want to involve the police? Do you have to make trouble for me?”
I laughed.
“Get one thing straight, Ethan. We’re ordinary neighbors. Your mother falsely accused me. You gave false testimony for Madison. And now you want to frame me for the forum posts. Am I not allowed to fight back?”
His face turned iron blue.
He had no answer.
As I walked past him, he grabbed my wrist.
“Lily, you weren’t like this before.”
I looked at his hand on me and felt nothing but disgust.
“Ethan, I used to think you weren’t this kind of person either.”
This time, I shook him off.
And I didn’t look back.
But Mrs. Lane still didn’t trust me.
She installed surveillance cameras in the hallway to monitor when I came home.
She stalked every one of my social media accounts.
If I posted anything about going out, she would screenshot it and message my mother to ask whether I had dragged Ethan along with me.
My mother endured it for my sake.
I didn’t.
Friday evening during study hall, I glanced toward Ethan’s seat.
He was absent again.
People said he’d taken sick leave, but Mrs. Lane was the type who would drag him to school unless he was literally dying. I didn’t believe for a second he was actually sick.
I took out my phone and snapped a panoramic photo of the classroom.
Ethan’s empty seat sat in the lower left corner.
Most people wouldn’t notice.
But I knew one person would.
I posted it with a caption:
Another day of hard work studying. When will the SATs finally come?
Less than ten minutes later, hurried footsteps echoed down the classroom hallway.
Victoria Lane burst inside, panting.
“Where’s Ethan?”
I didn’t even lift my head.
“No idea. Mrs. Lane, maybe you should check wherever fewer people are around.”
For half a second, she froze.
Then something seemed to click inside her mind.
Her expression changed.
And she ran.
I rose slowly and walked to the window.
From there, I watched her disappear toward the far end of the field, toward the small grove behind the gym.
A moment later, a piercing scream split the evening.
It was the sound of a woman’s reality shattering.
I didn’t rush out with everyone else.
I simply capped my pen, closed my book, and watched the reflection in the classroom glass as dozens of students abandoned study hall and poured outside like a swarm.
Ten minutes later, security guards dragged two disheveled figures out of the bushes.
Ethan and Madison.
His white uniform shirt hung open halfway down his chest, covered in dirt and leaves. His belt was undone.
Madison was sobbing uncontrollably, skirt twisted high, hair wild with twigs and sweat.
Mrs. Lane wasn’t screaming anymore.
She was hyperventilating.
Then suddenly, she lunged straight past Ethan and wrapped both hands around Madison’s throat.
“You little slut! You ruined my son! You ruined him!”
It took three male teachers to pry her off.
Madison collapsed, coughing up blood, a dark bruise already blooming along her neck.
And Ethan?
He stood there and watched his mother try to murder his girlfriend.
He didn’t step in.
He didn’t say a word.
The cowardice was so familiar it made me sick.