Chapter 326 Trevor Gets Scolded Harshly
Chapter 326 Trevor Gets Scolded Harshly
Amelia froze the instant Dorian's words sank in.
She followed the direction of Dorian's pointing finger, her eyes narrowing as a shadow crossed her face.
The first photo in that Instagram post—hell, not just the first one, but the first three—had clearly been taken from a hidden vantage point.
Amelia recognized them immediately. Yesterday at lunch, when she and the three professors had gone out to eat, someone had captured the moment she and Trevor stood talking on the sidewalk. Someone had been watching.
In the first shot, Trevor held a debit card and an elegantly wrapped blue gift box, extending both toward her.
The second showed her after she had opened the box, holding up a star-shaped ornament of blue crystal, tilting her head back to examine it in the sunlight.
The third caught Trevor standing far too close—at least in the way the frame was composed—smiling as his hand reached toward her hair.
Whoever had taken these photos hadn't been far away, and they had used professional equipment.
Even zoomed in several times, the details was disturbingly sharp. You could make out the bank's logo on the card without squinting.
In all three photos, she wore her Prestige High School uniform, unmistakably marking her as a student. Even though her face had been blurred, the mosaic couldn't hide the unique features of her body shape and the way she carried herself.
The remaining six images were screenshots, forum posts, and chat logs from an anonymous tipster, all supposedly backing the allegations against Trevor: that he suppressed colleagues within Aurora College, he forced students to do what he wanted, verbally attacked anyone who disagreed with him, and used special admission opportunities to target underage girls.
"Those first three photos are definitely me," Amelia said, drawing a deep breath before meeting Dorian's eyes. "That was yesterday at lunch. Professor Lewis and I were photographed outside the restaurant."
"I knew it was you, Amelia," Dorian replied at once. "Even with the pixelation, the moment I saw these were taken yesterday, I knew that girl had to be you.
"After all, those three professors came to the school yesterday morning specifically to see you. If Professor Lewis met privately with a girl from our school at lunch, it couldn't possibly be anyone else."
She paused, her brow furrowing. "But Amelia, what's the deal with that card and the gift? And Professor Lewis, he actually touched your hair."
"I'm not saying it was wrong," she added quickly, "It's just that I thought yesterday at school was the first time you'd ever met him. I didn't know you two already knew each other so well."
Amelia kept her tone steady. "Professor Lewis and I are well acquainted. We've met several times before. That card and gift were already mine. He was simply returning them as a favor.
"As for touching my hair, I had just laughed at something, and he was pleased to see it. He hoped I'd smile more often. It was entirely the kind of affectionate gesture an elder might let someone younger have it, nothing more.
"I see." Dorian exhaled, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "The problem is, people online don't know the truth, and they're not going to see it that way.
"The angle of these photos was calculated, deliberately chosen, I'd say to make Professor Lewis's smile look predatory.
"You're pixelated, framed as the vulnerable victim, so naturally the internet rallies to protect you. Nobody's trying to identify you, and nobody's attacking you. In fact, when someone tries, other users shut them down.
"But Professor Lewis? From the moment this story dropped until now, he's been absolutely torn apart."
Dorian scrolled down and tapped into the comment section.
The top few comments alone had tens of thousands of likes.
First: [Grooming a minor? Doesn't matter if you're a professor or a national scholar, straight to prison.]
Second: [Trevor? You mean the Trevor who worked on the NVE vaccine earlier this year? I thought he was one of the most respected figures in science, turns out he's just a wolf in sheep's clothing.]
Third: [Aurora College, the school that claims to have the fairest admissions process, now has a professor accused of using a special slot to groom a minor? If Aurora College doesn't remove Trevor, their reputation will crash sooner or later.]
Fourth: [The professor who got blocked from promotion was treated horribly, the students who were allegedly bullied were treated horribly… and that high school girl? She's underage, with no real-world experience. If Trevor dangled a special admissions offer along with money and gifts, how could she say no?]
One user claimed to work in Aurora College's admissions office and said they'd seen no application from Trevor for any recommendation slot, hinting the girl might have refused.
This detail brought brief relief to some commenters, but the backlash that followed only grew worse.
[A fifty-something single man? Either celibate or a creep; Trevor might be both.]
[I remember in an interview he said he never married because he was too focused on research.]
[Same here! Back then I thought it was dedication. Now it's just ironic, no interest in marriage, but plenty in teenage girls. Disgusting.]
[Exactly. A man in his fifties preying on seventeen-year-olds? Revolting.]
The comment section slid further into vulgarity and bile.
This single exposé had destroyed Trevor's decades long reputation overnight.
Even casual observers felt compelled to join in, as though hurling insults proved their virtue.
Amelia scrolled through the comments, inhaling deeply as her grip on her phone tightened.
The modern internet thrived on mob mentality.
Whenever news like this broke, even if the headline said "allegedly," countless people appointed themselves judge and jury.
Rumors spread at lightning speed, covering the country overnight. Lies took seconds to type, while correcting them took enormous effort, and most people didn't care about the truth.
After all, typing a few lines cost nothing, and behind online anonymity, they could vent without consequence.
They stood on moral high ground to judge others, chasing the rush of validation.
"This isn't what happened at all," Amelia said. "Those accusations against Professor Lewis are the opposite of the truth.
"I'm going to create an Instagram account and set the record straight, at least about the claim that he used a special slot to prey on an underage girl."
She picked up her phone, but Dorian's mind raced and she reached out to stop her.
"Wait, Amelia. If you speak up anonymously, people won't believe you. They'll think you're hired to whitewash his reputation.
"But if you reveal your identitywell, Professor Lewis did plan to give you this year's recommendation slot, didn't he?
"Even if you refused and say yesterday's card and gift were already yours, you still can't prove he didn't try to use the slot to influence you.
"Right now, emotions are running high. They think they're defending you. But if you defend him, they might turn on you."
Amelia stilled.
She had to admit Dorian was right.
She didn't care if people attacked her, but Dorian's warning made her realizecoming forward now wouldn't prove Trevor hadn't tried to use the slot to manipulate her.
Trevor had genuinely intended to give her that slot.
To prove it was for legitimate reasons, the explanation had to come from Trevor himself.
"I need to call Professor Lewis first and find out what's happening on his end."
Amelia forced herself to calm down and dialed Trevor's number.