Chapter 330 Still Willing to Defend Him?
Chapter 330 Still Willing to Defend Him?
Jenny had nerves of steel.
She swallowed the curse that had been on the tip of her tongue, keeping her tone even so Saul wouldn't sense anything amiss.
Hearing Saul insult Amelia — the daughter she loved as her own — made Jenny's blood boil. She was fiercely protective of her children, and right now she wanted to reach through the phone and wring his neck. But when she caught sight of Amelia gently shaking her head and pressing her hand, she forced herself to tamp down the rage.
She made her voice sound casual. "No problem. When you come over, I'll keep Amelia locked in her room so she won't bother you."
Saul had always despised Amelia, and he still nursed a grudge over the humiliation at the piano competition.
Hearing his own sister share his contempt for that hillbilly stepdaughter pleased him immensely.
"Sounds good," Saul said easily. "I've got a flight back to Border Ridge City the day after tomorrow, and I'm tied up tomorrow morning. I'll come by tomorrow night."
"Perfect," Jenny replied without hesitation. "We'll be waiting for you."
Saul had agreed to come tomorrow evening. Whatever happened, at least this would move things forward and give Trevor some answers.
Amelia felt a small measure of relief.
After dinner, Michael headed back to the office while Amelia returned to her room to wash up and rest.
She never expected that just after ten o'clock that night, a call from Dorian would shatter the calm.
The news on the other end of the line made Amelia sit bolt upright in bed.
"Dorian, what did you just say?"
She gripped the phone, her voice sharp with shock.
"I said I just saw a report that Professor Lewis was taken in by the police tonight."
Dorian's voice carried the same disbelief.
Amelia forced herself to stay calm. "What exactly happened?"
Dorian began to explain.
"This morning's article claimed Professor Lewis used a special admission slot to manipulate an underage girl — meaning you. In the comments, someone from Aurora College's admissions office said they had no record of Professor Lewis submitting any special admission slot this year. Since there was no slot submitted, that means you never accepted one, so there was no manipulation and no harm done. People were still ripping into Professor Lewis online, calling him mentally disturbed, morally bankrupt, unfit to teach. But it stayed at that level. Then tonight, someone posted anonymously on Aurora College's internal forum. She claimed Professor Lewis called her to his office and sexually harassed her, and that he tried to rape her. She said someone walked in at just the right moment, which stopped him. Afterward, he threatened her to keep quiet or she'd never graduate. She said seeing the news about Professor Lewis manipulating a minor gave her the courage to come forward with her own story. She's calling for Aurora College students and the public to see Professor Lewis's true colors. She wants the school to strip his distinguished professor title and fire him."
Dorian's tone grew heavier. "Once that post went up, this stopped being about questionable ethics. It became attempted rape. Aurora College's forum exploded. Hundreds of students signed a petition condemning him. Some went straight to the River City police to file reports. I'm guessing the police brought him in to calm things down. Whether it's true or not, they had to investigate to keep the situation from getting worse."
Amelia drew a deep breath. "...One anonymous post with zero actual evidence, and everyone just believes it?"
"Because Aurora College's forum is restricted to current students. Outsiders can't even access the site, let alone post. Even alumni are locked out. So this anonymous person has to be a current student. Aurora College is one of the top universities in the country. The students are the best and brightest from every province, generally high-quality people. What female student would trash her own reputation by making something like this up? What would she gain? What makes it worse is the account was deleted shortly after the post went up, and the post disappeared too. That made even more people believe she was being threatened by Professor Lewis, which is why people reported him to the police."
While Dorian was talking, Amelia used her backup phone to call Trevor.
As expected, it went straight to voicemail. The phone was off.
Trevor must already be at the police station.
She hadn't expected things to spiral this badly, this fast.
The situation was moving too quickly. She couldn't wait until tomorrow night to confront Saul.
By tomorrow night, God knows what new accusations might surface.
This whole mess started with a few stolen photos of her and Trevor, but those photos didn't tell the real story.
Now that Trevor had been taken in by the police, she needed to speak up and set the record straight before people paint him as a predator targeting underage girls.
She made up her mind. "Dorian, I want to post on Instagram right now and explain the truth about those photos and the admission slot."
She didn't expect Dorian to pause for several seconds, her tone turning deadly serious.
"Amelia, you need to think this through. First, people online might not believe what you say. Second, right now you're on the outside looking in. The moment you step forward, you'll be dragged into the middle of this. The backlash could turn on you, and there's no telling how bad it could get. Third, and most important: after hearing about this anonymous post, do you still believe in Professor Lewis's character? Are you certain it's a baseless smear, that he never sexually harassed a student or tried to rape anyone? Have you considered that if the anonymous post is true, if the police find evidence that someone was actually victimized, then anyone who defended him tonight will be seen as an accomplice? They'll think you're covering for him. If you say nothing, this won't touch you. But once you speak up, there's only downside. No upside whatsoever. Knowing all that, are you still willing to defend him?"