Chapter 115 The Leak

Chapter 115 The Leak


Aleli’s POV

THE RAIN had finally stopped by the next morning, but dark clouds still hung heavily over the city. I walked through the school gates with slow, heavy steps, my eyes sore and swollen from crying most of the night. Every breath seemed to carry a dull ache through my chest.

I kept my head down and gripped the straps of my backpack tightly. I didn't want to look at anyone. I didn't want to face the long hallways or the students who would inevitably ask questions about Kristoff.

Most of all, I didn't want to see him.

His words from yesterday continued to replay in my mind.

I can't spend every single day babysitting you, Aleli.

Yesterday was a mistake.

You are a distraction.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat and forced myself toward my classroom.

Then I noticed something was wrong.

The courtyard was usually loud in the mornings. Students talked about assignments, sports, teachers, and whatever gossip had spread overnight. Today, however, the conversations seemed unusually quiet.

Not peaceful.

Suspicious.

As I walked past one group, their conversation stopped. Another group looked at me, then quickly lowered their phones. Someone laughed behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder. Three girls were staring at me while one of them held her phone between them. The moment our eyes met, she lowered it.

My stomach tightened.

I continued walking, but the feeling followed me.

Students were looking at me everywhere.

Some whispered behind their hands. Others stared openly, their expressions ranging from curiosity to disgust. A few boys leaned against the lockers and smirked as I passed.

A familiar fear settled in my chest.

Did they find out about Uncle Jerry?

My hands began to shake.

Did someone discover my records?

I quickened my pace.

I had almost reached my classroom when someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the empty stairwell.

I gasped and turned around.

It was Malcolm.

His face was pale, and his usual calm expression had been replaced by obvious worry. He held his phone tightly in one hand.

“Aleli,” he said quietly, “are you okay? Did you check your phone this morning?”

“No.” I shook my head. “My battery died last night, and I forgot to charge it. Malcolm, what is happening? Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

He hesitated before handing me his phone. “You need to see this,” he said. “It's everywhere.”

I took it with trembling fingers.

The screen showed the school's main online forum, where students posted news, gossip, and anonymous confessions. At the top of the page was a headline in large red letters.

THE INNOCENT ACT IS OVER: SCHOOL PRESIDENT SEDUCED BY NEW STUDENT AT PRIVATE HOTEL.

My blood ran cold.

I scrolled down.

There were photographs.

Clear photographs.

The first showed Kristoff and me walking out of the hotel entrance yesterday morning.

The second showed us outside the bakery near the river, smiling while he handed me the cinnamon roll he had bought for me.

Then I reached the third photograph.

My chest tightened.

Kristoff and I were sitting together on the park bench. His fingers were wrapped around mine, and my head rested against his shoulder.

The picture looked intimate.

Someone had captured the exact moment when I had felt safest with him.

My fingers trembled as I scrolled further.

Students had already edited the photographs, cropping my face into offensive images and adding cruel captions. The comments underneath were even worse.

“I knew she was bad news. She acted helpless just to get close to Kristoff.”

“She used him for protection and status.”

“She seduces rich guys at hotels and then pretends she's innocent.”

“Kristoff was probably just another victim.”

My grip weakened.

The phone nearly slipped from my hand.

“No,” I whispered. “That's not what happened. We didn't do anything. We stayed there because of the rain. He was trying to help me.”

“I know,” Malcolm said, stepping closer. He placed a steady hand on my shoulder. “I know you didn't do anything wrong. Someone followed you two and took these pictures deliberately. This wasn't random.”

I stared at the screen.

Someone had been watching us. Someone had waited for the right moment.

Before I could respond, the stairwell door opened.

Debbie walked inside.

She wore her student council badge proudly on her uniform, and three girls followed behind her. All four of them had their phones in their hands.

Debbie's expression immediately softened into exaggerated concern.

“Oh, Aleli,” she said as she approached. “I saw the forum. I'm so sorry this happened to you.”

I instinctively stepped backward. “Debbie…”

She turned toward the girls behind her and frowned.

“Stop staring at her. She's our classmate, and she deserves our support. We shouldn't be spreading rumors when we don't know the truth.”

The girls exchanged glances.

Debbie turned back to me.

“Don't worry,” she continued gently. “I'm already talking to the forum moderators about removing the post. I've told people that you probably had a good reason for being at the hotel with Kristoff. You wouldn't just go there to seduce him for money or status.”

My stomach turned. She was pretending to defend me while repeating the accusations.

Malcolm's expression hardened. “Stop, Debbie.”

She looked at him innocently. “Stop what?”

“We know exactly what you're doing.”

Debbie placed a hand against her chest. “I'm trying to help her. How is that wrong?”

“You're repeating the rumors while pretending to defend her.”

“That isn't fair.” Debbie shook her head sadly. “I'm only telling people that they shouldn't judge Aleli without knowing the circumstances.”

She looked at me again.

“And honestly, I'm surprised Kristoff hasn't said anything.”

My heart sank. “What do you mean?”

Debbie's expression remained sympathetic. “He hasn't defended you at all, has he?”

I didn't answer. I looked toward the stairwell entrance instead. Through the glass panels, I could see the hallway.

Kristoff stood near the main office in his dark blue blazer, holding a stack of papers while speaking to one of the teachers. Students were gathered nearby, whispering and watching everything happening around me.

Then he looked toward the stairwell.

Our eyes met.

For one terrible second, I thought he would come over. I thought he would explain everything.

Instead, his expression remained unreadable. He turned away and walked into the principal's office.

The door closed behind him.

Something inside me broke. He didn't defend me.

Not even once.

The same man who had held my hand yesterday and told me how much I meant to him was now allowing everyone to believe the worst about me.

I looked back at the phone in my hands.

A terrifying thought began taking shape.

Was Kristoff involved?

Had he known these photographs were coming?

Had yesterday's rejection been part of this?

Maybe he had pushed me away because he knew something was about to happen.

Maybe everyone was lying to me.

I couldn't trust Kristoff's words. I couldn't completely trust Malcolm's explanations.

And I certainly couldn't trust Debbie's sympathy.

For the first time since everything began, I felt completely alone.

The other girls slowly left the stairwell, returning to the hallway as the warning bell approached. Malcolm remained beside me, watching my face carefully.

“Don't believe everything you read,” he said quietly. “We'll figure out who posted this.”

I wanted to believe him.

But my chest was already tightening with panic.

Debbie moved closer.

She waited until Malcolm turned toward the door before leaning slightly toward me. The softness disappeared from her expression, replaced by a quiet satisfaction that made my stomach twist.

Her voice dropped until only I could hear her.

“You're starting to understand how quickly people can turn against you.”

I looked at her.

She smiled.

“I haven't even started.”

Then she walked out of the stairwell, leaving me staring after her. I understood that the photographs weren't the real attack.

They were only the beginning.