Chapter 292 : Facing The Scandal Online

Chapter 292 : Facing The Scandal Online

Ronan said nothing, but a knot formed in his chest.

Just as he had begun dreaming bigger, just as it seemed countless opportunities were within reach, an invisible ceiling suddenly appeared above him.

The stream of easy money had come to an abrupt stop, leaving Ronan feeling lost.

For the time being, he didn't rush to look for another opportunity.

Instead, the first thought that crossed Ronan's mind was, How am I supposed to come up with five billion?

The Lopez family's assets were worth hundreds of billions. Five billion wasn't an impossible amount.

But for Ronan, whose assets had been frozen, it was completely out of reach.

What he didn't know was that Allison had already gone all in on the other side of the deal.

If Ronan refused to take the bait, she would lose everything and be buried under a mountain of debt.

It was a high-stakes gamble between the two of them.

Allison capped her pen and leaned back in her chair, looking completely relieved. Every investment carries risk. That rule applied to everyone.

No one won every time. But Allison wasn't afraid of losing.

The question was, could Ronan say the same?

While all of this was happening, news about the SAT top 1 student finally reached the Rogers family.

Although the identities of top-scoring students were usually kept confidential, someone still managed to uncover Allison's information.

Carl had already received several calls from reporters asking which university Allison planned to attend.

He turned down every request, doing everything he could to protect her privacy.

Ironically, the first person in the Rogers family to learn about Allison's score was Sherrie.

She rushed home and blurted out the moment she entered the living room, "Did you all know Allison took the SAT?"

She had been overwhelmed with work at the hospital and hadn't had the time to keep track of what Allison was doing.

She had assumed Allison was hiding somewhere, silently licking her wounds.

And now Allison was named the top 1?

Watching her lifelong rival succeed was painful enough. Watching Allison get everything she wanted was almost unbearable for Sherrie.

But when she brought it up, neither Nigel nor Ruth looked the least bit surprised.

"You already knew? And neither of you told me?" Sherrie's voice immediately rose.

Then she seemed to realize her reaction was too strong and quickly softened her tone. "Nigel, am I not considered part of this family anymore?"

Nigel shook his head. "Don't think too much about it. We didn't tell you because we knew you've been busy with work. There was no reason to give you something else to worry about."

Ruth nodded in agreement. Then her eyes landed on the new bracelet on Sherrie's wrist. "How have things been at work lately?"

Recently, Sherrie had been seeing Archer secretly. He gave her money to spend, though he wasn't nearly as generous or as easy to manipulate as Ronan. In fact, it was Archer who had first told her that Allison had become a top scorer on the SAT.

Sherrie wasn't ready to tell them about her new relationship, so she gave a few vague updates about work before smoothly steering the conversation back to Allison.

"Everyone online is saying Allison is the SAT top 1. Mom, Nigel, should we invite her home and celebrate with her?"

The thought of Allison secretly becoming the SAT top student made Sherrie's stomach churn.

What bothered her even more was the possibility that if Allison kept rising higher than her, Ruth and Nigel might eventually start favoring Allison instead.

But Nigel's expression immediately darkened. "That score was obtained through cheating. What's there to celebrate? It's nothing but a disgrace."

Sherrie paused for a moment before turning to Ruth. "So you're saying... Allison's score isn't real?"

Ruth nodded.

The jealousy that had been gnawing at Sherrie vanished instantly. She sat down again, no longer as bothered as she had been a few minutes earlier. "She cheated and still managed to come out on top?"

Nigel let out a cold scoff. "Jareth definitely pulled strings behind the scenes. And Allison is greedy, too. She couldn't even keep a low profile. Doesn't she know that the tallest tree catches the wind?"

Leaning back in her chair, Sherrie finally felt relieved. She casually added fuel to the fire. "A lot of people online are trying to find out who Allison is. What if reporters show up at our door?"

Nigel's expression hardened, and he said sharply, "No. If anyone asks about Allison, keep your mouths shut. Once her cheating is exposed, anyone associated with her will be affected too."

Sherrie quickly nodded and assured him she wouldn't say anything. Nigel's message was clear; they were to pretend they knew nothing and keep their distance from the matter.

Soon, Allison received her official admission letter from Kansas Medical University.

But at the same time, the cheating rumors came roaring back.

Someone dug up her old student ID photo again and paired it with footage of parents confronting her outside the testing center. Combined with the news of her admission, public outrage flared up all over again.

People flooded the university's comment sections, demanding an explanation. Some even accused the school of protecting a cheater.

A few sharp-eyed netizens began to notice something odd. Despite all the attention and controversy, no one had ever managed to uncover the girl's real identity.

The only thing anyone had was a single blurry student photo.

The fact that her personal information had never been leaked, despite how much attention the story had attracted, only added fuel to the rumors.

People began speculating that the person at the center of the cheating scandal must have powerful backing. Powerful enough to suppress everything.

Within a matter of days, the controversy exploded across the internet once again, and Allison received a notice from the university asking her to attend a meeting.

Allison was prepared for it.

"I think we should bring along a few of the main people spreading the accusations," she said calmly to the staff. "I'll face them directly."

The university had no way to officially intervene in an online controversy.

But Allison did. She started a livestream. Her face was fully visible on camera.

Looking straight into the lens, Allison spoke in an even tone. "I'm the girl everyone's been talking about."

"I'm not here to clear my name. I'm here to make certain people answer for what they've done."

The comment section erupted instantly.