Chapter 243 Have You Investigated Her?

Chapter 244 I Didn’t Suspect You

"He's someone you can't afford to mess with. You'd better apologize to me right now. For old times' sake as classmates, I can let this slide." Aurelia cut off the teacher, chin raised, her tone carrying a hint of pride.

The teacher glanced awkwardly at the other girl's parent.

Ethan pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone completely businesslike. "I've got the gist of what happened. I'll cover the medical expenses. Both sides write a self-criticism, and we'll call it even."

The girl who got scratched wanted to say something, but meeting Ethan's gaze, she swallowed her words.

The teacher nodded quickly. "That sounds good. Aurelia, what do you think?"

Aurelia looked at Ethan and frowned. "That's it?"

"What else?" Ethan said coldly.

Aurelia could see he was getting impatient. Knowing what he was capable of and a bit afraid of making him angry, she didn't push it further.

Once things were settled, Ethan got up and headed out.

Aurelia followed behind on her crutch. Jake tried to help her, but she dodged away.

At the entrance of the office building, Ethan stopped. "I'll have the driver take you back to your dorm."

"No need." Aurelia shook her head. "I can get back myself."

She took a step forward on her crutch, then turned around.

"Even though I'm not totally happy with how today turned out, I really appreciate you coming." Her voice was soft, her eyes reddening again. "I grew up in an orphanage. Whenever something happened, no one ever came to help me. You're the first person who's ever stood up for me."

As she spoke, her body swayed.

Ethan instinctively reached out to steady her.

Aurelia took the opportunity to let go of her crutch and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest. "You're so good to me. No one's ever been this good to me."

Ethan's body stiffened for a moment.

The next second, he grabbed Aurelia's shoulders and pushed her away.

The force wasn't light. Aurelia stumbled back two steps. Her injured left leg couldn't support her weight, and she fell to the ground.

The cast hit the concrete with a dull thud.

Aurelia's face went pale with pain. She looked up at him in disbelief. "You..."

Ethan didn't reach out to help her. His expression was cold—so cold that Jake didn't dare make a sound.

"Jake, take her to the hospital for a checkup." Ethan said. "Tell me the results when you're done."

With that, he turned and left.

Aurelia sat on the ground, watching his figure disappear at the end of the hallway.

Jake came over and helped her up. "Miss Blake, I'll take you to the hospital."

Aurelia kept her head down, her hair hiding her expression.

"Okay."

Her voice was very calm—unnaturally calm.

Jake didn't think much of it and helped her into the car.

That evening.

Before Ethan went home, he threw his suit jacket in the car and changed into a spare one.

That jacket had Aurelia's foundation on it. He wasn't bringing it home.

When he walked in, Anna was sitting on the couch looking at her phone.

Seeing him come back, she glanced up, then returned her gaze to her phone. "Why so late today?"

"Went to the school to handle something." Ethan sat down next to her. "Aurelia got in a fight at school. The teacher needed someone to deal with it."

Anna made a sound of acknowledgment, then flipped her phone screen toward him. "Look at this."

On the screen was a photo.

In the photo, Ethan was standing at the entrance of the office building with Aurelia pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his waist.

The angle was tricky—it looked like the two of them were locked in a tight embrace.

Ethan's expression darkened. "The moment she hugged me, I pushed her away. It was less than two seconds total."

Anna looked at him. "Pretty convenient timing for someone to catch that on camera. I think there's a good chance someone set this up."

Anna took her phone back and looked at the photo again. "Gotta say, whoever took this has some skills."

Ethan couldn't tell if she was angry or not. "Anna..."

"I'm not doubting you." Anna cut him off. "But can you guarantee this photo won't get out?"

Just as she finished speaking, Ethan's phone rang.

It was the PR director.

Ethan answered.

"Mr. Gray, have you seen the trending topics?" The director's voice was urgent. "Someone posted a photo of you with a young woman. The headline is really bad. It's already trending."

Ethan hung up and opened Instagram.

Seventh on the trending list—Gray Corporation CEO Keeps College Student as Mistress.

He clicked in. It was the same photo Anna had just shown him.

The caption was detailed, saying Ethan already had a wife and daughter but was hooking up with a college student. It included photos of Anna and Hopie, then went on to say he deliberately hit the girl with his car, used compensation as an excuse to get close to her, and used his power to force her to comply.

The comments were already over ten thousand.

[Disgusting. Think you can do whatever you want just because you're rich?]

[This girl's only a sophomore. He can actually go after someone like that?]

[He has a wife and kid, and he's messing around with a college student? Trash!]

Ethan put his phone on the table. Anna saw the trending topic too. "How are you going to handle this?"

Ethan picked up his phone and sent a message to the PR department: [Issue a statement. Lay out the whole accident, the compensation plan, and why I went to the school today. Attach the accident report and hospital payment receipts. Also, have legal send cease and desist letters to those gossip accounts stirring things up.]

The PR department received the message and immediately got to work.

Ethan leaned back on the couch and rubbed his temples.

"What are you thinking about?" Anna asked.

"The brakes." Ethan said. "The car was tampered with. First the accident, then this girl. The timing's too tight to be a coincidence."

Anna was quiet for a moment. "You think she staged this herself?"

"Not necessarily." Ethan said. "But someone's pulling strings behind the scenes."

Anna looked at him. "The enemy's in the shadows, we're in the light. It's dangerous."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Early the next morning, Gray Corporation's statement went out.

The statement laid out a clear timeline of the whole incident, attaching the accident report, the assessment showing the brake line had been damaged, Aurelia's medical expense transfer records, and proof that Jake had been present the entire time.

The PR department also released another surveillance video—the wide-angle camera at the office building entrance captured the complete sequence of Aurelia throwing herself at Ethan, then being pushed away and falling to the ground. The timestamp was crystal clear. From the hug to the push, less than two seconds.

Public opinion flipped instantly.

[Holy crap, this is way too convenient. Could this be a setup?]

[Could this girl have staged this herself and bought the trending topic to accuse him of cheating?]

[I'd say it's probably her. Paying compensation to this extent after hitting someone is more than fair, and she turns around and bites back? What kind of ungrateful person does that?]

[Side note, the way Ethan pushed her away was so decisive, I'm dying.]

Aurelia's phone exploded.