Chapter 245 A Drug That Rots You From the Inside Out

Chapter 246 You Only Have One Chance

Aurelia's face changed. She instinctively shrank back, pressing her back against the chair. "Don't do anything crazy. This is a public place, and there are people everywhere."

Anna smiled and shook her head. "Relax. I won't give anyone any proof. I've got other ways. No one will ever know."

Aurelia's pupils shrank. Her hand moved toward the phone in her pocket, but she forced herself to stop.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice tight.

"You only get one chance," Anna said coldly. "Tell me who put you up to this."

Aurelia's breathing quickened. She stared at the pill between Anna's fingers, her eyes full of fear. Her lips started to tremble.

"I'll talk!"

She pressed her lips into a thin line, stayed quiet for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled with a look that said she had nothing left to lose.

"You want to know? Fine, I'll tell you."

A cheerful song played in the coffee shop. The chatter around them felt like a blurry filter, cutting off the small table in the corner from the rest of the world.

"Asher King," she said. "You know him, right? Mr. Gray's college classmate."

Anna didn't reply. Under the table, she tapped the record button on her phone.

"He came to me and asked for help." Aurelia stirred her coffee, her tone light, like she was talking about someone else's story. "He said if I did what he told me, he'd pay off my student loans and give me extra money so I wouldn't have to worry about finding a job after graduation."

"Did you mess with the brakes?"

"No." Aurelia shook her head. "Asher had someone else do it. I just waited at the intersection for Mr. Gray's car and pretended to get hit."

She glanced at her left leg in a cast. "The fracture is real, but it was worth it."

"What about the photo?"

"I had a classmate take it. I picked a fight on purpose to make him come over, and I already had someone waiting across from the office building to take pictures." There was even a hint of pride in her voice. "I didn't think he'd actually show up. He was so stupid."

Anna watched her. The girl showed no guilt at all while talking about what she'd done.

"What about the donated clothes?"

"That was also Asher's idea. He had someone switch the clothes during shipping with old ones from the trash, then paid people to pretend to be from the charity and post the story online."

Anna stopped the recording.

"What's your relationship with Asher?"

"Nothing special." Aurelia shrugged. "He paid, I did the work. We both got what we wanted."

Anna looked at her for a long time. "You know what you've done could get you sent to prison, right?"

Aurelia's eyelashes trembled.

"So what?" She forced a smile. "I had nothing to begin with anyway."

Her voice was tough, but Anna noticed her hand holding the coffee cup was shaking.

"You only get one chance," Anna said. "Give me the proof of your contact with Asher, and I'll let you off."

Aurelia looked up at her, biting her lip, but didn't speak.

"You can keep following Asher and see how long he protects you." Anna stood up. "Or hand over the evidence, and I'll make sure you're safe."

Aurelia stayed quiet for a long time.

After hesitating for what felt like forever, she pulled up her chat history with Asher and pushed her phone across the table.

Even though she and Asher were in this together, at a moment like this, she had to protect herself first. Asher was smart—he'd find a way to save himself.

Anna took the phone and scrolled through the messages one by one. She took out her own phone and took photos.

Aurelia asked, "Is this enough?"

Anna gave the phone back.

Aurelia took it, put it in her pocket, grabbed her crutch, and stood up.

"Miss Rivers," she said at the door without turning around. "You'll keep your word, right?"

Anna nodded.

Aurelia stared at her for a while, then pushed the door open and walked out with her crutch. The coffee shop door slowly closed behind her.

Outside, Aurelia smiled. Since everything was going to come out anyway, she might as well push all the blame onto that idiot. That way, she'd be fine.

Anna stayed seated for a while, then sent the recording and screenshots to Ethan.

Her phone buzzed almost immediately.

Ethan only replied: [I'll handle it.]

Anna put her phone away and took a sip of the now-cold coffee.

That afternoon, Gray Corporation's legal team handed over all the evidence of Asher's crimes to the police.

When the police took Asher away from the office, his face was pale. He didn't say a word, just lowered his head and followed them.

Aurelia was also taken in for questioning, but because Anna had promised not to pursue charges and she'd provided evidence, the police only took her statement and didn't detain her.

Still, word got around that she'd been taken by the police.

When she reached the dorm building, she ran into two girls from her class.

"It's her," one whispered. "No one knows what she did, but the police took her."

Aurelia paused, then kept walking.

Leaning on her crutch, she climbed the stairs one step at a time.

The whispers stuck to her like shadows.

When she opened the dorm door, her three roommates went quiet for a second, then turned away and pretended to be busy.

No one spoke to her.

Aurelia sat on her bed and scrolled through her old messages.

The night before Asher was taken, she'd asked him for help, but he ignored her.

Rumors about her spread quickly around school. People talked about her wherever she went.

She tried to get Anna to fix things, but it didn't work.

Aurelia pulled out a photo of Anna, glared at it, and started slashing it with a small knife, like she wanted to rush over and kill her right then.

…

With that matter settled, Ethan felt a bit more relaxed. He was sitting in his office, scrolling through a shopping list on his phone, when Jake knocked and came in with a strange look on his face. "Mr. Gray, something happened with Aurelia again."

Ethan didn't look up. "What is it?"

"After she went back to school, everyone started ignoring her. She said she wanted to jump off a building." Jake paused. "She asked to see Mrs. Gray, and she's already gone over there."

Ethan put his phone down, frowning. He picked up the desk phone and called Anna.

The phone rang for a long time with no answer. He tried again, but still nothing.

Ethan's heart sank. He grabbed his jacket and headed out, dialing Anna's number as he walked.

The call finally connected. Anna's voice was low. "I'm at Summit Academy. I'll explain later."

Before Ethan could say anything, she hung up.

He called again, but she didn't answer.