Over the past few weeks, Felicity had been posting countless clips of herself and Dames riding her motorcycle on TikTok.
For five years, her account had hovered at just over two thousand followers. Every time she uploaded one of her so–called “epic” ride videos, it was always the same rowdy group of friends–liking, commenting, and hyping her up.
But the first time Felicity posted a video of her and Dames riding together, everything changed.
That very night, she realized she’d gone viral.
After that, she made a habit of taking Dames along for her rides, and every new clip of them together racked up a million views in no time.
Felicity, always eager for attention, saw her chance. For a whole month, she doubled down–posting daily, watching her follower count explode to over a million.
Of course, the more famous she got, the louder the naysayers became. But Felicity couldn’t care less.
“They’re just jealous,” she told herself.
After all, who else would dare take a five–year–old on a heavy motorcycle?
But this past week, Felicity noticed something troubling: her latest motorcycle videos featuring Dames were barely pulling in 200,000 views.
People were getting bored. The novelty had worn off.
So, after some brainstorming with her friends, Felicity decided it was time to up the ante.
On their next ride, with the bike roaring down the highway, she folded her arms across her chest and let her five–year–old take the handlebars.
Then, out of nowhere, Felicity pulled a bottle of red wine and a wine glass from her bag.
Sitting on the back of the speeding motorcycle, she poured herself a glass, swirling the wine as if she were lounging in a luxury hotel rather than tearing down the open road.
Her friend captured everything on camera, whispering excitedly into her headset,
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“Perfect!”
“Flick, I bet you’ll get at least a hundred thousand likes on this one!”
Selene’s days followed the same steady routine. After dropping Daph off at school each morning, she’d hurry home to study–methodically working through the same university–level courses she’d taken years ago. She was determined to reclaim the knowledge she’d lost over the past five years, racing against the clock to make up for lost time.
In the evenings, after dinner with Daph, they’d drive over to the Shaw family estate.
Selene would bring a list of questions she’d run into that day–hoping to get Theodore’s advice in person.
When she arrived with Daph, she found several Capital University students already in the living room.
Normally, they were friendly enough. But ever since rumors had spread online that Theodore was helping Selene cheat, the way they looked at her had changed.
Even today, after watching and re–watching the footage of Selene solving problems during the preliminary competition, they still hadn’t found a shred of evider against her.
But the fact remained: Selene was close to Theodore. Everyone knew it.
How could a stay–at–home mom with nothing but a bachelor’s degree take first place in the preliminaries? It was hard for them to believe.
Was it possible Theodore had slipped her the answers?
After all, several senior professors on the ALI Competition Committee were known to be close with Theodore.
“Selene, we’d like to invite you to join us for the finals next week,” one of the students said, his tone sharp. “We’ll all take the test together at Capital University, in the exam hall. Are you up for it?”
“Five proctors will be present in the hall, and the entire final will be streamed live online,” another added.
“And until then, to avoid any… questionable associations with Professor Shaw, you’re not allowed to meet with him alone.”
Across the room, Theodore’s grip tightened on his cane, the veins in his hand
Chapter 92
standing out in stark relief.
“You’ve been watching me all day! Following me everywhere, even to the bathroom! What gives you the right to police my every move?” Theodore demanded, his voice tight with anger.
Selene’s breath caught in her throat. How could they treat Theodore like this?
The ringleader of the group, Wyatt–a tall guy with thick black–rimmed glasses who’d always had it out for Selene–smirked.
“Professor Shaw, we don’t want to do this, but what choice do we have? Selene is your prized student, after all.”
They weren’t afraid of Theodore calling the police. If he tried to have them kicked out of the Shaws‘ house, they’d make sure the whole university heard about how he was supposedly targeting his own students.
Wyatt put on his most self–righteous tone. “There are two hundred finalists in the ALI Math Competition, all of them hoping for a fair shot. As an educator, shouldn’t you be willing to make a small sacrifice for their sake?”
Wyatt noticed Theodore’s hand trembling on his cane. He relished it–the feeling of having the dean completely cornered.
He pressed further. “If Selene were to withdraw from the ALI Math Competition, then Professor Shaw wouldn’t have to put up with any of this.”
Wyatt’s eyes glittered with malice as he stared at Selene, delighted by the pressure he was exerting on both of them–just waiting to see who would crack first.
