“Jeanette, we're leaving.”

I took Jeanette by the hand and turned to go without a backward glance.

When we'd walked a good distance, Jeanette asked in a low voice, “Dad, wasn't that a little harsh? He's a fellow student, after all.”

I stopped and looked at this foolish daughter of mine, the one who in her last life had been driven to leap from a rooftop.

“Remember this. Never hand out your sympathy carelessly.”

She nodded, half understanding.

“I'll do as you say.”

Three in the afternoon.

Jeanette and I had just gotten settled at the hotel off campus.

Jeanette's phone rang. It was her advisor, Caroline Lambert.

On the other end, Caroline's voice carried an authority that brooked no refusal.

“Jeanette, come to the student affairs office right now.”

“And bring your parent.”

Jeanette had it on speaker.

I sat on the couch and lifted my teacup, taking a sip.

So it had come, just as I'd expected.

Jeanette spoke up, her face all confusion.

“Advisor Lambert, has something happened?”

“Has something happened? You've got the nerve to ask?”

Caroline let out a cold laugh.

“Hilary Abbott is sitting in my office right now! He says that at noon, in the stairwell on the third floor of the science building, you put your hands on him and forced yourself on him!”

Jeanette shot to her feet, the color draining from her face.

“I was with my dad at the hotel all through noon. I don't even know where the science building is!”

“Yelling at me won't help you! That boy's clothes were left all rumpled, and his neck is covered in fingernail scratches from a girl!”

Caroline's tone turned severe.

“The damage to his reputation is severe! The two of you get over here now! If this isn't handled right, you can forget about attending this school at all!”

The line went dead.

Jeanette held the phone, her hands trembling.

“Dad, has she lost her mind? We didn't even give him directions!”

I set down the teacup, my eyes going cold.

In her last life, he'd used the pretext of asking for directions to frame Jeanette.

This time, I'd cut off that pretext.

And yet he'd still managed to conjure up a stairwell out of thin air.

It seemed he was dead set on destroying Jeanette.

“Don't be afraid.”

I stood and picked up my bag.

“Come on. Dad will go take a look with you.”

When I pushed open the door to the student affairs office, the only sound inside was sobbing.

Hilary Abbott sat on the couch, his shirt collar yanked halfway open to reveal the scratches on his shoulder.

Advisor Caroline Lambert sat behind the desk, her face like iron.

The moment she saw us come in, Hilary glared at us all the more.

“Stay back…… stay away from me……”

He pointed at Jeanette, his whole body shaking.

Jeanette's eyes went red with fury.

“Hilary, what are you talking about! I never went anywhere near the science building today!”

Caroline slammed her palm down on the desk.

“Jeanette, you dare to threaten the victim now?”

I stepped forward and put Jeanette behind me.

“It's Advisor Lambert, correct? Nothing has been investigated yet. Isn't it a little early to be pinning the label of victim on anyone?”

Caroline knit her brows at me.

“You're Jeanette's father?”

“I am.”

“And how do you usually raise your child? The state's top liberal arts scorer. What good are the grades? Morally bankrupt!”

Caroline pointed at Hilary.

“This young man just came here from the countryside, clean and decent. Now your daughter's scared him half to death. How is he supposed to hold his head up at this school from here on?”

I pulled over a chair and sat straight down.

“Advisor Lambert, since you've already decided my daughter did it, where's your proof?”

Caroline gave a cold laugh.

“Proof? The scratches on that boy's body are the proof! His clothes are torn to shreds. Don't tell me he did that to himself?”

“Why can't she?” I shot back.

Caroline choked for a second, then her temper flared.

“What kind of attitude is that? Is this how a parent behaves? Covering up, enabling her. No wonder she raised a daughter like this!”

Just then, the office door was shoved open.

My wife, Davina Dickerson, came rushing in, out of breath.

The moment she was through the door, before she'd asked a single question, she marched straight up to Jeanette.

“Crack!”

A sharp, ringing slap.

Jeanette's head snapped to the side, half her face flushing red in an instant.

“Mom?”

Jeanette cupped her cheek, staring at her in disbelief.

“Don't call me that! I don't have an embarrassing disgrace of a daughter like you!”

Davina jabbed a finger at Jeanette's nose and let loose.

“I sent you to college for this? To pull this kind of filthy, low-class stunt? You've humiliated me completely!”

Done cursing, she turned to Caroline, her back bending in an instant, her face piling on a fawning smile.

“Advisor Lambert, I'm so sorry, truly sorry. I failed to raise her right.”

Caroline's expression eased a little.

“Ms. Dickerson, at least you understand how things work. This is a very serious matter. If it blows up and the police get involved, Jeanette's whole future is ruined.”

At the word "police," Davina's legs nearly gave out.

She waved her hands frantically.

“No, no, no, please don't call the police! Advisor Lambert, we have money. Can't we handle this ourselves?”

Caroline let out a sigh.

“For the sake of Jeanette being the state's top liberal arts scorer, the school doesn't want to ruin her either. Here's what we'll do.”

She looked over at Hilary.

“Hilary, you've been wronged. But if the police really get involved, it won't do your reputation any good either. Why don't we have Jeanette apologize to you and give you some financial compensation?”

Hilary lifted his head, his eyes rimmed red.

“Advisor Lambert, I don't want money…… this isn't about money……”

“I'm a guy. Don't I have any dignity to protect……”

He bit his lip, the picture of someone humiliated beyond words.

“I just think it's unfair. Why should someone with morals as rotten as hers get to represent the freshmen and give the speech, and take the full top-tier scholarship on top of it?”

So that was what he'd been angling for all along.

The moment Davina heard it could be settled with money and a spot, she spun around and glared at Jeanette.

“What are you standing there for? Get over there and kneel and apologize to him! We don't want that scholarship or whatever, and you can hand over the speaker spot too!”

She came over, reaching out to force Jeanette's neck down.

“Move it! Smooth this over and don't wreck my company's business!”

I stood up, seized Davina's wrist, and wrenched it away.

Davina glared at me. “What do you think you're doing!”

I looked coldly at this cowardly, selfish woman.

“What am I doing?”

“My daughter didn't do anything. Why should she apologize? Why should she give up her scholarship?”

“Owen, have you lost your mind!”

Davina lowered her voice into a snarl.

“Do you want your daughter to go to prison? Do you want me to be a laughingstock to my business partners!”

I ignored her.

I walked over to Hilary and looked at him.

“Hilary, are you certain it was my daughter, Jeanette, who tried to harass you in the third-floor stairwell of the science building?”

Hilary shrank back, his eyes darting away.

“Yes……”

“What exact time?” I pressed, step by step.

“Around…… around one thirty in the afternoon……”

“What was she wearing?”

“A whi…… a white dress, white canvas sneakers.”

His description was strikingly accurate.

“Was there anyone else in the stairwell at the time?”

"No... nobody uses that stairwell, and the camera's broken..."

The words were barely out before he seemed to realize what he'd let slip. He clapped a hand over his mouth and burst into tears again.

"Sir, please, stop pushing me... I'm so scared..."

Caroline shot to her feet.

"Owen! That's enough! You're victimizing him all over again!"

She jabbed a finger at the office door.

"Here's my decision. Jeanette makes a public apology, forfeits every honor and her scholarship, and takes a formal disciplinary mark on her record. If you won't accept that, I'll report this to the university right now and have her expelled outright!"

Davina was hopping with panic. She lunged over and grabbed my arm.

"Owen, shut up already! Advisor Lambert's being lenient here—what more do you want!"

I looked at that righteous mask on Caroline's face.

"Advisor Lambert, if the camera's broken, how exactly are you convicting my daughter on his word alone?"

"You think anyone would gamble with their own good name over this!"

Caroline drew herself up, all indignation.

"Those fingernail scratches on him don't lie! Why would he make it up?"

I nodded and pulled out my phone.

"Fine. If the school can't get to the truth, then we'll bring in someone who can."

I pressed three numbers.

The line connected.

"Hello, is this 911? I want to report a crime."

The instant the call went through, the office fell dead silent.

Hilary's head snapped up, his eyes locked on my phone.

Caroline's face changed in a flash. She reached out to snatch the phone from me.

"What are you doing! Who told you to call the police!"

I dodged her hand.

Into the phone, calm as anything, I said, "Yes, the student affairs office at Kingsport University. Someone is accusing my daughter of harassment, of forcing herself on a young man, but I believe the other party is extorting money through a false accusation. Please send officers immediately."

I hung up and looked at Caroline.

"Advisor Lambert, why the panic? If it's a crime, then naturally it belongs to the police. Since when does a university have the authority to enforce the law?"

Caroline was shaking with rage, her finger stabbing toward my face.

"You are completely out of your mind! You don't air dirty laundry in public. You just have to blow this up, don't you—won't rest until you've ruined the school's reputation!"

Davina charged at me like a woman possessed, both hands clutching her head, screaming herself hoarse.

"Owen! If you want to die, leave me out of it! The second the police show up, the whole school will know! Where does that leave my face? How is Jeanette ever supposed to live this down!"

She whirled on Jeanette, her eyes bloodshot.

"You ungrateful little witch! I'll beat you to death today and pretend I never had you!"

She raised her fist to bring it down on Jeanette.

I grabbed the thermos off the desk, the one full of scalding water, and slammed it down right by Davina's feet.

A dull thud.

"Davina. You lay one more hand on my daughter, I dare you."

I stared at her, my eyes ice cold.

"Smoothing things over for strangers out there, throwing your weight around at home—is that all you know how to do? Someone dumps this filth on your own daughter's head, and instead of digging for the truth, you force her to her knees and make her confess. What kind of mother are you?"

Davina pointed at me and couldn't get a word out.

Right then, the office door was shoved open.

A crowd of students poured in, phones raised.

Flashes went off like crazy.

"She's in there! That creepy girl is right in there!"

"Trash! Get out of Kingsport University!"

"Protect Hilary! Come down hard on scum like her!"

Leading the pack was the girl in designer clothes from outside the dorm.

She pointed at Jeanette.

"Everyone get a good look. This is the state's top liberal arts scorer of our year! A sanctimonious hypocrite through and through!"