After watching the interview, people online started praising Terence, saying he had saved someone without caring about fame or money and deserved special consideration.

Some even argued that top universities should give him guaranteed admission on the spot.

But Terence seemed to underestimate how messy public opinion could get.

Before long, people dug up Kendall's identity.

[That's the Lawsons' daughter, right? Isn't she supposed to be some academic genius?]

[Exactly. My son said the teachers all expected her to be valedictorian material. So why does she just happen to fall into a river on the day of the SAT?]

[Do you think maybe that rich-girl image was fake all along? She couldn't cheat on the SAT, panicked, and staged the whole thing herself.]

[Honestly, that makes sense. If she wants to ruin her own life, that's her business, but pulling an innocent student into it, too? Classic rich people behavior.]

That was exactly the kind of reaction I had been waiting for.

Sure enough, after I put my phone away and looked up, I spotted members of the Lawsons' security team nearby. They had people combing through the area around the bridge where Kendall fell into the river.

The Lawsons were obviously in a hurry to clear Kendall's name. How long could Terence keep what he had done hidden?

But he was too busy living inside his fantasy to realize the Lawsons had already started suspecting him.

At noon, I was studying in my bedroom when Terence suddenly shoved my door open with a smug grin.

"Hey, did you see the news?"

I didn't even look up. "Yeah."

He let out a snort and started bragging in a shrill voice.

"You have no idea how famous I am right now. Who even cares about the SAT anymore? My future's already set."

As he spoke, he yanked the textbook out of my hands and sneered at me.

"What's the point of people like you, who study your whole life just to get good grades? You should learn from me. I don't even have to try anymore. I'm basically guaranteed admission to a top school already!"

Dad was in the living room cutting fruit for him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Good job, Terence. We're proud of you."

In my last life, overhearing their conversation was how I discovered Terence's plan in the first place.

Dad and my stepmother, Melanie Read, hadn't just supported it; they praised him for being clever.

Thinking about that made me laugh under my breath. "He's your wife's kid, not even your real son. What exactly are you proud of?"

Dad immediately kicked my bedroom door hard enough to rattle the frame, then slapped me across the face.

"You're exactly like your dead mother. Always acting like you're better than everyone else!

"If your mom hadn't trapped me into marrying her with that pregnancy, Melanie never would've ended up married to an abusive man and suffered all those years!

"Everything I do for Terence is making up for what your mother owed her!"

A dull ache twisted in my chest.

Even on her deathbed, Mom was still worried about whether he would remember to eat properly after she was gone.

I never imagined this was how he saw her.

Melanie shot me a smug look. "He's obviously jealous of Terence."

Then her voice rose even higher.

"Kendall is the only daughter of the Lawsons. Terence saved her life. The Lawsons are definitely going to be grateful to our family. Forget guaranteed admission. Maybe they'll even marry Kendall to Terence someday to repay him."

The more Terence listened, the brighter his eyes became.

He shoved past me with a smug laugh.

"When I become the Lawsons' son-in-law, maybe then you'll finally understand."

Hearing that made me clench my teeth.

I snatched my book back from him.

"She crossed that bridge every day for three years without a problem, but suddenly she falls into the river on SAT day?" I said coldly. "Do you think the Lawsons are idiots? You should stop celebrating already. Once they find out…"

Before I could finish, Dad kicked me hard in the leg.

Furious, he ripped off his belt and started lashing me with it.

"You really can't stand seeing Terence do well, huh? Now you're talking crap about him, too? I'll knock some sense into you! I'm telling you right now. If you run your mouth about this outside this house, you're dead!"

The belt split the skin on my arms and legs almost instantly. Burning pain spread through my entire body.

How ridiculous.

He pitied Terence and Melanie for suffering abuse, then turned around and beat his own son.

I stared straight at him. "Go ahead, then. Kill me. You could beat me to death, and I still wouldn't stoop as low as you people."

Melanie pointed at me furiously. "I told you years ago to get rid of him! Look at him now. He's got the nerve to talk back!"

I laughed and spat blood onto the floor.

"I was never really part of this family, anyway. You only kept me around because Grandma was sending you money every month."

Dad clearly hadn't expected me to know that, and he definitely hadn't expected me to say it out loud.

His face was red with rage as he grabbed my stuff and flung it out the front door piece by piece.

"Get out! From today on, you're not my son anymore! When we're officially tied to the Lawsons, don't you dare come begging me for anything!"

The moment Dad said that, I grabbed my books and headed straight back to school without hesitation.

At least now, I wouldn't have to waste time figuring out how to cut ties with them myself.

As soon as I reached the school gates, I saw Hugh Lawson, Kendall's father.

Rumor had it that Kendall's mother passed away years ago, and Hugh never remarried after that. The Lawsons doted on Kendall like she was the center of their world.

Now that he was here, he was probably investigating what had happened on the bridge.

I watched my homeroom teacher smile nervously at Hugh. "The student who saved Kendall is from another class. His name's Terence. I'll bring him to you right away."

But Hugh answered coldly, "No need. I'm not here for him."

Then he lifted his eyes, sharp enough to cut through steel.

"I want every surveillance recording from this school for the past month," he said slowly. "And if I find out someone deliberately caused my daughter to fall off that bridge… I won't let him walk away from it."

A chill ran down my spine.

I silently thanked myself for getting away from Terence as quickly as I did.

-

I felt a lot more confident about the SAT this time around than I did in my previous life. The vague memories I carried from before made it feel almost easy.

Getting into a top university shouldn't be difficult now.

Over the next few days, I stayed at my grandmother's house.

When she saw the bruises and welts covering my body, tears immediately filled her eyes.

"I thought your father would treat you right. I never imagined that animal would hit you like this! Don't worry, Lance. Just stay here with me from now on. This whole family compound will belong to you someday, anyway."

My eyes stung as I looked at her.

This time, I was going to stay by her side and never let her suffer through losing me again.

The day SAT scores were released, Terence showed up at school even though he had never taken the test.

The second he saw me, he flashed a smug smile.

At first, I didn't understand why. Then I noticed several members of the Lawsons standing beside the giant display screen.

Students all around us were whispering excitedly.

"Did you hear? Kendall woke up. The Lawsons are thrilled. They showed up early this morning because they wanted to give Terence a huge reward."

She woke up?

I remembered Hugh demanding the surveillance footage, and goosebumps prickled across my skin.

Terence was running out of time.

Meanwhile, students crowded around him with obvious envy.

"I saw one of them holding a folder. It's probably your guaranteed admission offer, right?"

"Well, obviously. Terence saved Kendall."

"I heard it's not just guaranteed admission. Supposedly, they're giving him millions of dollars as repayment."

"Man, he really won the lottery. Didn't even need the SAT to become successful."

As everyone talked, Terence deliberately leaned close to my ear.

"The Lawsons picked up Mom and Dad this morning. They're probably already discussing my marriage with Kendall. After today, I'll be attending a top university and marrying a Lawson. If you regret how you treated me, beg me, and maybe I'll forgive you."

The moment I noticed the Lawsons looking in our direction, I shoved Terence away immediately.

"Stay away from me."

He froze for a second before exploding in disbelief.

"Lance, don't push your luck! You're gonna regret this real soon!"

The second I got away from Terence, I deliberately picked a seat far across the room. I really wanted to see whether he could still smile after receiving the Lawsons' "gift."

A few moments later, the principal stepped onto the stage, barely hiding his excitement.

"This year, our school had a student accepted to both Clearwater University and Northgate University with outstanding SAT scores!"

The entire room instantly turned toward Terence. He tugged at his collar and started to rise from his seat.

Then the principal announced loudly, "That student is Lance Read, the top SAT scorer in the state this year!"

The room erupted into chaos.

Terence stiffened and muttered through clenched teeth, "There has to be another one. There's definitely another one."

Right after that, members of the Lawsons stepped onto the stage with cold expressions.

"Next," one of them said, "we'd like Terence Norman to come up here. Mr. Lawson has prepared a special gift for you."