Richard was a textbook case of a snob. He had always disliked me ever since I reunited with the Sanders family.

Although I was the true heiress, I grew up in the sticks. My results were nothing to write home about, and I had a dull personality.

Meanwhile, Layla received an elite education since she was a child and was multitalented. She was a reputable figure in school, which also made her the perfect person for Richard to use to earn a higher bonus.

Richard scoffed and slapped two stacks of index cards on the desk.

"Look for yourself, Talia! This stack of cards is the possible answers that Layla came up with herself. Meanwhile, I found this stack of cards hidden in your desk. The solutions, steps, and themes are exactly the same as Layla's!

"Although the surveillance cameras didn't catch you sneaking a peek at Layla's notes, can you swear that you didn't look at them before the exam? Can you swear that you didn't do such a malicious deed?

"It's even more ridiculous because you always failed your mock tests in the past. How is it possible for you to score 1,400 points during the actual exam? Do you think that the examiners are blind? Do you take us for fools?"

The students around us began to whisper among themselves. Their eyes were full of disdain.

"I've heard the rumors that Talia was jealous of Layla. I didn't expect her to have such a wicked personality."

"She's just a dirty cheat. How embarrassing."

"A country bumpkin will always resort to underhanded methods."

Layla's sobbing intensified. She looked like she had just experienced a terrible tragedy and was on the verge of collapsing.

"If you want the position of top scholar, I can let you have it, Talia. Why did you stoop so low?"

Mom looked as though her heart was breaking. She hugged Layla tightly before aiming a fierce glare at me.

"Just look at how upset Layla is because of you, Talia! How can you still act like you didn't do anything wrong? What on earth did I do to deserve giving birth to a despicable daughter like you?

"You must apologize to Layla in front of all the students and teachers! You also have to write a letter of reflection and admit that you cheated during the exam before leaving the school. If you don't, I'll just have to pretend that I never had a daughter like you and kick you out of the Sanders family!"

Kick me out of the Sanders family?

In my past life, Mom's threat had haunted me like a curse.

To stay with my so-called family, to cling to that pitiful excuse of maintaining a familial relationship with them, I had dropped to my knees to grovel for their forgiveness and admit that I had cheated even though it was a lie.

In exchange, the Sanders family treated me with even more vitriol, and I ended up dying.

I barked out a mocking laugh as I looked at Mom's familiar yet unfamiliar face.

"I can't believe you're still in the mood to laugh."

An intimidating masculine voice resounded as the office door slammed open.

My father—the president of Sanders Group—Timothy Sanders, stormed into the office. He didn't spare me a single glance as he walked over to Layla and asked, "Are you alright, Layla? You've had a tough time."

Layla's eyes were bloodshot as she shook her head. "I'm fine, Dad. It's just that… Talia…"

Dad whirled around, lifting his hand to slap me.

I didn't let him touch me this time. I dodged to the side and grabbed his wrist, saying, "You should get to the bottom of things before raising your hand against me, Dad."

Dad stared at me in disbelief, seemingly shocked that I had retaliated.

"The entire world is turning upside down! You ungrateful child! It's already humiliating enough that you cheated during the exam. How dare you raise your hand against your elder?

"Get to the bottom of things? The situation at hand is that you're a shameless cheat who copied your sister's answers to steal her glory! I can't believe that an upstanding citizen such as myself has a stain like you in my life!"

"Security! Drag her to the main square right now! I want her to write her letter of reflection in front of everyone in the school!"

The two security guards, who had been standing like sentinels by the door, leaped into action upon hearing Dad's words. They advanced toward me and tried to grab me.

"Wait."

My back hit the edge of the desk when I took a step backward. I quickly grabbed the box cutter that was lying on the table.

The blade glinted coldly under the light.

"I don't mind spilling some blood today if you dare lay a single finger on me."

"I have nothing to be afraid of," I said. "Besides, you're already forcing me into a dead end. I don't mind taking some of you down with me."

I absentmindedly toyed with the box cutter as I swept my gaze over Mom, Dad, Layla, and Richard.

Dead silence descended upon the room.

Everyone was shocked by the intimidating air I exuded.

Mom shrieked as she shielded Layla behind her. "W-what do you think you're doing? You want to commit murder now?"

Meanwhile, Dad was shaking with anger. "You've lost your mind! I'm going to send you to a mental hospital!"

"A mental hospital?" I asked with a scoff. "I have to admit that it's not a bad place, but I believe that we have a score to settle before you send me there."

I pointed the box cutter at the stack of "evidence" on the desk and asked, "Mr. Hoffman, you're accusing me of copying Layla's answers because mine are the same as hers, correct?"

Richard swallowed and puffed up his chest before answering, "That's right! That's more than enough proof, no?"

"Well, I have a question of my own. Aren't the exam papers in the Provincial Department of Education right now? How do you know what my answers are? Don't tell me that you have X-ray vision? Or perhaps…"

I paused, my gaze sharpening when I continued, "You're actually working with Layla. The two of you came up with this scheme together to accuse me of cheating and drag my name through the mud."

Richard paled. His eyes flashed as he shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting? I found those cards in your desk!"

"My desk?" I repeated with a scoff. "The classrooms were cleared out and sealed the day before the exam. We're also not allowed to bring any books or papers into the exam hall. Are you saying that I magically produced those cards out of thin air?

"Also, if you're accusing me of copying Layla's answers, then her answers would have to be correct in the first place."

Layla's heart throbbed as an ominous feeling grew in her chest. She forced herself to stay calm as she asked, "What are you talking about, Talia? Everyone knows that I have outstanding results. I also performed well during this exam."

"Is that so?"

I tossed the box cutter aside and pulled my phone out of my pocket. "Since you're so adamant that I cheated, why don't we request that the exam papers be examined? I'm also curious to see what two exam papers with identical answers look like."

"Examine the papers? What gives you the right to demand something like that?" Dad roared. "Stop humiliating our family in public! How much more do you want to drag our reputation through the mud?

"I can stop this incident from spreading on the news as long as you admit your wrongdoing, leave the school, and move abroad. But if you continue to cause a fuss, I'll have no choice but to make it impossible for you to continue living in Asterville!"

Dad was using the same tricks again. He was abusing his authority just to protect Layla.

Unfortunately for him, I was no longer a doormat that anyone could trample on.

"Apologies, but I've already called the police and contacted the media."

I waved my phone, showing them that I was also livestreaming this entire incident. "Did you see that, everyone? This is how the richest family in Asterville, the Sanders family, behaves.

"Although the true heiress of the family is being framed for cheating, her own biological parents are dead set on forcing her into a dead end before they even find out what's actually going on. Everyone should keep an eye on how the rest of this drama will unfold."

The number of viewers in the live stream shot up in an instant.

A wave of comments flooded the screen.

"Oh my god! Is this drama about an elite family?"

"Aren't the parents being too biased? Why don't they want to examine the papers?"

"The true heiress is so cool. I love her!"

"The fake heiress looks so snobbish. Anyone can tell at a glance that she's bad news."

Dad nearly fainted from anger as he stared at the screen. He lunged at me and tried to snatch my phone away, screaming, "Turn it off! Turn it off right now!"

I easily dodged and continued saying, "Since you're so convinced that I cheated, Mr. Hoffman, why don't you tell everyone who's watching the live stream about the evidence you gathered that proves that I cheated?"

Richard was cornered. He looked at the screen and stubbornly said, "I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not scared!

"Talia usually has terrible results, while Layla is at the top of her grade. What other proof do you need? If there are two exam papers with identical answers, it's obvious that the worse student copied the better student!"

Layla maintained her pitiful expression as she looked at the screen and wiped her tears. "Don't blame Talia, everyone. Maybe she only did what she did because she was acting on impulse. I don't blame her at all."

"So she's the legendary innocent beauty?"

"Passing judgment even before they get to the bottom of things? That teacher isn't doing his job."

Just then, the sounds of a commotion came from outside the office.

A few uniformed police officers and some middle-aged men in suits strode into the office. The middle-aged men also had badges pinned to their chests.

The man at the front of the group was wearing a stern expression, exuding an intimidating air.

"I'm the head inspector of the Provincial Department of Education, Ashton Peters. We received a report just now, stating that someone was being framed for cheating during SAT. I'm looking for Ms. Talia Sanders."

I raised my hand and calmly said, "That's me."

Mom and Dad's faces paled at the arrival of the staff members from the Department of Education.

The situation was escalating. They just wanted to quietly get rid of me while I was still in school and didn't expect the authorities to get involved—and that too, at the provincial level.

Meanwhile, Richard felt as if his legs had turned to jelly. Sweat drenched the back of his shirt. He convinced himself that things would be fine since my results were usually abysmal, so even if my request to examine the papers was approved, my score would be low or even zero.

As long as he insisted that I had cheated during the exam, things would still work out in his favor.

Richard pointed at me and shouted, "That's her, Mr. Peters! Not only did she cheat during the exam, but she also disrupted school order! I have proof that she hid her cheating materials in her desk!"

Ashton glanced at him and said coldly, "We will verify the evidence later, but for now, we'll have to retrieve a scanned copy of the exam papers. To ensure fairness, we'll be working with the Provincial Department of Education to project the exam papers on the spot for everyone."

A massive screen was lowered in the multimedia classroom.

The teachers and students were ushered to the square to watch the live stream that had millions of people tuning in. Everyone was waiting with bated breath to ridicule me for stooping so low as to cheat on an exam despite being from an elite family.

Layla swallowed nervously as she leaned into Mom's embrace.

"We will retrieve Ms. Layla Sanders' exam paper first," Ashton announced.

The screen lit up, showing Layla's exam paper. Her work was neat and tidy, and the paper was free of smudges. Although there were some mistakes, it was undeniable that she would score highly for her work.

"Wow! No wonder she's an ace!"

"Her handwriting is so pretty!"

"She'll probably score more than 1,360 points, huh?"

Layla breathed a sigh of relief. A reserved smile stretched across her lips as she basked in the compliments.

"See? This is the work of someone who's truly capable," Richard said smugly. "There's no way that a bad student like Talia can produce this kind of work unless she copied someone!"

Mom straightened her back before she pointed at me and berated me, "How dare you try to tear Layla down when she's such an excellent student? Do you have no conscience?"

My face remained impassive as I said, "Don't pass judgment on me just yet. We haven't even reached the climax of the show yet."

"We'll be retrieving Ms. Talia Sanders' exam paper now," Ashton said.

The screen flickered as one of the staff members typed away on the keyboard. A few seconds later, my reading exam paper was displayed on the screen.

Dead silence descended upon the room.

Five seconds passed before someone let out an explosive curse.

The paper was blank except for my name and ID number that were written neatly at the top.

I had only written a single sentence, "Talia Sanders was here."