Chapter 4 Confrontation
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Sarah was only average in ability, but somehow, every professor called her gifted.
The real reason? Most of that work wasn’t hers to begin with.
Whenever there were research reports to do, Sarah would whine and act cute, saying she was too tired and didn’t want to do them. She’d beg Naomi and Harvey to help, and most of the time, they gave in.
Naomi never wanted to hand over her work. But because of Harvey–and her desperate need to please her brother and the rest of the family–she had no choice but to let Sarah take credit for her research.
Harvey had always believed Sarah was exceptionally talented. She’d published high–quality, valuable papers and even won several academic competitions. In his mind, that was enough proof of her ability.
So when she slacked off or acted spoiled, he didn’t mind. If she was being sweet with him, how could he say no?
What he didn’t know was that all those valuable papers Sarah had published were actually stolen from Naomi.
Everyone on the outside thought Sarah was a prodigy, gifted in every field. But they didn’t realize that all of it came from someone else.
Naomi wasn’t made of stone. Every time she saw her hard work stolen, she felt furious—but in the name of family peace, she swallowed it all.
Eventually, as it happened again and again, Sarah stopped even trying to hide it. She openly bossed Naomi around, even making her do the work for competitions. Sarah would show up, take the prize, and smile for the camera.
Sometimes, she even threatened Naomi–saying that if she ever told anyone the truth, she’d ruin her reputation with the Judd family, turn everyone against her, maybe even get her disowned.
In her past life, Naomi had cared too much about family. She’d been terrified and did whatever Sarah said.
But now, Naomi smirked coldly as she laid everything out in the report–how Sarah had stolen her papers and research reports–and attached the original drafts and proof.
And of course, she didn’t leave Harvey out. He was an accomplice.
After hitting send, she finally let out a long breath and took a cab to an apartment she owned in the city. Once everything was unpacked, she stretched out comfortably on the bed.
She didn’t bother checking for a response to the report. School kept her busy. But from classmates, she caught wind of what happened.
The day Sarah and Harvey returned to campus after Sarah’s birthday, Sarah was detained for questioning almost as soon as she set foot on school grounds. Clearly, the school was taking it seriously.
Harvey, of course, wasn’t having it. He demanded answers, and the school told him Sarah was being investigated for academic fraud.
He refused to believe it. Swore up and down it was impossible. Said Sarah had gotten everything through
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Chapter 4 Confrontation
didn’t budge. They said they’d conduct a full investigation.
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She was held for questioning all day and only released that evening. When she got home, Sarah cried non- stop, saying nothing except that she’d been wronged. She didn’t mention the investigation at all.
The Judd family was in a panic. They all crowded around to comfort her. Harvey was especially frantic. He called in every favor he could think of, trying to prove Sarah wasn’t guilty. But it was useless.
The school placed a temporary ban on her, Until the investigation was over, Sarah couldn’t take part in any school activities, competitions, or even club events.
Harvey somehow found out Naomi was the one who reported her. Furious, he set out to confront her.
But when he kicked open the door to her dorm room, He found it empty. She was long gone.
The place had been cleaned out. Nothing left behind.
Harvey stood frozen. That’s when it hit him–she must have moved out the day of the birthday party.
Naomi? Doing something like this? He couldn’t believe it. But disbelief quickly gave way to rage.
He didn’t know where she lived now, so he waited outside her school.
Naomi had just finished classes. She had one hand in her pocket, earbuds in, music playing as she strolled along–until a shadow appeared in front of her. She looked up.
It was Harvey.
He looked exhausted and furious. Maybe it was the stress from the past few days, but the dark circles under his eyes were hard to miss.
Naomi didn’t need to guess why he was there. She hadn’t just reported Sarah–Harvey had been named, too. That meant the school must have questioned him as well.
A golden boy like Harvey, born into privilege, wasn’t used to this kind of humiliation. But even now, he didn’t ask why she did it. Instead, he clenched his jaw and spat out a demand.
“Go tell the school Sarah didn’t do anything. Say it was all made up.”
Then he added, “I’m letting this go for now, but you need to clear her name. She’s been crying for days, Naomi. She can’t do anything at school. Is this what you wanted?”
Naomi looked at him calmly, no emotion on her face. She slowly removed her earbuds.
“Harvey, everything in that report is true. If it weren’t, do you really think the school would’ve stopped her from attending events and held her for questioning? You should cherish what little time you have left with her–because if they confirm it, she could go to prison.”
“Impossible! Sarah would never commit academic fraud! You’re framing her! You want me to take you to court?”
Harvey shouted. Naomi let out a short laugh.
He hadn’t seen the report. He’d just found out it came from her–probably through some backchannel.
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So he didn’t know Sarah had stolen Naomi’s work.
Naomi didn’t mind telling him. After all, it had been hers to begin with.
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She opened her mouth to speak–but before she could say anything, a rush of hurried footsteps cut her
off.
“Harvey! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Come on, let’s go home!”
It was Sarah. Her forehead was damp with sweat, and she looked flustered as she ran over, grabbing Harvey’s hand.
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