Chapter 3

I thought that would be the end of it.

But a few days later, nasty rumors started spreading like wildfire at school.

"Did you hear? Fiona Forbes is obsessed with her step-uncle. She even drugged him to try and force his hand!"

"Oh my god, that is so gross! Isn't that practically incest?"

"No wonder Chloe said Fiona had been bullying her behind closed doors. You really can't judge a book by its cover!"

As I walked through the campus, I could feel the judgmental stares coming from every direction.

Right outside my classroom, a group of girls blocked my way.

It was Chloe’s little clique.

The girl leading them crossed her arms, looking down her nose at me.

"Fiona, have you no shame? Trying to seduce your own uncle?"

I looked at her coldly. "Slander is a crime. Do you want to get sued?"

She sneered. "Who’s slandering you? There are photos on the school forum to prove it!"

I opened my phone and indeed saw a hot thread on the campus forum.

The title read: "Rich Heiress Seduces Step-Uncle with Drugs, Gets Rejected and Dumped."

Inside were a few blurry photos—screenshots from the security camera outside Julian’s apartment that night.

They clearly showed a flushed Julian grabbing my arm.

The poster had carefully selected the angles, making it look like I was throwing myself at him.

Meanwhile, there wasn't a single photo of Chloe arriving later.

Before I could read further, Julian’s call came through.

"Get to the parking lot," his voice was cold as ice. "Right now."

When I reached the parking lot, his car was already waiting.

The window rolled down, revealing Julian’s tense jawline.

"Get in."

I pulled the door open and sat down. Before he could speak, I said, "I didn't post that."

"Who else could it be?" He whipped his head around to glare at me, his eyes bloodshot. "Do you have any idea how many people are laughing at me right now?"

"Fiona, do you hate me that much? You’d drag your own name through the mud just to ruin me?"

"Hate you?" I laughed softly. "You're not worth it."

Right in front of him, I logged into the school forum on my phone.

"The ID is anonymous, but the IP address shows it was posted from a café in the north side of the city."

I looked up at him. "Yesterday, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, Chloe was right there."

Julian’s brow furrowed tightly. "What are you trying to say?"

"It’s very simple," I turned my screen toward him.

"Your precious angel is happily playing the role of the future Mrs. Forbes while stabbing you in the back."

"Of course, she probably just wanted to target me and didn't realize it would ruin your social standing as well."

On the screen was a selfie Chloe and a few other girls had taken in a private room at that exact café.

The time and location matched perfectly.

Julian’s expression turned incredibly ugly.

"Chloe... wouldn't do something like this."

"Really?" I put my phone away. "Then feel free to keep believing your perfect first love."

I reached for the door handle, but he slammed his hand over it, pinning it shut.

"Find a way to get the post down," he commanded. "I’ll have people handle the rest of the rumors."

"Why should I?" I sneered. "I wasn't the one who did anything wrong."

"Because your last name is Forbes!" he practically roared. "The Forbes family reputation cannot be ruined by your petty drama!"

My heart felt a sharp prick.

So, in his mind, the Forbes family reputation was still more important than the truth.

Or rather, he just refused to believe Chloe could be so malicious.

"Fine," I agreed, catching him off guard. "I’ll have it taken down."

Right in front of him, I contacted the forum administrator, using the Forbes name to pressure them into deleting the thread.

Then, I proceeded to block him across all platforms.

SnapChat, phone calls, emails... even our old childhood gaming accounts. I deleted everything.

Watching my fingers fly across the screen, Julian’s face darkened further.

"Fiona, what kind of game are you playing now?"

I raised my head, looking at him with utter calmness.

"From today on, you are no longer my uncle. We have absolutely nothing to do with each other."