"If you didn’t hit her, then who did?" Mrs. Lewis yelled, eyes wide with anger. "How could Peyton end up hurt like this? Don’t tell ... it was that little witch Aurora?!" She glared. "Alexander, you’re getting more and more out of control. How could you let sothing like this happen? You’re a grown man—how could you not..."
"Auntie, it’s not like that..." Peyton, embarrassed by Mrs. Lewis’s passionate defense, quickly interrupted in a soft voice.
"Then what is going on?"
"I... I..." Peyton looked down, unable to keep lying but too scared to tell the truth.
Alexander let out a cold laugh and pulled out his phone. "There’s a video on here. Take a look for yourself!"
"No... Alexander, please don’t!"
Peyton flinched in fear. If Mrs. Lewis found out what she was really like, she probably wouldn’t forgive her either.
Just then, Kennedy ca ho from school. She quickly picked up on what was going on, and like most college girls, she’d already seen the gossip—Peyton’s video was circulating.
"Mom, co here. Let explain," Kennedy pulled Mrs. Lewis aside. "Peyton got attacked during a robbery. Soone tried to steal her purse."
Alexander nearly coughed up blood from the anger. How could Kennedy be this biased?
Back when he was dating Aurora, they’d bought Kennedy all kinds of gifts. Aurora had always treated her well.
But Kennedy never once gave Aurora a break. And Peyton? Sure, she had her charm, but she wasn’t that different from Aurora—yet Kennedy always took her side.
"Mom, don’t listen to their nonsense!" Alexander snapped. "Peyton was hooking up with so guy, and his girlfriend found out. That’s why she got beat up by those won!"
His chest heaved as he looked at Peyton with disgust. "You go on and on about how much you love , and the next second you’re cheating? Peyton, your ’love’ is really sothing—heavy and magical, huh?"
Peyton’s face turned red, then pale. She cried as she looked at Mrs. Lewis. "Auntie, I... I was forced, I swear! That man tricked onto the rooftop, said he had a great job opportunity for . I know I co from a wealthy family, but I wanted to rely on myself, to land a good, respectable job. I never thought... he’d just kiss like that!"
Alexander sneered. He couldn’t believe Peyton had the nerve to twist a hookup into a sob story.
Unbelievable.
Mrs. Lewis instantly reached out and patted her hand in sympathy. "You’re right—there’s nothing wrong with a woman wanting a respectable job. Alexander, she’s been through enough. Can’t you comfort her instead of blaming her?"
Alexander felt like he’d been poisoned on the spot.
What happened to his mom’s common sense?
She didn’t believe her own son, but bought into a stranger’s story?
He knew Peyton had been cheating—he even got a trusted friend to review the video. She hadn’t resisted at all when the guy kissed her.
Unfortunately, the part showing them kissing wasn’t caught on cara—only the scene where Peyton was getting beaten up had been recorded by one of Julian’s female friends.
"Great. I’m so pissed I could die!" Alexander shouted, throwing down the fruit in his hand and storming out of the house.
Peyton panicked. "I’ll go after him—"
"Let him cool off first," Mrs. Lewis said calmly. "n are like that. The more upset he is, the more it shows he cares. You chase him now, he’ll just get more worked up. Co on, sit down, relax. Dinner will be ready soon."
She didn’t seem the least bit worried about her son’s outburst. On the contrary, she smiled and pulled Peyton down to sit beside her.
In Mrs. Lewis’s eyes, Alexander had never been a problem. He was strong, reliable, and always respectful to her.
No matter what happened, she believed her son would always treat his mother well.
A hint of triumph flickered in Peyton’s eyes. It looked like Mrs. Lewis had been completely won over.
"Mom, did you know? Aurora’s been getting dragged like crazy this week!" Kennedy chid in with a sneer. "She and so actress tried to get Everett’s attention, but it backfired. She even had the nerve to call the cops and claim they kidnapped her or tried to kill her!"
Peyton dabbed her tears, "Maybe she was... falsely accused? Miss Aurora doesn’t seem like that kind of person. And Mr. Everett’s always defended her..."
That last line was key—a subtle reminder to Mrs. Lewis that Everett was clearly on Aurora’s side.
Mrs. Lewis made a face. "Won like that—thank God Alexander didn’t end up with her. What a disaster that would’ve been."
"Exactly, Mom! Now that big brother’s with Peyton—such a great woman—you can finally relax!" Kennedy grinned.
Peyton’s face turned slightly red. "Kennedy, how could you say sothing like that?"
Mrs. Lewis patted Peyton’s hand. "Don’t be shy. Kennedy’s right."
The atmosphere finally lightened. But just then, Kennedy’s phone buzzed. She looked at the screen—and froze.
Soone had tagged her on Twitter, sharing a link to a news article.
"New Evidence Erges in Aurora’s Late-Night Kidnapping Case!"
Kennedy clicked on it. Her hand trembled, and she nearly choked on her frustration.
The article roughly read:
"...In recent days, Aurora and Autumn have released conflicting statents on Twitter, each standing their ground. Aurora has faced heavy backlash and online attacks from fans. More and more people started believing that Autumn, who has no connections or background, was the innocent one.
However, yesterday a recording surfaced that once again reveals Autumn’s cruel and manipulative nature!"
What the hell?!
How was there new evidence again?
Kennedy forced herself to stay calm and kept reading.
"...The recording allegedly captures Autumn telling her assistant Caroline to slit her wrists so she could film it and stream a fake suicide attempt on Twitter.
The plan failed—Caroline walked out. But in their conversation, Autumn’s jealousy and hatred toward Aurora are clear. Even worse, she sounded smug—like she was celebrating a win.
Want to know more? Visit our forum where we’ve posted all the evidence and full audio clips for you to hear it yourself..."
Are you kidding ?!
Kennedy bit her tongue to hold back from cursing out loud.
What was all this?
Was Autumn really that kind of person—and Aurora the one who had actually been set up?
"Kennedy, what’s wrong?" Mrs. Lewis asked, noticing her daughter’s changing expressions.
Kennedy quickly exited the app. "Nothing, Mom. I’m just hungry. Hurry and cook sothing!"
Mrs. Lewis gently poked her forehead. "You’re already grown and still haven’t learned to cook. Who’s gonna marry you, huh?"
"Hmph, the one who loves will love no matter what!" Kennedy said proudly. Girls her age always had a bit of that innocent confidence. She was in her sophomore year of college, but still hadn’t really tasted how brutal the real world could be.
Once Mrs. Lewis went into the kitchen, Kennedy sat down next to Peyton.
"So annoying," she muttered. "That bitch actually has another recording that clears her na!"
Peyton’s stomach dropped. "Seriously?"
"I’m gonna go listen to it now," Kennedy said, already pulling up the newspaper’s site and heading straight to the forum.
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