Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

This was Shawn, a war hero who'd fought tons of battles, sticking up for a woman—and for the first time in front of a huge crowd.
The crazy part was that the woman he defended wasn't some rich heiress. She was just a girl who'd recently come back from a small town.
Of all people, it had to be Zoe. Even the daughters of Jelonsburg's fanciest families didn't get this kind of treatment. No wonder the girls were furious.
Shawn's defending of Zoe did it. Jealousy, frustration, and anger hit everyone.
If Shawn had defended any of them, they wouldn't have freaked out so much. But it was Zoe. That girl who still had a country vibe in their eyes.
Even though they were mad, none of them dared to say anything after Shawn spoke. All they could do was watch Zoe walk away.
Eunice and the other girls left, too. But before she went, Eunice gripped her phone tight, biting her lip. She had pictures of Zoe flirting with Shawn in public.
Shawn watched Zoe walk off. She moved like perfection. An unfamiliar, complicated look crossed his face.
Only after everyone left did Shawn pull out a military phone and make a call. "Get the Intelligence Division on it. I want someone checked out."
Since her assassination failed, Zoe didn't meet anyone else. She left the party hall right away. She canceled all the plans she'd made earlier, like they never existed.
The next day was the weekend. Early morning, Jelonsburg's internet went nuts. Twitter crashed a bunch of times.
A popular blogger posted an article with pictures: "The fallen heiress returns, seduces Shawn in public, aiming for the top?"
In no time, millions saw it. The pictures showed Zoe gently touching Shawn's Adam's apple. The internet blew up. Everyone trashed the shameless rich heiress online.
Even though Zoe had just come back to Jelonsburg, this article made her famous—in a bad way—overnight.
[CorgiLover: Zoe's so shameless. She actually seduced Mr. Ludwig in public! Is she some country bumpkin? Acting like she's never seen a guy. We need to call her out.]
[Faaaaty: Just yesterday, I heard Ms. Yoder say she's that genius chemistry girl. Maybe her "talent" comes from seducing men? She even charmed Shawn—doesn't she look in the mirror? Does she even deserve it?]
[CallMeMommy: It's true. She just came from some small town. It's only been a few days, and she's already trying to get Mr. Ludwig. The more you think about it, the weirder it gets. We should look into her. Maybe she's after more big shots.]
Everyone thought the gossip would die down. But then, a user named [MePrincess] popped up and dropped two even juicier rumors—way more scandalous.
[MePrincess: I Got some shocking news! Zoe's a total schemer. She even attacked Mr. Zack Shelton, the VP of Highcrest University. He's still out because of her.
[And her so-called chemistry talent? Fake! She used connections to get into Highcrest University. Here's a picture of her meeting Donald in the garden. She must've threatened Mr. Hunter to help her. Check it out.]
With more "evidence" coming out—some true, some not—the chaos got worse. The line between truth and lies got all blurry.
Zack, one of the people involved, stepped up. He posted a picture of his bandaged wrist on Twitter, making the rumor that Zoe attacked him even bigger.
Public opinion hit the roof.
[A student like that shouldn't be at Highcrest University!]
[For the kids' safety, we gotta kick her out.]
[@Zoe Zoe, stop hiding! Come out and apologize to everyone you hurt.]
[Apologize!]
The online outrage got louder. Some people even started doxxing Zoe, trying to show up at her place and cause trouble.
But Zoe had no clue about any of this. She rarely checked local websites. She liked international news platforms better.
Zoe was about to go downstairs when she ran into Clara. Clara looked super mad as she rushed home. Zoe was gonna ignore her.