Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 25: Chapter 25

When Zoe heard that, a little smile popped up on her lips. She'd expected this. For someone like Shawn, if he had even a tiny bit of doubt about her, he wouldn't lower his guard. She'd seen that up close on the battlefield before.
Zoe chuckled quietly. "Don't stop him. Let him dig around."
Donald was a bit taken aback, but he still did as he was told. "Got it. I'm on it. If you need anything else, just say the word. I'll be here 24/7."
The call ended. Zoe had a confident smirk on her face.
The warm morning sun was peeking through the curtains, casting shifting light and shadows in the room. It was like a sign that the battle between her and Shawn in Jelonsburg was just getting started.
Zoe thought, 'Shawn, this time, you're in for a disappointment. Do you really think I came all the way to Clusia unprepared? This is gonna be a fight with all the cards on the table and some hidden up my sleeve, a clash of brains and strategies.'
Once Donald opened up the investigation channels, the Intelligence Division team got the info fast. In less than half an hour, every detail about Zoe's life—from when she was a kid to now—was handed to Shawn.
Chase Luther analyzed. "Mr. Ludwig, from what I can tell, there's nothing fishy in these files. She just seems like a regular young girl."
Shawn pressed his lips and didn't say a word. His long fingers flipped through the file, checking every page carefully, taking in all the details.
[Name: Zoe
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Life Story: Went missing at five and was on her own for a year. At six, she was adopted by a nice couple, Jeffery Quinn and Rebecca Quinn. They didn't have kids at first, and the family was pretty chill. But when she was eight, they had a son and made her live in the pigsty.]
There were pictures of Zoe before she went missing and shots of her growing up in the village after she disappeared.
This all came from a really thorough investigation. Everything confirmed that before coming back to Jelonsburg, Zoe was just a normal girl adopted by someone, living in a remote village for years.
"Mr. Ludwig?" Chase called out a few times, finally snapping Shawn out of his thoughts.
Shawn handed all the papers to Chase. "Stop the investigation from now on."
"Got it."
Shawn's sharp, commanding eyes looked off into the distance, his expression cold and full of pride. He thought, 'Could it really not be her?'
Over the weekend, the online rumors about Zoe trying to seduce Shawn, making up stories, and pulling sneaky moves just got worse.
Soon, it was time for the combat test Zack had talked about.
At the Highcrest University training ground, the students couldn't help but be impressed by Zoe's cool demeanor as she went to class like nothing was wrong.
"Zoe, trying to seduce Mr. Ludwig in public and acting like a shameless hussy—how do you have the guts to show up here?" Cheryl yelled at Zoe, hands on her hips.
This started a chain reaction, and the other students joined in, openly bashing Zoe.
"Trying to climb the social ladder? You? Don't make me laugh! You're just a country girl from nowhere."
"You don't even deserve the rich guys born and raised here in Jelonsburg, let alone dream about Mr. Ludwig. He's a national hero; someone like you can't even come close to him."
"If you don't want to be completely kicked out of Jelonsburg's elite social circle, you'd better drop those crazy ideas right now."
"You're not just trying to seduce Mr. Ludwig, you're faking your homework and screwing with people behind the scenes too. Now I get why Mr. Shelton got hurt—it was all you, you shameless creep."
"Exactly! You're an embarrassment to our fancy school. Everywhere we go, people are pointing fingers at us because of you."
"Zoe, you're like that one rotten apple that spoils the whole bunch for the rest of us."
"Anyway, if she fails the combat test today, she's outta Highcrest University for good. Let's just sit back and watch the show."