Chapter 4

Yet my joy didn't last long before a devastating nightmare struck.

His mother filmed a video and posted it across social media.

In the clip, she cried hysterically, tearfully accusing me of heinous misconduct.

"I am formally reporting Wren Hall, a teacher at our elite public academy!"

"Despite the strict district ban on unauthorized paid tutoring, she ran an illegal underground prep class and coerced my son into joining!"

"Afterward, she turned around and extorted a staggering fifteen thousand dollars in tutoring fees from our family!"

"We are barely scraping by as it is, and we have a newborn baby to feed! We desperately need that money to survive!"

"She is literally driving our entire family into an early grave!"

The moment the video hit the district, the principal summoned me directly to his office.

He looked at me with heavy concern. "Wren, can you explain what's going on here?"

I nodded frantically, my voice trembling with urgency. "I did tutor her son, but I never ran any illegal prep class! And I never charged her a single cent in tutoring fees!"

"Mr. Reynolds, you have to believe me! I would never do something like that!"

The principal pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "The problem is, she didn't just post that video online. She filed a formal complaint with the Department of Education."

"And she attached proof."

With that, he slid a document across the desk.

It was a bank transfer receipt between the mother and me.

The record clearly showed a fifteen-thousand-dollar deposit into my account, which I had indeed accepted.

My mind went completely blank as the real memory flashed through my head.

I vividly remembered that evening after tutoring Jeremy.

I had grabbed my purse, ready to head home.

His mother had suddenly grabbed my wrist, hesitating before whispering, "Ms. Hall, can I talk to you in private downstairs?"

I paused, but nodded and followed her out.

We walked down to an empty corner near the parking lot.

The moment we stopped, she dropped to her knees, grabbing my legs and weeping uncontrollably.

"Ms. Hall, I have nowhere else to turn!"

"My husband gambled everything away again! He blew through my son's college tuition!"

"On top of that, I was just diagnosed with leukemia! My life is falling apart!"

"I don't care about myself, but I can't let my son's future be ruined!"

"You know how hard he worked to finally turn his life around. His college entrance exam is right around the corner, and I can't let him miss this chance!"

"Please, I beg you, save our family!"

Seeing that I remained silent, she began slamming her forehead against the rough concrete, refusing to stop even as her skin tore and bled.

My heart broke instantly. I rushed to pull her up.

After a long, agonizing pause, I gave in.

"Fine. I'll lend you the money."

After that night, I lent her a total of seventy-five thousand dollars out of my personal savings.

That fifteen-thousand-dollar deposit on the statement was simply the very first installment she had supposedly "repaid" me.

The realization that I had been ruthlessly framed hit me like a truck.

"I can explain that fifteen thousand!" I blurted out. "She borrowed that money from me! She claimed she was sick and couldn't pay her son's tuition, so I lent it to her out of pocket!"

The principal looked at me with a weary sigh. "Do you have a signed loan agreement or promissory note?"

The air left my lungs instantly. I bowed my head and whispered, "No."

Mr. Miller, our department chair, stepped up to defend me. "Mr. Reynolds, you know Wren's character. She would never do this."

"She's just too soft-hearted and got played by a scammer."

"If the school issues a formal statement to clear her name, this whole thing—"

The principal cut him off sharply.

"Don't you understand how public outrage works?"

"The public doesn't care about the real story behind that money."

"All they see is a teacher from our elite prep school secretly tutoring on the side, breaking policy, and pocketing thousands of dollars!"

"The moment you agreed to tutor him off campus, you already violated the district code!"

I clenched my fists, completely at a loss for words.