Trevor gave lip service to not using showbiz tricks against Aubree, but the moment he turned around, he was already texting his assistant, Joey Reed. Trevor thought, "What better time to spread rumors than during the esports championship hype?"

But little did Trevor know, Aubree was thinking the exact same thing.

Plagiarism among college students isn't uncommon, and the Wilson family could’ve easily swept it under the rug without causing much of a stir. But Carmen just had to get on stage. This made her a prime target for public scrutiny.

Bowen wasted no time. By the time Joey was about to pay for a smear campaign against Aubree, the trending searches were already filled with hashtags accusing Carmen of having a ghostwriter.

Joey said urgently, "Boss, check the trending searches now! Rumors about Carmen hiring a ghostwriter are all over the internet, and people have already figured out she’s your sister! Your haters are using this to attack you; if we don’t act fast, this could seriously damage your reputation."

When Joey called, Trevor almost thought he’d misheard. “Wait, Carmen’s the one getting dragged online?”

He thought, "If I remember right, didn’t Bryan handle this? How could it still go wrong?”

Trevor’s gaze froze for a moment as a name surfaced in his mind: Bowen.

If Bowen was really behind this, then Bryan alone didn’t stand a chance.

A spark of interest flickered in Trevor’s eyes. “Well, this just got interesting,” he thought.

“Hold off on that matter I asked you to handle,” Trevor ordered, a smirk playing on his lips. Right now, he was far more interested in seeing how Carmen would dig herself out of this mess.

Meanwhile, Carmen received a call from Rithol Art School, essentially demanding her voluntary withdrawal.

If she refused to withdraw on her own, Rithol Art School would have no choice but to expel her.

“Aubree, you fucking bitch!" Carmen screamed, hurling her phone to the floor where it shattered into pieces.

Carmen’s face darkened with rage, teetering on the edge of explosion. Her breath came in short, ragged bursts.

Bowen never misses his mark. With the backlash from her outburst at the Autumn Finals already brewing, Carmen had truly shot herself in the foot, leaving her with no way to defend herself.

Staying at Rithol was out of the question now. The priority was damage control. She had to clear her name from those ghostwriting allegations online. But she wondered who she could possibly turn to for help.

She thought, “Emery’s definitely out. Daxton rushed back to the lab last night for an emergency. No way he’ll be free anytime soon. And Mom and Dad? They’re on a business trip in a neighboring state."

Among the remaining options, Carmen hesitated for a moment before deciding to turn to Bryan for help.

At Ellis Heights, Aubree woke from her sleep. Sleeping in until nearly noon had completely refreshed her, melting away all the exhaustion from the past few days.

Bowen’s medicine worked like a charm. After just one night, the pain in her back had significantly subsided, allowing her to move around normally again.

Of course, what truly made her happiest was the bank notification: her prize money from the Autumn Finals had finally arrived.

The prize pool for the Autumn Finals was a staggering 23 million dollars. With only seven members in God’s Fury, and Alvin giving up his share for the rest of us to split, she ended up with over 3 million dollars. With this kind of money, she could finally take the first step toward founding her own club.

Gleefully rereading the message several times, Aubree finally pocketed her phone and headed downstairs.

Aubree walked into the dining room and saw food on the table. It looked like someone had already eaten.

Aubree called out, “Carol, did we have a visitor?”

Carol answered, “Oh, you’re up, Aubree. Bowen stayed over last night. We were going to call you down for lunch, but he insisted we shouldn’t disturb your sleep. He ate first and asked us to prepare a fresh meal for you when you woke up.”

Aubree’s eyes flickered with surprise. "Bowen stayed overnight at Ellis Heights?" she thought, somewhat taken aback by the news.

"Is Bowen still here?" Aubree asked, a little too eagerly. She’d planned to talk to him about the club after the Autumn Finals celebration. If she could rope in this golden ticket as an investor, it would save her a lot of trouble.

"If Bowen were here right now, it would save me a lot of trouble," Aubree thought.

Daxton made her realize that only by becoming truly strong herself could she stand tall.

Even with Alvin around yesterday, Darton still dared to strike. After all, Alvin was a Turner in name only; he didn’t have any real clout to make people wary. But the moment Bowen showed up, Darton got put in his place and had no choice but to swallow his pride.

“He should be in the study," Carol replied.

Bryan was at the office.

Standing at the company reception desk, Carmen was uncharacteristically nervous. She hadn’t spoken to Bryan since that awkward moment when he asked her about the tic.

To this day, she still didn’t know if Bryan had figured anything out. That time, before she could say a word, he just told her to leave.

Carmen stood at the company’s front desk, brows furrowed, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Her eyes darted away from the receptionist’s puzzled gaze. After a moment’s hesitation, she finally stepped into the elevator that led straight to Bryan’s office on the top floor.

“Bryan…” Carmen called out, her voice trembling.

After days of relentless work, Bryan looked up dazedly at the sound of his name. When he recognized who it was, a flicker of disappointment flashed through his eyes before his brows drew together. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, his voice edged with impatience.

There was an unexpected edge of impatience in his tone.

Carmen gnawed at her lip, a hint of shock in her eyes, as if trying to confirm what she was seeing.

"Is Bryan annoyed with me? And that look he just gave, who was he hoping to see? Aubree?" Carmen thought.

Question after question swirled in Carmen’s mind. Her lips trembled, eyes smoldering with resentment.

Snapped out of her daze by Bryan’s repeated questioning, she hung her head in dismay and whimpered, “Bryan, did you check your phone? The ghostwriter you found for me turned against me and now Rithol Art School is forcing me to withdraw. What am I supposed to do?"

"Only our family should know about this. Maybe Aubree has caught wind of it too. Could it be that… Or perhaps that person just didn’t know what was good for them.”

Carmen kept her head slightly bowed, stealing glances at Bryan’s expression from the corner of her eye.

This matter had somehow dragged the Wilson family into it. She deliberately wanted Bryan to pin the blame on Aubree; even if not for her sake, surely for the family's sake, she felt that he’d be furious at Aubree for being too reckless.

Unfortunately, Bryan wasn’t the same big brother who used to turn a blind eye and let her do whatever she wanted. He was no longer the one who tried to teach Aubree a lesson just to keep her in line.

He scoffed coldly.

As Carmen looked up, she met Bryan’s eyes. He was staring at her with undisguised contempt.

Bryan said coldly, “So you’re trying to pin your ghostwriting on Aubree!”

Her little scheme exposed so bluntly, Carmen’s eyes darted around nervously, an indescribable unease twisting in her chest. "What does Bryan mean by this?" she wondered anxiously.

Bryan’s frown deepened. "How could I have treated Aubree like that all these years?" he thought bitterly. "Compared to Carmen’s malice and hypocrisy, Aubree has always been so genuine and kind, completely devoted to our family. How could I have been so blind?"

"Carmen Wilson," Bryan looked at her coldly and said, “Had you been truly capable, none of this would’ve happened. You brought this on yourself!”

Carmen’s pupils constricted sharply, her gaze filled with utter shock and disbelief. She thought, "Bryan is actually blaming me!"

"How dare he say that to me! I’ve never been treated like this before; it’s infuriating! How dare Bryan say that to me? Wasn’t he the one who found the ghostwriter? If he couldn’t even get that right and ended up hiring someone unreliable, what gives him the right to turn around and blame me?"

All those negative emotions piled up at once. Carmen broke down, sobbing and shouting, “Fine! Maybe I do deserve this! I’ll never measure up to Aubree! But if you hadn’t sent her to study art in the first place, none of this would’ve happened!”

Carmen shouted, “Emery was the one who gave me the spot at Rithol Art School! You were the one who found the ghostwriter! So why are you blaming me for all of this?”

She thought, "I really don’t see how any of this is my fault. All I ever did was speak my mind; it’s not like I made them do anything for me, right?"

"All of this? The Wilson family did it because they wanted to!"

Bryan never imagined that, in Carmen’s eyes, everything they’d done was simply expected of them. The absurdity of it all made him let out a bitter laugh. Searching his conscience, he wondered if she truly didn’t realize what her hints would lead to.

After all, Bryan and Carmen had been siblings for over a decade. There was genuine affection between them.

He used to think Carmen was just clinging to their affection. Whenever she acted out, he chalked it up to typical girlhood jealousy and chose to turn a blind eye. Besides, wanting to teach Aubree a lesson, he always indulged her every whim.

But it never occurred to him that, in Carmen’s eyes, all those years of doting affection were simply taken for granted.

With an icy glare, Bryan looked at her and said, “If you truly believe our past kindness only hurt you, then don’t ever come to me again. Get out!”

The moment the words left her mouth, Carmen instantly regretted it. “Why couldn’t I just keep my cool!” she thought.

Before she could even offer a word of apology, Bryan’s abrupt words sent her temper soaring again.

Carmen thought defiantly, "Fine, I’ll go! It’s not like I’m alone; I’ve still got Mom, Dad, and Daxton on my side!"

"Don’t you dare regret this, Bryan!"