Chapter 79

As usual, Zachary parked the car in a less crowded spot some distance from the school. The moment the car stopped, Aubree snatched her backpack and scrambled out. “Zachary, skip the pickup tonight, I’ve got stuff to do.”

Aubree usually didn’t arrive at school early, so at this hour, the front gate was typically quiet. But today was different; the entrance was completely blocked by an unexpected crowd. She also saw a few camera crews.

‘What’s going on here?’ Aubree wondered, frowning at the crowd.

As Aubree approached with her backpack, a sharp-eyed reporter suddenly shouted, “Hey, that’s Aubree! She’s here!”

All at once, the crowd surged forward. Several reporters blocked her path while gawking students closed in from all sides, trapping her.

Aubree was completely baffled. ‘Since when did winning an esports tournament warrant this kind of media frenzy?’ she wondered.

The moment the reporters started asking questions, Aubree realized just how wrong she was.

“Hey Aubree, are you Phoenix, the mid laner who just won the League of Legends Autumn Finals?” someone asked, shoving a microphone right in her face, nearly hitting her.

Aubree frowned and stepped back defensively. “Yeah, that’s me,” she replied, her tone guarded.

A reporter asked, “Aubree, as a pro gamer, how do you respond to the cheating allegations in the finals?”

Another asked, “Aubree, rumor has it you’re the long-lost heiress of the Wilson family. Were you kicked out due to your misconduct?”

A third asked, “Aubree, did you really cheat in the tournament?”

Someone else asked, “Aubree, rumor has it you bullied your stepsister Carmen so badly that your family disowned and kicked you out. Any response to these allegations?”

A reporter asked, “Aubree, did you know it was your own teammate who publicly accused you of cheating in the tournament?”

‘What the hell is all this?’ Aubree thought, completely bewildered.

Aubree’s mind reeled from the barrage of questions. ‘Who cheated? And who reported me?’ she wondered. She thought, ‘Isn’t this all that dumbass Daxton’s fault? How the hell did my teammate get dragged into this now? And how the hell did my family get dragged into this?’

Aubree was just reaching for the nearest microphone when a sudden shout cut through the chaos, “It’s Ms. Alice!”

Just then, a fur-clad socialite in a designer miniskirt, Alice Wilson, stepped forward, extending her meticulously manicured hand to snatch the microphone, while her bodyguards cleared a path through the crowd with practiced efficiency.

Alice strode right up and took her place beside Aubree. “Good day, friends from the press. I’m Alice, Aubree’s mother. I deeply regret that my daughter has become so unscrupulous. As her mother, this is my failure.”

Alice’s words instantly had every reporter turning their questions on Aubree.

A reporter asked, “Ms. Wilson, are you admitting that Aubree cheated in the tournament finals?”

“While I’m not entirely clear about this particular incident, I wouldn’t put it past my daughter to do something like this.”

With even her biological mother giving such a damning evaluation, the looks directed at Aubree shifted instantly. With an artfully crafted look of helpless resignation, Alice appeared every inch the long-suffering mother driven to her wit’s end by her daughter’s rebelliousness.

Aubree watched with cold detachment, thinking, ‘If these reporters aren’t in cahoots with Alice, I’ll eat my hat.’

A reporter asked, “So, are those online rumors about Aubree bullying her stepsister Carmen and getting kicked out of the family true as well?”

Alice replied, “Though it pains me to air our family’s dirty laundry in public, my answer is yes. In fact, I’m here today to plead with my dear daughter to mend her ways.”

After finishing her little performance with the reporters, Alice finally turned to Aubree. “Aubree, Mommy is willing to forgive all your past mistakes. Just apologize in front of these reporters today, and I’ll take you home right away. All I ask is that you never bully Carmen again.”

‘How touching,’ Aubree thought sarcastically.

Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but sigh, “I wish I had a mom as understanding and kind as Alice!”

Another said, “Yeah, totally! Rich, beautiful, and so gentle, she’s exactly the kind of mom I’ve always dreamed of!”

Compared to Alice’s first attempt to confront her, this time she had clearly upped her game, playing a far more calculated hand. She leveraged public opinion to guilt-trip her, while everyone else remained clueless about the truth.

If Aubree argued back now, just like she did last time, it would only play right into her hands and make her look like the unreasonable brat she claimed she was.

‘Well, she is my mother after all!’ Aubree thought bitterly.

Aubree scoffed and thought, “Who says I’m afraid to make a scene just because of this? I’ve got nothing to lose, so who the hell should I be scared of?"