Chapter 332 The One Who Can’t Stand to Lose
Owen stared at Lily across the dinner table, his tone laced with suspicion. “Aren’t you even a little shocked that Yunice took the SAT?”
Lily waved it off. “Must be a mistake. Someone probably used her photo or something. That tag'll be gone in a day or two. Wyatt didn’t say anything, right? If it were real, he’d be all over it.”
Owen thought about it and nodded. That did make some sense.
He glanced over at Elsie’s usual seat. “She’s not coming home again tonight?”
“She’s working overtime,” Lily said smoothly. “Hospitals don’t exactly run on a nine-to-five.”
Owen didn’t say more, but the posts he’d seen online stuck in his mind. Everything about Yunice’s supposed SAT sit seemed too detailed to be fake.
The next morning, curiosity got the better of him. He rerouted his commute and stopped by the testing center.
Sure enough, outside the gates, parents were still talking about the girl in the cheating scandal. When they mentioned her, their faces twisted in disgust.
Owen’s expression turned ugly. He couldn’t believe Yunice had brought shame on the family—again.
He stayed by the front gates, scanning each arriving student.
Then, when a girl with a face mask walked past, he reached out and grabbed her by the arm. “Yunice. You think a mask’s gonna fool me?”
Yunice hadn’t expected to run into him.
Owen yanked on her arm. “You’re coming with me.”
“I’m here for the SAT,” Yunice snapped.
“SAT? What a joke. You know what people are saying about you? About us?” His tone turned nasty. “You cheating on a standardized test—is this your big plan? Humiliate the Saunders family in public and watch us get trampled?”
To Owen, this was all deliberate. He thought Yunice was making a scene just to drag their name through the mud.
He noticed the pencil pouch in her hand and lunged for it. “Faked an ID too, huh? You know you could go to jail for this?”
He tried to tear up her admission slip on the spot.
He figured if he could stop this madness right now, before the test, maybe the whole thing would blow over. Better to pull the plug than let her finish the test and stir up even more trouble.
But Yunice was faster. She snatched the pouch back and darted to the side, ducking behind the uniformed guard stationed nearby.
“Officer,” she said loudly, “this man tried to destroy my test ID. I don’t even know him. I think he’s unstable. Maybe dangerous. Can you please restrain him?”
The guard placed a hand on the baton at his hip and gave Owen a sharp look.
Owen flinched. “What are you talking about? I’m your brother!”
He turned to the guard, trying to sound reasonable. “She’s cheating. She’s never even been to school. She doesn’t know anything. Letting her into that test room is unfair to everyone else!”
Yunice peeked from behind the guard and raised her voice. “If I don’t know anything, then where did all the trophies in Elsie’s room come from? You forget, huh? Say a lie enough times and you start believing it, is that it?”
He moved to follow, but the guard blocked his path.
Owen stood there, replaying what she’d said. The trophies in Elsie’s room…
The more he thought about it, the more it nagged at him. Elsie did get some early praise back in school. But now that he really tried to remember, wasn’t it Yunice who’d actually won those competitions?
Back then, Elsie had poor grades and no confidence. Owen, trying to help, had swapped their names on the entry forms. Yunice competed, Elsie got the credit. It gave Elsie the boost she needed, and after a few rounds of applause, she started improving on her own.
Those trophies had always been Yunice’s.
He sighed. Okay, maybe she used to be smart, but that was years ago. She’s been out of school forever. There’s no way she prepped for this test legitimately.
The only explanation that made sense to him was that she’d cheated—with Wyatt pulling the strings behind the scenes.
After waiting a while longer outside, Owen got fed up. He’d done his part. If she wanted to ignore him, then fine. Let her deal with the fallout.
On the third day, Yunice completed the SAT.
The three students who had ambushed her never came back after the first incident. She guessed Wyatt had stepped in behind the scenes. Either way, those kinds of people had no business being there in the first place.
After the test, Yunice was in a great mood. She even threw a celebratory dinner, inviting friends and close contacts.
She felt good about how she’d done. College was basically in the bag. Now all she had to do was wait for the results, then fill out her applications.
Life was finally back on track. Everything felt clearer, more purposeful.
The scandal tag about her cheating slowly dropped off trending.
It was like the storm had passed.