Chapter 4

She rushed at me and slapped me hard across the face. It burned.

"Flora Mason! You and your brother are a pair of animals!"

"Ganging up to bully Gail like this! I'll get justice for her!"

Then Gail launched into her suicide act again.

She wailed that she didn't want to live, that her name was ruined, and threw herself at the big tree beside her.

Several girls grabbed her, and everything dissolved into chaos.

All of it lined up exactly with the nightmare from my last life, down to the smallest detail.

Just then the advisor, who'd been called over, hurried to the scene, out of breath.

His face went ashen as he looked at the two of us, and he barked out,

"John Mason, Flora Mason! What do you have to say for yourselves?"

He didn't ask a single question about how any of it started. He simply declared us guilty.

"You two, right now, this instant, kneel and apologize to Gail Butler!"

"And beg for her forgiveness!"

"Don't blow this up any bigger and drag the school's reputation through the mud!"

My brother had no way to defend himself. His face was white as paper, his body swaying like he might drop.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and spoke coldly.

"Mr. Lambert, my brother didn't molest her. Why should we apologize?"

Clearly he hadn't expected me to push back. He froze for a beat, then flushed with rage.

"Flora Mason! What kind of attitude is this?"

"The facts are right in front of you. Gail came out with her clothes torn, and you still want to argue?"

May jumped in at once, pointing at me with righteous fury.

"Exactly! We all saw it. Your brother went into the lounge,"

"and then Gail came screaming out! Who else could it be?"

Gail slumped against the girl holding her, sobbing even more pitifully, choking out the words,

"I really thought he was helping me out of kindness. I never imagined that the second he got me into that lounge, he'd show his true face."

As she cried, she pulled open her torn collar to reveal a patch of red marks near her collarbone.

"Mr. Lambert, he even left finger marks on me. This is the proof!"

"I'm willing to be examined! All I want is for the person who hurt me to get the punishment he deserves!"

The whole speech came out through tears, brimming with a victim's courage and resolve.

With that, even the last few students who'd stayed neutral turned their eyes on my brother with disgust and anger.

"Disgusting! You really can't know a person just by looking at their face!"

"Who'd have thought someone so decent-looking would turn out to be this kind of scum!"

My brother's lips had lost all color. He looked at me, his eyes full of endless despair and confusion.

He wanted to explain, but found every word he had was pale and useless.

In my last life, this was the exact moment he'd been pushed until he broke.

I said it again. "My brother did not molest Gail Butler."

My voice was certain.

"Gail, you keep insisting my brother molested you and left finger marks behind."

"So let me ask you this. Are you sure the person who touched you in that lounge just now was my brother?"

Gail wavered a little under my stare, but she steeled herself and said,

"I'm sure it was your brother."

May let out a sneer.

"Who else would it be? Just now it was only your brother and Gail in that lounge, the two of them alone."

The cold smile at the corner of my mouth deepened.

"Is that so? Then you'd all better remember exactly what you just said."

I turned slowly to face the closed door of the lounge and called out,

"Dr. Chavez, would you mind coming out?"