Chapter 1

After being framed for cheating on the SAT and having all his scores invalidated, Sebastian Anglem spent five years clawing his way to the top, eventually becoming the youngest CEO in the history of an overseas unicorn company.

He returned to the country on a business trip.

The moment his plane landed, a friend called him in a panic and asked him to fill in as an interviewer at the branch office to screen potential hires.

The instant Sebastian pushed open the meeting room door, every eye inside snapped toward him in shock.

He quickly realized he had entered the wrong room. That was the candidates' waiting room, not the interview room. He turned to leave.

"Sebastian? It really is you." A man inside spoke first, his voice thick with mockery. "Well, well. If it isn't our school's infamous cheating freak. This company happens to be a pretty big name here in Porteaus City. How do you even have the nerve to show your face for an interview?"

Chapter 1

As the words trailed off, every scornful, mocking gaze in the room turned to Sebastian Anglem.

"Is that even a question? He's obviously still hung up on Aelia. He knew she'd be here with Jordan for the interview, and he still had the nerve to come cling to her."

"Back then, he only cheated so he could get into the same school as Aelia. He got caught and still refused to admit it. It's disgusting."

"Too bad for him. Aelia and Jordan are practically inseparable. They both topped the science track. Now that's what you call a match made in heaven. A cheating freak like him doesn't measure up to a single strand of her hair."

Sebastian's fingers tightened. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the woman sitting by the window.

Five years had passed since he had last seen Aelia Linden. She was exactly as he remembered her: a flower on a distant peak, visible yet forever out of reach.

Yet despite her cold nature, there had been one summer when she had shown him a tenderness that felt like a dream.

Back then, Aelia had been the school's top science student, the one everyone admired and gravitated toward. Yet she had treated him differently. She had been good to him and no one else.

She would bring him a hot breakfast before first period and leave it on his desk. After school, she would wait for him outside the building.

Then they would walk together down the long, tree-lined path through campus. Whenever the evening wind blew leaves onto his shoulder, she would reach up and gently brush them away.

Once, when he developed a fever during an exam, she abandoned her own test without hesitation and helped him to the infirmary.

The first thing she said was, "The exam doesn't matter as much as you do."

Those small, quiet moments of tenderness had woven the most precious summer dream of his entire youth.

Then it shattered completely on the day of the SAT.

A slip of paper covered in answers appeared out of nowhere in the exam room and landed beside his test paper.

The proctor rushed over at once.

Sebastian looked up in panic and met Aelia's cold stare from the back of the room.

"I saw it with my own eyes. Sebastian took out a cheat sheet."

That single careless sentence sealed his fate.

All his scores were invalidated, and the incident left a permanent mark on his academic record.

The midsummer sun burned overhead, harsh and blinding. His face had gone pale, and he could barely stay on his feet, but he stubbornly stood by the roadside and waited for her.

He wanted an explanation.

Instead, he watched her walk away side by side with Jordan Wafford.

She did not so much as glance in his direction. She was unwilling to spare him even a single look.

Later, Sebastian learned the truth.

The person Aelia had always loved was Jordan. She had only gotten close to Sebastian to distract him so Jordan could study without competition and claim the top science score in his place.

As for the cheat sheet, it had all started because Jordan told her before the exam that he lacked confidence. Hence, she had resorted to that scheme to destroy everything Sebastian had worked for.

What she did not know was that Sebastian had never cared about becoming the top science scorer in the first place. A well-known university abroad had already offered him direct admission. He had hesitated only because he wanted to stay and attend the same university as her.

He never expected that there had been no need for any of it.

"All right, that's enough. We were classmates once, after all." Jordan spoke up with a smile and looked at Sebastian. "Bastian, five whole years without a word to any of us? That's pretty cold. I heard you went abroad for work after that. Is it true?"

Before Sebastian could answer, the others burst into quiet laughter.

"Jordan, you're too polite for your own good. Everyone knows he got detained over the cheating scandal."

"No one would even hire him for odd jobs after that. He ended up working illegally overseas in the most backward, filthy place he could find. What kind of future could someone like that possibly have? Maybe he... Hehe..."

"No wonder he's dressed so sharp this time. Where else would the money have come from? He's probably some rich man's lapdog, willing to do whatever filthy work pays."

"That's enough."

A cool, detached voice cut through the room.

Aelia raised her eyes and fixed Sebastian with a flat, indifferent stare. "Sebastian, stop playing games and just leave. With your record, there's no way you'll pass this interview. Staying here will only bring you more trouble."

She paused before adding coldly, "No company would ever hire an employee as filthy as you."

The people in the waiting room exchanged glances before breaking into laughter.

Just then, the staff member in charge of the interviews walked in. "What's all this noise? The interview is about to start. Keep it down."

The room quickly fell silent.

Jordan straightened his back, put on an easy smile, and stepped forward to greet him. "Hello, I'm Candidate Number One—"

Before he could finish, the staff member walked straight past him and stopped in front of Sebastian.

His demeanor immediately turned deferential. "Mr. Sebastian Anglem, you're here. The interview room is right next door. Mr. Clarkson told me earlier to bring you over.

"Today's candidates all have impressive résumés, especially Candidate Number One, Jordan Wafford. Four of his projects have won national awards, and three have taken gold at international competitions. He's a rare talent..."

"No need." Sebastian calmly swept his gaze over everyone in the room before speaking. "Disqualify them from the interview."

Chapter 2

The moment Sebastian said that, the smile on Jordan's face stiffened.

Aelia furrowed her brow.

The others' expressions soured as well, but a moment later, someone let out a scornful laugh. "Well, well, Sebastian. I didn't expect you'd actually find someone willing to play along with your little act."

"This is hilarious. What kind of education do you even have? What kind of status? And you have the nerve to sit here pretending to be an interviewer? Do you think we're idiots?"

"Exactly! You think you can fool us with a cheap trick like that? Typical uneducated laborer, too stupid to know any better."

"How dare you talk to him like that?" The staff member could no longer stand by in silence. "This man is your interviewer today. With an attitude like that, you could all lose your eligibility for the interview..."

His warning only drew louder laughter.

"Oh, look. The actor's getting worked up now."

"Disqualify us from the interview? Do you two even have that kind of authority? And you've got the nerve to yell at us."

The staff member's face turned livid. "You... You..."

Jordan seized the opportunity and looked at Sebastian with a faint smirk. "All right, all right. Instead of wasting everyone's time, why not have the department head, Mr. Clarkson, confirm Bastian's identity? That way, everyone can be satisfied."

The moment he said it, everyone else chimed in.

"Exactly! If you've got the nerve, show us some proof!"

"Right! Didn't Sebastian invoke Mr. Clarkson's name a minute ago? If he's really the interviewer, he'd definitely have Mr. Clarkson's number."

Jordan took the opening and spoke again with a smile. "Why not call Mr. Clarkson right now and ask him to come over?"

Sebastian caught the mocking, provocative gleam in Jordan's eyes, and his own gaze narrowed slightly.

"Exactly! Sebastian, what are you waiting for? If you're really the interviewer, call Mr. Clarkson and have him confirm your identity!"

"If you ask me, he's been so busy pretending that he probably doesn't even know who Mr. Clarkson is..."

The group had worked themselves into a frenzy over a few carefully chosen words from Jordan, and Sebastian found the whole spectacle almost laughable.

'Clowns, the lot of them,' he thought.

He pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts until he found his friend Jarvis Clarkson's number, and pressed the call button. Then he switched the phone to speaker.

The room fell silent at once. Only the sharp, clear ringing of the phone broke the quiet.

But a second before the call connected, a slender hand shot out, gripped Sebastian's wrist, and snatched the phone from his hand.

A sharp click cut through the dead silence as the call ended.

Everyone in the room froze, their eyes wide with shock.

No one had expected Aelia, who had watched coldly from the sidelines until now, to suddenly intervene and stop the call.

Before anyone could react, Aelia grabbed Sebastian by the arm and strode away.

"Let go of me!" Sebastian tried to pull free, but Aelia's grip was like iron.

She did not stop until they reached the far end of a quiet hallway, where she finally released his wrist.

Sebastian yanked his hand back. "Aelia, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Aelia lowered her eyes and studied him. An unreadable emotion flickered in her gaze. "There's no one else here. You don't have to keep up the act."

Sebastian's brow tightened. "What do you mean?"

"The moment they started questioning you, I had someone check the company's internal structure and the official list of interviewers for this round."

Aelia paused. The coldness in her eyes deepened. "Your name isn't on that list. It's not there anywhere.

"Sebastian, you're not the interviewer. If you keep this act up, you'll only humiliate yourself further. I stopped you because I didn't want to stand there and watch you bring that humiliation on yourself."

Chapter 3

Sebastian looked into her eyes. He froze for a moment, then let out a cold laugh. "Five years later, and that line still sounds just as sickening coming out of your mouth as it did back then."

Five years earlier…

Although Sebastian had already decided to study abroad, he refused to let a false cheating accusation stain his name.

He poured nearly everything he had into proving his innocence. Night after night, he stayed up organizing his complete set of practice notes and study records from before the exam. He compared every answer and every line of reasoning, one by one.

He went from office to office at the education department to obtain the surveillance footage and finally managed to gather solid evidence.

He did not dare waste another second. He headed straight for the police station.

But just as he was about to get into his car, someone suddenly stepped into his path.

Jordan had already dropped his usual gentle, well-mannered mask. Barely concealed mockery gleamed in his eyes.

"Sebastian, give it up. Getting caught cheating and having your scores wiped out doesn't feel good, does it? Why keep struggling like this? You're only making yourself look like a pathetic sore loser. It's embarrassing at this point."

He stepped closer, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Bet you didn't see this coming. You liked Aelia so much, but in the end, the person she's always loved is me. Whatever I ask her to do, she'll do it."

"So you went to all that trouble manipulating Aelia and used this filthy trick to pin the cheating on me. Is that it?"

"So what if I did?" Jordan's smile widened with arrogance. "This is what happens when you dare compete with me."

Sebastian's gaze turned icy. "Then the two of you really are a match made in heaven. A bitch and a dog, perfectly paired.

"Did you really think the two of you covered your tracks perfectly? Keep doing enough wrong, and eventually, it catches up with you. Sooner or later, every scheme you've built will come crashing down on you."

Jordan's expression shifted. "What do you mean by that?"

Sebastian had no intention of wasting another breath on him. He pulled open the car door and got in.

But the instant the car started to inch forward, Jordan, who stood beside it, suddenly stumbled and crashed to the ground in a graceless heap. His elbow struck the pavement hard, and an angry red mark appeared almost instantly.

"Ah!" Jordan cried out in pain. "Sebastian, you... You actually hit me?"

Sebastian almost laughed at how clumsily Jordan had staged the fall.

An angry voice rang out the next instant. "Sebastian!"

It was Aelia. She had appeared without him noticing and had apparently witnessed the entire scene.

Aelia strode over to the car and gripped the edge of the window, fury churning in her dark eyes. "If you have a problem, take it out on me! What kind of person picks on someone innocent? That's just vicious!"

Mockery flashed in Sebastian's eyes. 'Vicious?'

He merely looked away, indifferent, and replied in a flat, unmoved voice, "I don't have time to play along with this."

With that, he rolled up the window, shut out her furious glare, and sped toward the police station.

The evidence in the back seat was his only hope. Once he reached the station and submitted everything, he could finally clear his name for good.

But before he could get much closer to the station, two blinding high beams suddenly flared behind him.

A white sedan was right on his tail and refused to fall back.

Sebastian's chest tightened. He instinctively gripped the wheel and accelerated, desperate to put some distance between them.

The next instant, the sedan slammed into him from behind with a deafening crash.

The impact sent his car shuddering violently. The tires shrieked against the pavement as the vehicle spun out of control and hurtled forward.

The airbag deployed. The impact was so violent that blood seeped from the corner of Sebastian's mouth, and his entire body felt as though it had been crushed.

Through his blurred vision, he saw Aelia step out of the white sedan.

Then he watched helplessly as she took the evidence he had worked so hard to gather. Right in front of him, she set it on fire.

She stood over him and looked down coldly. "Sebastian, give it up. With the Linden family's power behind me, even if you make it to the police station, it won't matter.

"If you keep being stubborn, you'll only humiliate yourself further. I stopped you because I didn't want to watch you bring this on yourself."

Chapter 4

"What if I refuse?" Sebastian's voice was weak, but it carried an unmistakable edge of resolve.

Why should the person who had framed him get to walk free? Why should he, the one falsely accused, be denied the chance to prove his innocence?

When Aelia looked at him, covered in blood, something flickered in her eyes for a moment before vanishing.

"Then don't blame me for what comes next."

In the end, Sebastian was charged with hit-and-run and thrown into detention.

Outside, rumors spread like wildfire, claiming he had been detained because he refused to repent after getting caught cheating.

His father was so enraged that he had to be rushed to the hospital. The full weight of the household fell on his mother alone.

Worn down in both body and mind, she fell down the stairs one day and broke her leg. Ever since, a dull ache returned whenever it rained.

…

Aelia let out a quiet breath.

"I know what I did to you back then was wrong." Guilt flickered in her eyes, though her tone remained flat. "But I did offer you compensation. You were the one who refused to take it."

Sebastian laughed bitterly. "Compensation? You told me that with my ability, I'd get in eventually anyway, so retaking the exam the following year was no big deal. You even said that if I failed, you'd arrange a spot for me at some community college.

"Aelia, whose time is worth less than anyone else's? Who willingly gives up on the school they want just because they have the ability to fall back on?

"What right did you have to destroy my future for your own selfish reasons, then turn around and meddle in my life as if you had the right to make choices for me? Don't you find that hypocritical?"

Aelia's brow tightened. She could still see Sebastian as he had been five years ago, his eyes rimmed red as he tore the check she had handed him to shreds without a moment's hesitation.

That broken yet stubborn image had lingered in her mind for five years. No matter what she did, she could never erase it.

She pressed her lips together, unwilling to dwell on the past any longer. "Even so, you didn't need to come back and put on this act just to get revenge. Tricks like this are childish and pointless."

She pulled out a business card and held it toward him. "I know you won't be able to find any decent work with your record. As it happens, my company is short a secretary. I can make an exception and hire you."

Her tone and condescending manner made the offer sound more like charity than compensation.

Sebastian took the gilded card between two fingers. The next instant, he tore it in half right in front of her and dropped the pieces into the trash.

"No need to trouble yourself, Miss Linden. I'll do just fine without you."

He had no interest in wasting another moment on her, so he turned to leave.

"Sebastian!" Aelia instinctively reached out and caught his wrist. "Must you really be this stubborn?"

A complicated look filled her eyes. "What exactly do you want? If you're willing to back down, I'm not opposed to giving you whatever you ask for—"

Before she could finish, Jordan's voice rang out. "Aelia!"

Jordan strode over with a dark expression.

Only then did Aelia release Sebastian's wrist. She turned to Jordan, concern filling her eyes. "What happened? Why do you look so awful?"

The other classmates hurried over as well, their faces filled with shock and fury.

"It's because of that bastard Sebastian!"

"They actually disqualified Jordan, along with the rest of ours!"

Chapter 5

At that, Aelia's expression darkened.

"It was the man who came in with Bastian. He went into the interview room and spoke to the interviewers. Right after that, we really were disqualified from the interview..."

Jordan's expression sank. "Aelia, I didn't want people to think I only found this job because you pulled strings for me. I thought going out and finding one on my own would at least be fair. I never expected this..."

"Sebastian, what gives you the right to disqualify Jordan from the interview?"

Someone immediately spoke up in Jordan's defense, and the others quickly joined in.

"Exactly! Do you have any idea how talented Jordan is? He graduated from the top program at one of the country's best universities! He's ranked first in his class for years!"

"Four of his projects won national awards, and three won international gold medals!"

With every word of praise, Jordan straightened a little more.

A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes, but he quickly masked it with a show of humility. "That's enough, everyone. I'm sure Bastian had his reasons for doing this."

"What reason could he possibly have? It's obvious. Sebastian is jealous of you, so he pulled some dirty trick, cozied up to someone in upper management, whispered in their ear, and deliberately went after you!"

"Just look at what he's wearing. Any single piece of that outfit costs five figures. There's no way he could afford any of it on his own, not even if he saved every penny for years."

One scrutinizing look after another fell on Sebastian, each dripping with mockery.

"How else could he get into a company like this? He must be some rich man's lapdog. Disgusting..."

Sebastian listened to their insults without the slightest change in expression. He called security over and ordered, "Get them out of here."

They stared at him in disbelief.

Just as the security guards moved to throw them out, several bodyguards in sharp suits closed ranks around the group. The wall of dark suits made the security guards stop in their tracks.

"I'd like to see who dares lay a hand on them." Aelia patted the back of Jordan's hand to reassure him, then walked over to Sebastian and stared him down. "Sebastian, if you keep this up, don't blame me for what happens next."

The moment she finished speaking, the company's general manager, Felicia Lawson, hurried over with an obsequious smile. "Miss Linden, I had no idea you'd graced us with your presence. Please forgive the poor welcome..."

Then Felicia shot Sebastian a displeased glare. "I don't know where Jarvis dug you up, but are you out of your mind? Don't you know who Miss Linden is? You dare offend her? Apologize now."

The sharp, threatening words were identical to ones Sebastian had heard before.

…

That summer, after his family fell apart, Sebastian took a job as a waiter to scrape together enough money to cover his living expenses abroad.

One day, he ran into Jordan and Aelia at the restaurant.

Aelia stepped away to take a call, and Jordan deliberately made trouble for him. He spilled coffee on his own pants, accused Sebastian of doing it, and demanded that Sebastian get on his knees and apologize.

The restaurant's general manager confronted him with the same warning. "Sebastian, don't you know who Miss Linden is? You dare offend her? Apologize now."

"I didn't do it. Why should I apologize for something I didn't do?" Sebastian shot back. "The restaurant has security cameras. Go check them—"

The next second, Jordan grabbed the soup from the table and poured it over his own hand.

Aelia returned just in time to see Jordan clutch his hand, his face twisted in pain.

"Sebastian!" She seized his hand and squeezed so hard that his bones nearly cracked. "You hurt Jordan again?"

"I didn't—"

"I saw it myself," Aelia cut him off. "If you still can't learn your lesson, don't blame me for what happens next. Someone, take him away."

Sebastian was locked in the restaurant's cellar for 48 hours straight. Darkness, damp, and cold seeped into his bones until he could barely feel his limbs.

Yet years before, when someone had locked him inside the equipment room during gym class, Aelia had been the first to find him and lead him out.

Back then, she had told him, "As long as I'm here, I'll never let anyone hurt you."

But in the end, she was the one who hurt him again and again.

By the time they finally let him out of the cellar, he had lost almost all feeling in his body.

A Linden bodyguard stood before him and delivered the final blow. "You offended Miss Linden. Not a single shop in all of Porteaus City will hire you now."

Chapter 6

Those unbearable memories had left scars on Sebastian's heart that had never fully healed.

Now, faced with the same overbearing looks from these people, he curled his fingers into fists at his sides.

"I will not apologize. What exactly do you think you can do to me? And for what it's worth, I already sent the acceptance list to headquarters a moment ago. None of you were on it."

"You! You..." Felicia shook with rage.

Malice flashed in Jordan's eyes. He tugged at Aelia's sleeve. "Aelia, you know how long I prepared for this interview. All that effort, wasted because of him. You have to get justice for me..."

Aelia studied the stubborn set of Sebastian's jaw.

Her brow tightened before she finally spoke in a cold voice. "Since Ms. Lawson says Mr. Clarkson was the one who brought him in, and he refuses to apologize, then let Mr. Clarkson bear the consequences of his mistake instead."

"Aelia!" Sebastian clenched his jaw. "If you have a problem, come after me. What's the point of dragging an innocent man into this?"

Aelia stepped closer and lowered her voice so only Sebastian could hear. "Sebastian, don't forget. Five years ago, I was the one who made the cheating charge stick. I was the one who destroyed your evidence and had you thrown into detention.

"I can still make sure you and everyone connected to you learn the same lesson all over again. If you don't believe me, we can find out."

Sebastian's throat tightened. It felt as though a cold hand had closed around his chest. "Aelia, you truly are vile."

"Sometimes, being this stubborn does you no good." In a rare show of leniency, Aelia softened her voice. "Whether anyone else gets dragged down with you is entirely up to you."

A dead silence fell between them.

After a long moment, Sebastian closed his eyes and let out a slow breath.

He finally nodded. "Fine. I agree."

That same night, Felicia had the company issue an emergency statement.

[After an investigation, we have confirmed that Sebastian Anglem impersonated an interviewer without authorization and improperly interfered with our recruitment process. He committed these violations entirely on his own, and his actions have no connection to this company. We will formally require Sebastian Anglem to issue a public apology and bear full responsibility for his misconduct.]

Almost instantly, a wave of abuse crashed over Sebastian from every direction.

[Sebastian Anglem? Why does that name sound so familiar? Isn't that the guy who cheated on the SAT years ago?]

[That's him! Guess cheating wasn't enough. Now he's out here impersonating interviewers too!]

[How does trash like this even exist? Disgusting.]

…

Sebastian scrolled through the comments in silence, his expression barely changing.

His phone buzzed with several new messages.

Some were from Jordan.

Jordan: [Sebastian, go up against me, and you'll always come out the loser.]

Jordan: [From now on, you're a rat everyone wants dead. Get used to it.]

The others were from Aelia. She had sent him a bank transfer receipt with a message beneath it.

Aelia: [Apologize publicly at tomorrow's press conference. Once this dies down, I'll bring you on to work under me. The pay will be far better than anything you could find on your own. You should be grateful.]

Beside him, Jarvis looked ready to explode. "These people are absolutely vile! Sebastian, you worked so hard to get where you are. Don't you dare give in to them because of me!"

"Don't worry." Sebastian stared at the screen with a faint smirk. "I've waited five years, and someone's finally set the stage for me. Of course I'm going to put on a good show."

Chapter 7

The next morning, Felicia invited every major media outlet and called a press conference.

Two rows of cameras and boom mics filled the room.

On the livestream, Felicia sat at the head table with the other two interviewers, while the candidates who had been disqualified occupied the representative seats.

Aelia sat in the VIP section with Jordan beside her. Several Linden bodyguards kept a close watch on Sebastian.

All around him, people stared with scrutiny and contempt, boxing him in like a prisoner on trial.

The conference began.

Felicia took the stage first and addressed the cameras. "Thank you to all our friends in the media for coming today. This press conference concerns Sebastian Anglem, who impersonated an interviewer and maliciously disrupted our company's official recruitment process, harming the interests of an outstanding candidate."

She paused, and Jordan's résumé appeared on the large screen behind her.

He had attended a top program at one of the country's best universities. He had ranked first in his class for four consecutive years. Four of his projects had won national awards, and three had earned international gold medals.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd below the stage.

The livestream comments began pouring in, overwhelmingly in Jordan's defense.

[Someone this talented got cut? That's disgusting.]

[If they don't punish Sebastian properly, it's a slap in the face to everyone who actually works hard.]

[Exactly! Justice needs to be served!]

…

"Now, please welcome the victim to the stage."

Jordan glanced at the comments, then shot Sebastian a sidelong look filled with satisfaction before adopting the fragile, wounded expression of a victim.

His eyes reddened slightly as he took the microphone. "Hello, everyone. I'm Jordan Wafford, one of the victims of this incident."

His shoulders trembled. He looked like someone barely holding himself together under the weight of injustice, and the mood in the room shifted instantly.

"I spent more than a decade studying hard and honing my skills with everything I had. I was thrilled to make it through every round to the final interview, and I believed I would be judged fairly on my own merit. But instead, Mr. Anglem deliberately interfered and had my eligibility for the final interview revoked."

He looked directly into the camera, his voice thick with bitterness. "I have never had any conflict with Mr. Anglem. I have never wronged him in any way. I have no idea why he chose to target me.

"I'm not standing here today to demand punishment. I only want the most basic form of justice, and I hope fairness in this industry will never be crushed by someone's personal grudge."

His tearful speech ignited the crowd's outrage. The reporters below erupted into an uproar. Camera shutters clicked in a relentless barrage, all aimed at Sebastian.

The livestream comments exploded with fury.

[My heart breaks for Jordan! Who wouldn't fall apart after watching all their hard work get trampled like that?]

[Sebastian's really made a habit of this filth. First he cheated on the SAT, and now he's impersonating an interviewer? He's completely out of control.]

[Scum like this needs to face real consequences!]

…

Accusation after accusation crashed over Sebastian like a rising tide.

In the VIP section, Aelia looked down at Sebastian's thin figure, and her brow tightened almost imperceptibly.

Without a word, she cast a pointed glance at Felicia onstage.

Felicia caught it immediately and leaned toward the microphone. "Sebastian, given the circumstances and the clear evidence against you, please come up now and publicly apologize to Mr. Wafford, the company, and everyone here."

The bodyguards released Sebastian. He rose slowly and walked onto the stage one measured step at a time under a barrage of scrutinizing, mocking, and furious stares.

The spotlight illuminated his cold, composed profile.

He took the microphone and spoke in a calm, clear voice. "I did disqualify Jordan from the final interview. I admit that."

Everyone assumed he had finally broken and was ready to confess. Even the torrent of outrage in the comment section slowed as viewers waited to see him drop to his knees and apologize.

Only Jordan's lips curled upward as triumph flashed in his eyes.

In the next instant, Sebastian's tone turned cold and merciless, and every word struck with brutal force. "But I don't believe that, at any point in history, a perpetrator has ever had the right to demand an apology from their victim."

The room fell into stunned silence.

"What does that mean? Is he saying he's the victim?"

"That's impossible! The evidence is right there..."

Before anyone could react, Sebastian raised his hand and pressed play on a device he had prepared in advance.

A woman's cold, unmistakably clear voice rang throughout the venue.

"Sebastian, don't forget. Five years ago, I was the one who made the cheating charge stick. I was the one who destroyed your evidence and had you thrown into detention. I can still make sure you and everyone connected to you learn the same lesson all over again."

The room went dead silent.

Aelia's expression changed instantly. "Someone, get up there now! Get him off the stage! Cut the audio!"

Before the Linden bodyguards could take a single step, a wave of tall figures in dark suits surged through the entrance.

Dozens of highly trained bodyguards strode into the room with swift precision. They encircled the entire stage and blocked every approach.

Then they lowered their heads toward Sebastian and spoke in unison, their voices ringing loud and clear. "Mr. Anglem!"