The Double ( or More ?) Life of The Fake Heiress

Colton’s body jolted, and he unconsciously pinched his hand, offering a strained smile. “You’ve got it all wrong, sir. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Mr. Hammond’s eyes held little warmth as he reached for a stack of exam papers and a report card on his desk, handing them to Colton. “Do me a favor, Mr. Colton, and take a look. Does this look like poor performance to you?”

Colton’s gaze landed on the papers Mr. Hammond passed to him, hesitating for only a second before taking them.

The papers were the monthly exams for various subjects, along with the perfect score set Mirabella had completed online before entering Parkside High School. They were all printed

out.

The report card summarized cumulative scores for each term, and the name topping the list for several terms was unmistakably Mirabella.

Colton stared at the bright red perfect scores and rankings on the papers. His face was etched with disbelief. He flipped through them again and again as if to ensure he wasn’t seeing things. “Do you really think someone with these grades needs to cheat with some shoddy review materials?” Mr. Hammond’s lips curled with a touch of sarcasm. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“This…this can’t be right. Her grades weren’t like this,” Colton muttered, shaking his head in denial. Even if his foster daughter had improved, it was unthinkable for her to skyrocket to the top of the class.

Sensing his skepticism, Mr. Hammond picked up another set of photocopied papers from his desk. “Here, take a look at these as well.” They were the photocopies of the current term’s

competition papers.

“Mr. Colton might not quite understand them, but no matter, you can have your friends at the Education Association compare them. See if the way Mirabella answered the questions matches the methods in your competition materials.”

Mr. Hammond’s voice was calm, but his presence was commanding. Even his most understated remarks carried a sharp edge.

Colton had planned to push all the blame onto his

foster daughter upon arriving at the school. After all, the Gilbert family had raised her for seventeen years. A little hardship could be considered repayment for their kindness, and he could always compensate her later with

money.

Compared to his own daughter’s future, he naturally didn’t want her to have any blemishes. Looking at the papers in his hand, Colton felt uneasy. He truly hadn’t expected his foster daughter’s academic performance to improve so dramatically, nor did she seem to have

gained Mr. Hammond’s favor…

“Still planning to put all the blame on Miss Mirabella?” Mr. Hammond sneered, not in the mood to smooth things over. Mirabella was his recruit, so he would not tolerate any further attempts to tarnish her reputation.

Colton was now in a tough spot. He had made the accusation, so retracting it would be tantamount to slapping his own face.

Pressing his temples, Colton looked towards Mr. Hammond and was about to speak when Mr. Hammond’s phone rang from his pocket. It caused him to abruptly close his mouth.

Mr. Hammond pulled out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and after a moment of hesitation, walked over to the window to answer. It was a call from the head office of the Education Association.

Two minutes later,” Alright, I understand.”

After hanging up, Mr. Hammond’s gaze grew darker. He turned back to Colton and said firmly. “The matter of the leaked competition materials ends here.”

Colton exhaled a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He had called an old friend, the chairman of the Education Association, before coming. It seemed that the call was likely from his friend.

Mr. Hammond watched Colton visibly relax, and his lips twisted coldly. “However, Summer’s national competition eligibility is hereby revoked.”