The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1673

“I’ll go meet her myself.” Hartley finally pulled himself together, sneaking a glance at Shirley, whose face was still drained of color. He spoke quietly, his voice heavy. “Get her out of here. Patricia shouldn’t have to see this.”

“Got it.” The administrator nodded, thinking that sounded reasonable.

“Shirley, head back to your dorm. The school’s already been informed and you’ll hear from us about how this will be handled.”

“Hartley, can we check the security cameras?” Shirley’s thoughts ran in circles, picking apart what happened. Only two things could have gone wrong—the collision and her bag dropping. If there was footage, it would show exactly what happened with her phone.

Footage. That was the key.

She balled her hands into fists, fighting off the throbbing in her head. Her skin was burning, her voice rough. “The cameras will clear my name. I know they will.”

People went silent. Every eye in the room turned to her, full of mockery and disbelief. With witnesses against her and all the physical evidence stacked up, she still wouldn’t give in? She must have nerves of steel, and no shame to match.

“Get someone to take her back to her dorm.” Hartley’s tone left no room for debate. He was annoyed, and not just because Shirley had nearly wrecked his reputation. Patricia had been dragged into this now. If she got upset, well, that would all fall on Shirley.

“Hartley…” Shirley stepped forward, her voice shaky with desperation. No one even looked her way.

Two security guards stepped in from the door and grabbed her arms.

Shirley, already weak from a high fever, couldn’t handle the rough shove. She barely managed to keep her balance as they dragged her backstage, nearly tripping over her own feet.

“Move faster,” the administrator snapped.

That was when the rush of fast, heavy footsteps pounded from the hallway.

“Patricia, about this situation…”

“Where is she?” Patricia’s voice was even sharper now. “Bring her out here. I’ll talk to her myself.”

“Please, calm down,” Hartley said, trying to keep the conversation moving before things could get worse. The administrator stepped forward too. “Yes, there’s been some trouble with the scholarships. Luckily we noticed it early, so no harm was done. We understand that you want these awards to go to students who are both talented and principled…”

Hartley started to say something else, but Patricia interrupted, her irritation obvious. “The school’s probably going to punish her harshly. This won’t ever happen again.”

Her fingers curled tighter around her cane as they spoke. She might be old, but she wasn’t blind. She’d seen all the news and live streams. From the first moment, Shirley never stopped denying everything.

“Bring her here,” Patricia repeated, her voice steady, her cane set aside. “I want to ask her myself.”