Born Into Villain's Family: I Have a 200\% Rebate System-Chapter 210: Caroline’s Suspicion

Mia, already scrolling through her phone, suddenly let out a loud snort.

"Oh my god," she muttered, eyes glittering with amusement. "Caroline, maybe your history just came back to bite you."

Caroline’s smug smile cracked. "What?"

Jenna looked up, covering her mouth. "Caroline... is this real?"

Another student gasped. Then another. The murmurs built into a wave of whispers and shocked laughter.

Caroline, still confused, grabbed her phone and tapped rapidly. Her face drained of color as she scrolled through the post on the school forum.

[EXPOSED] Caroline From Class 2A Betrays Best Friend — Sleeps With Mandy’s Boyfriend!

Attached were crystal-clear pictures of her wrapped around Zane in the back of a car, sitting on his lap at a party, kissing in a stairwell.

The timestamps were recent. The captions were brutal.

"Guess we know who the real disease is."

"Mandy cried in the locker room last week. No wonder."

"Caroline’s loyalty is as fake as her friendship."

Caroline’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She looked around like a deer caught in headlights as more students burst into whispers and laughter.

"No—this—it’s fake!" she sputtered. "Photoshopped! Someone’s framing me!"

Aurora finally stood, calm and collected, sliding her bag over her shoulder. "You were saying something about me losing?"

Caroline turned to her, eyes blazing. "You did this!"

Aurora raised an eyebrow, unfazed.

"Or maybe this is just the bad karma that is coming back to bite you."

Caroline saw red. She hollered,

"Don’t believe it! This is fake!"

Mia crossed her arms beside Aurora.

"Can you prove it’s fake? Because your earrings in those pictures? You wore them to the fresher’s party. And that party? Half the school was there."

"Yeah," Jenna piped up from her desk.

"I saw you two sneak off that night. Thought it was weird since Mandy was still waiting for Zane by the punch table."

The blood drained from Caroline’s face. Her lips trembled. "I... I didn’t mean to..."

Laughter buzzed louder in the classroom, the kind of stifled giggling and loud whispering that could cut deeper than any insult.

"Damn, Caroline," someone muttered from the back. "Didn’t know you were that kind of girl."

"I’d keep my boyfriend on a tight leash if I were Mandy," another added with a smirk.

One by one, students turned to Caroline with mocking grins, shaking heads, or outright sneers.

"You really thought you could just slander someone else and walk away squeaky clean?" a girl near the window scoffed.

"You did Mandy dirty," a guy added. "Cold move."

Caroline’s eyes darted from face to face. Her breath hitched. Her fingers trembled around her phone.

"Shut up!" she snapped, voice rising. "You don’t know anything!" freēwēbnovel.com

But the classroom didn’t go quiet. If anything, the whispers grew bolder.

"Exposing other people’s fake diseases but hiding your own dirty laundry, huh?"

"Guess karma hits fast nowadays."

"I’d move schools if I were her."

Caroline’s face crumpled. Then suddenly—without another word—she turned on her heel and ran out of the room.

Her footsteps echoed as she pushed through the door, the final slap of her shoes the only punctuation to her silent retreat.

Aurora rolled her eyes and sat back down with a soft huff.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Doesn’t even have the guts to take what she dishes out."

"She never did," Aurora replied, calmly opening her notebook. "She just thought no one would fight back."

Mia smirked. "Still, that was satisfying. But the question is, who had released the news?"

Aurora shrugged indifferently.

Spencer, silent through most of it, looked at Aurora with a flicker of admiration. "You didn’t even flinch."

Aurora gave him a sideways glance and a faint smile. "I figured she’d trip over herself before she got close."

....................................

At Break

Aurora, Spencer, and Mia strolled down the corridor, headed to the courtyard.

Aurora held a drink Mia had gotten from the vending machine, while Spencer carried his usual bag, casually slung over his shoulder.

"Think she’s crying in the bathroom?" Mia mused aloud.

"Probably planning her next rumor campaign," Aurora said dryly.

"Maybe she’ll say you bribed someone to deepfake the pictures," Spencer added, rolling his eyes.

"She’d have to be dumber than I thought," Mia laughed.

Suddenly, the trio heard the sound of rapid footsteps.

Thump thump thump thump.

"LOOK OUT!" someone shouted.

Aurora turned just in time to see Caroline barreling toward her, eyes wide, face red with fury. Her arm was raised—hand wide open, ready to slap.

Aurora barely had time to register the movement.

But before Caroline’s palm could connect, Spencer’s hand shot out and caught her wrist mid-air.

His fingers gripped tightly, holding her arm in place.

"If I hadn’t caught that," he said coldly, voice low and dark, "you would’ve hit her."

Caroline gasped, struggling against his grip. "Let go of me!"

But Spencer didn’t move. His jaw clenched, and his eyes burned with rage. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

With a harsh shove, he pushed Caroline away. She stumbled and fell backward, landing hard on the concrete with a yelp.

A few students nearby gasped, pausing to watch the scene unfold.

Caroline sat there, stunned, then scrambled to her feet, glaring up at Spencer.

"You’re protecting her?" she screamed. "That criminal?!"

Spencer’s brow furrowed. "What are you even talking about?"

"You know what I mean!" Caroline spat, turning her glare toward Aurora. "She hacked my phone! She broke into my private files! How else could those pictures have been posted?"

The words echoed in the hallway.

Aurora lifted an eyebrow. "Hacked your phone?"

"Yes!" Caroline hissed, eyes wild. "Only someone with access to my private data could’ve posted those! And the timing, right after I embarrassed you in class? Don’t play dumb!"

Aurora remained still for a moment before slowly stepping forward.

"Let me ask you something, Caroline," she said, voice calm, level, and piercing.

"Did you know I was in a coma for three years?"

Caroline blinked, caught off guard. "What—what does that have to do with—"

"I woke up just two weeks ago," Aurora continued, cutting her off.

"Fourteen days. That’s how long I’ve been conscious. So tell me, in what world would I have learned how to become some tech wizard hacker in that time?"

Caroline’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"I was literally re-learning how to walk and write when I woke up," Aurora added, eyes narrowing.

"You think I spent my recovery learning how to breach encrypted files?"

"I..." Caroline’s voice faltered. She looked around, noticing more students had stopped to watch. Some were recording.

Aurora shrugged, stepping back.

"Or maybe... just maybe... you’ve made so many enemies that someone else decided to take you down."

The implication hung in the air.

Caroline stood frozen, unsure of what to say.

Her mouth moved as if she still had something to say—but nothing came out. Then, like before, she turned and ran.

This time, no one laughed. No one chased after her. The hallway echoed with the sound of her footsteps fading, swallowed by silence.

Aurora dusted her uniform sleeve with an air of disinterest. "She’s finally learning when to shut up."

Spencer sighed and looked at Aurora. "You okay?"

"I’m fine." Aurora shrugged like nothing had happened. "But now I’m hungry."

Mia stepped up beside them. "Should’ve brought popcorn for that whole scene."

Spencer chuckled. "Speaking of food... how about we eat something? I think all that drama burned through my calories."

Aurora’s lips twitched into a real smile. "Sure. I could use something sweet."

Grinning, Spencer led the way to the cafeteria and made it his personal mission to pile a tray full of Aurora’s favorite snacks—strawberry yogurt, garlic breadsticks, spicy chips, and a chocolate milkshake.

He even threw in a tiny packet of gummy bears, just because he remembered she used to hoard them.

Mia nudged Aurora while they watched Spencer load up the tray.

"You’ve got him wrapped around your finger, you know that?"

Aurora sipped her drink calmly. "That’s his problem, not mine."

However, the corner of her mouth would rise slightly.

..............................................

After school.

Aurora stepped into the warm interior of her home, dropping her bag near the door with a soft thud. She stretched her arms over her head, letting out a breath.

It had been a long, dramatic day, and all she wanted now was a little peace and maybe a nap.

But then she walked into the living room—and froze.

Sitting on the couch, cross-legged with a fake sweet smile on her face, was Eleanor.

Aurora barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Eleanor smiled wider, like she hadn’t heard the tone. "Aurora! How was school today?"

"It was fine," Aurora replied coolly, setting her phone down on the table. "What are you doing here?"

Before Eleanor could open her mouth, Theodore walked out of the adjacent study room, his notebook in hand.

"She had a doubt about the literature assignment," he said cheerfully. "So I was helping her out."

Aurora nodded. "Ah. Makes sense."