Chapter 47
â Well done .
You finished so quickly today .
Now go draw the chalkboard art for me .
And if itâs ugly , donât expect me to tell you where your mom is buried .
â
Rowena snatched the homework from Elysia , tossing it aside without a second glance before returning to her game .
In her mind , all she needed to do was show up for class .
Homework was Elysiaâs job , answers during exams were passed to her by Elysia , and the occasional memento from Elysiaâs deceased mother was enough to make her do anything .
Rowena no longer wanted to kick Elysia out of the house .
Why bother ? With her brilliant mind , Elysia could help Rowena ace every test and stay at the top of her class , earning constant praise from their father .
In ten years , when Rowena inherited the Drayton family , Elysia could still be useful .
Of course , that would only happen after Rowena eliminated some obstacles : Torin , with his constant disapproval ; Fenwick , whose stupidity annoyed her ; and Caellan , the neurotic wildcard .
The thought of a carefree and luxurious future brought a bright smile to Rowenaâs face .
Life was simply too easy .
Meanwhile , Elysia brought two boxes of chalk and began drawing on the blackboard .
Despite having no formal training , she blended colors with incredible precision , and soon , a stunning phoenix began to take shape .
Viewers in the livestream were awestruck , marveling at her skill and flooding the chat with questions , â Did the Drayton family sign her up for art
lessons ? â
The answer was a resounding no .
â Forget art lessons , we didnât even enroll her in tutoring classes ⦠â Torin muttered , his hands clutching his head in anguish as he slid from his chair to the floor .
His once â imposing figure as a confident and aloof businessman was nowhere to be seen .
They hadnât provided Elysia with any extra support , yet she could solve complex problems with methods only college students would know .
They had sent her to the countryside every holiday because Rowena claimed , â Elysia doesnât want to study , she just wants to farm .
â Meanwhile , they took Rowena on vacations abroad .
They hadnât offered her any extracurricular opportunities , yet with two simple boxes of chalk , she had drawn a phoenix so vivid it seemed to glow with life .
Instead of nurturing her talent , her family poured all their resources into Rowena , convinced that Elysia was nothing more than an ignorant country girl .
How ironic .
Fenwick , still smarting from the slap Torin had given him , felt deflated as he watched the screen .
He knew he shouldnât have spoken so carelessly earlier .
Torin thought , â But still ⦠wasnât it just homework and chalkboard art ? That didnât really count as bullying , right ? â
[ Reminder : Rowena is 14 years old .
If I see her commit another illegal act , Iâm recording this and sending it to the police .
]
[ Torin looks like his world is collapsing .
Poor guy .
Damn Rowena for betraying his trust .
]
[ Fenwick is so biased toward Rowena, yet you still call him â big brother â ? Arenât you worried heâll sell Elysia out ? ]
[ Fenwickâs face is priceless .
One slap and heâs in full denial mode .
}
[ But wait â who erased the chalkboard art ? If Rowena wanted Elysia to redraw it , why erase it in the first place ? ]
As the chat buzzed with speculation , Elysiaâs phoenix reached completion .
Its vibrant feathers shimmered as if glowing , its wings seemingly scattering rays of light with every motion .
It looked so lifelike , as if it could fly off the chalkboard at any moment .
But Elysia showed no joy .
She stood stiffly before the blackboard , her expression grave .
Rowena , noticing the prolonged silence , glanced up from her game .
She was about to chastise Elysia for slacking off but froze at the sight of the phoenix .
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Her jaw dropped , and she didnât snap out of it until her game announced her characterâs death .
â Where did you learn to draw this ? â she demanded .
â Have you been spying on my art classes ? â
Elysiaâs shoulders tensed .
Without a word , she grabbed a cloth and began erasing the phoenix .
As the magnificent drawing vanished into chalk dust , the classroom door swung open .
â Damn it .
â The other students stormed in , wide â eyed at what theyâd just witnessed .
Without hesitation , they pinned Elysia against the chalkboard to stop her from erasing the art .
The screen froze at this moment , then jumped back to the carlier confrontation , replaying the scene where Serena threw a book at Elysiaâs head .
â This monster dares fight back ? â Serena sneered , grabbing another book .
â Donât just stand there ! Hit her while you can â sheâll heal by tomorrow anyway .
â
Elysia , hearing this , tried to escape .
â I canât leave ⦠Dadâs waiting for us to come home for dinner , â Rowena said , catching Elysiaâs arm with a weak excuse .
Serena stepped forward , pulling Rowena aside with a smirk .
â Rowena , youâre just too soft .
Watch and learn .
â With that , she grabbed the heaviest , thickest book she could find and hurled it straight at Elysia .
For those watching the livestream on their computers , it was shocking enough .
But for the ones wearing VR headsets ⦠The experience was downright unsettling .
[ Damn it , I was in the bathroom ! The book flew at me , and I fell into the toilet ! ]
[ You should be glad it missed this time .
Otherwise , youâd be rolling on the floor crying .
]
[ The worst part was Rowenaâs â weâre going home for dinner â line .
Who eats dinner when Elysia is running for her life ? ]
[ Another book is incoming ! ]
â Still saying youâre not an illegitimate child , huh ? â Serena taunted , throwing another book.
â If you werenât , how did you get into the Drayton family ? Without a homewrecking mother , how could you be a year older than Rowena ? Youâd think her two brothers would stop this outsider from bullying you every day .
â
â Stop it , Serena ! â Rowena cried , pretending to hold Serena back .
â Donât say those things about Elysia .
â
She pleaded desperately for her to stop , knowing full well that this wasnât about helping Elysia .
It was about protecting herself , preventing Elysia from revealing the truth .
What she didnât expect , however , was that this time , Elysia didnât hold back .
Instead , she shouted at the top of her lungs , â Torin and Fenwick are my brothers ! We share the same mother ! I am not an illegitimate child ! â
Meanwhile , in Serenaâs group chat .
.
Meanwhile , Serenaâs private group chat was buzzing with activity .
Serena , the group admin , had already kicked Rowena out .
Jenny : [ Itâs over , totally over .
Someone just recognized me , and in this kind of scandalous context too .
]
Henry : [ We only saw Elysia wiping the board earlier , but now itâs clear there was so much more to it .
Good thing I didnât say anything stupid in the livestream chat â otherwise , Iâd end up like Serena , with my info leaked .
]
Sera : [ Kason , say one more word , and Iâll leak your info right now .
By the way , whereâs Zac ? Isnât he Rowenaâs lapdog ? Why isnât he standing up for her now ? ]
Matthew : [ Obviously booking his ticket .
Unlike you guys , Iâd rather leave this mess behind and chase some sweet , innocent girls .
]
One minute later â¦
Matthew : [ My dad grounded me ! ]
At the same time , an unusually conspicuous overlay appeared , covering the injured Elysia as she leaned against the blackboard .
It wasnât text like the usual chat comments ; it was the first â ever full â screen image to appear in the livestream .
Literally full â screen , it lingered there for a full five minutes .
The image displayed a group photo featuring Kason , Jenny , Serena , Zac , and Rowena .
Accompanying it was detailed personal information about each of them â from their addresses to even their blood types .
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Matthew : [ I canât believe it ! I canât believe it ! ]
Sera : [ The production team is invading our privacy ! ]
As the image faded , Elysiaâs battered form reappeared .
Blood trickled down her forehead , staining the remnants of the phoenix she had drawn .
The once â beautiful artwork was now reduced to bloodied chalk dust .
Elysia coughed , bitterness and sorrow choking her voice .
She surveyed the mess around her , as if staring at the shattered pieces of her own heart .
Even now , with the truth revealed , it didnât matter .
She wasnât someone they sought to defend â just a vessel for their frustrations .
Elysia wasnât someone with family to protect her , teachers to care for her , or classmates who would notice if she disappeared .
She was a speck of forgotten dust .
How ironic .
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