Chapter 23

Bella chose not to sue Sebastian and Ronald. As the sole heirs of the Gale and Lowe families, their actions represented their powerful households. They had previously pressured every police precinct in Utopia to reject her case—then and now, their influence remained formidable. So, she decided to fight them with their own weapon. On the first day of the new semester, rumors swept through the major colleges like wildfire. "Did you hear? That freshman who got caught last year had powerful backers all along. Otherwise, with no status or connections, why didn't the victim come forward sooner?" "Isn't it obvious someone was protecting her behind the scenes?" "Who else could it be? Everyone saw how those two from the Gale and Lowe families supported her. Back then, they claimed to know nothing. But apart from the victim herself, who else would have known the truth?" "I heard the victim grew up with them. They were all childhood friends. Put it together. Given the choice between a love