Chapter 86
During this time, Niamh recorded plenty of videos of herself and Beau riding motorcycles, posting them on TikTok.
Her account had barely scraped past two thousand followers for five years. She had been posting cool riding clips, but it was always the same group of friends giving her likes over and over.
Then, the first time Niamh uploaded a video of her and Bea riding together, everything changed. She went viral that very night.
From then on, she frequently took Bean out for rides, and every video of them together effortlessly landed in the million–view traffic pool.
Realizing she could turn this into something bigger, Niamh started posting consistently over the past month. Her follower count skyrocketed past a million.
Of course, criticism followed. More and more people questioned her content, but Niamh couldn’t care less. They were just jealous of her.
No one else had the guts to put a five–year–old on a heavy–duty motorcycle.
But this past week, she noticed something troubling–her latest videos of riding with Beau weren’t hitting like they used to. Her view count had plummeted to just 200 thousand.
People were getting bored of her repeated content. So, after discussing it with her friends, she decided to pull off something big.
While the motorcycle roared down the highway at high speed, she crossed her arms over her chest and let go of the handlebars, leaving the five–year–old in full control.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she pulled out a bottle of red wine and a tall–stemmed glass from who–knows- where.
Still seated on the speeding bike, she poured herself a drink, swirling the wine in the glass with practiced ease. She was exuding absolute confidence and nonchalance as she raced down the open road.
Her friend, capturing the moment on camera, let out a hushed gasp into the mic, “Perfect!
“Niamh, I’m calling it now–this video’s getting at least 100 thousand likes!”
Elara’s life remained unchanged. After dropping Merida off at school, she returned home to immerse herself in her studies. She structured her schedule to match the coursework from her university days, racing against time to recover the five years of knowledge she had missed.
In the evening, after dinner with Merida, she took her to the Snapp residence. She had compiled a list of questions from the day and wanted to ask Tobias in person.
Upon stepping into the living room, she immediately noticed several Capitol University students sitting there.
They had always been warm toward her, but ever since the online accusations that Tobias had helped her cheat, their opinions had shifted.
Even though they, like everyone else, had watched Elara’s competition footage multiple times, scrutinizing every second for evidence of foul play. Nonetheless, they had found nothing
Yet, the fact remained–Elara was closely connected to Tobias.
+25 BONUS
Chapter Ph
A mere housewife with only a bachelor’s degree taking first place in the preliminaries? That was hard to belleve.
Was it possible that Tobias had secretly leaked the exam questions to her?
After all, several senior professors on the ALI Math Competition committee were known to be on good terms with
Tobias.
“Elara, we want to invite you to take the final exam next week at the Capitol University testing center. Do you dare to accept?”
The Capitol University students watching her now had a challenging glint in their eyes.
“There will be five proctors in the exam hall, and the entire competition will be live–streamed for the public!
“And to prevent any further suspicion, you are not allowed to have any private interactions with Dr. Snapp until the finals are over.”
Tobias, who was seated nearby, tightened his grip on his cane. The veins on the back of his hand were visibly. bulging.
“You’ve been watching me all day! What are you, security cameras with a mind of your own? I can’t even go to the bathroom without being followed! What gives you the right to dictate my movements?”
Elara’s breath caught in her throat. How could they treat Tobias like this?
The one leading the group was Wayne, the bespectacled student who had always been openly hostile toward her. “Dr. Snapp, we had no choice. It’s just unfortunate that Elara happens to be your prized student.”
They weren’t afraid of Tobias calling the authorities. If he dared to expel them from the Snapp residence, they would simply escalate the situation, turning it into a full–blown scandal about how Tobias unfairly favored certain students at Capitol University.
Wayne spoke with righteous conviction.
“All 200 finalists want a fair and just competition! As an educator, shouldn’t you be willing to make a small sacrifice for the future of these 200 brilliant minds?”
He saw the subtle tremor in Tobias‘ grip on his cane.
The sensation of completely cornering the dean–forcing ham into a position where he couldn’t fight back–was exhilarating.
Wayne smirked and continued, “Of course, if Elara were to withdraw from the ALI Math Competition, Dr. Snapp wouldn’t have to endure any of this trouble.”
His gaze which was brimming with malice shifted to Elara. He was playing a game of moral coercion, setting up a standoff to see which of them would break first.
