With that, Isabella didn’t hesitate—she reached into my pocket in front of everyone.
Sure enough, she pulled out the very ring she had secretly planted there.
The moment they saw it, my classmates erupted, their anger boiling over:
“Claire, are your hands cursed? Can’t you survive without stealing?”
“Isabella treated you kindly, and this is how you repay her?”
“Stealing a ring worth millions—are you insane or just tired of living?”
“No wonder you wanted to leave in such a hurry. You were trying to run off and sell it!”
I swept my gaze over the crowd, finally resting on Isabella.
“There are security cameras here. Framing me like this is a crime, you know that?”
Smack!
Isabella slapped me hard across the face.
“Who are you trying to scare?!”
“I’m the billionaire’s wife. Why would I need to frame a worthless bottom-feeder like you?”
Her words were quickly echoed by the crowd:
“With her status now, just speaking to you is charity. Why would she ever slander someone so insignificant?”
“Exactly! You’re already a thief, and now you’re trying to weasel your way out. Pathetic!”
“Call the cops! Lock her up for life!”
The classmates surrounded me like I was a criminal, afraid I might escape.
Even Mr. Johnson stood in front of me with contempt.
“Claire, from now on, don’t ever say you were my student.”
“I never taught someone with such rotten character.”
The gossip and condemnation drew in bystanders. Some pointed and whispered, others recorded me on their phones, and a few even spat at me.
I calmly took off my jacket and tossed it into a trash bin.
Then I looked Isabella straight in the eyes, my tone icy.
“Do you realize that slap you just gave me is enough to land you in prison for the rest of your life?”
Isabella burst into wild laughter, full of disdain.
“Claire, you’ll say anything, won’t you?”
“Even if I weren’t the billionaire’s wife, what’s the big deal about hitting a piece of trash like you?”
“You really think you’re somebody?”
Others quickly joined in:
“This worthless woman is not only poor but delusional. Did she just say Isabella could go to prison for slapping her? What a joke!”
“She’s so low-class she probably doesn’t even understand what ‘billionaire’ means.”
“Exactly. No self-awareness at all. She really thinks a single slap entitles her to a lifetime prison sentence for Isabella!”