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Chapter 8 [This girl is PSYCHO. How tf is she only 19?!?]
[Someone LOCK HER UP! This isnât just bullying, itâs attempted MURDER!]
Under the tsunami of public pressure, Shane and his crew finally cracked. In a hastily arranged press conference, they admitted Victoria had paid them not just to traumatize me, but to ensure I âwouldnât be a problem anymore.â
Her exact instructions: make it look like an accident.
This bombshell detonated across social media. Dozens of former classmates emerged from the woodwork, posting their own Victoria horror stories.
âValentina helped me learn combinations when I first transferred,â one wrote. âMeanwhile, Victoria was putting thumbtacks in peopleâs pointe shoes.â
Far from being her victim, Iâd been her obsessionâsheâd sabotaged auditions, slashed my costumes, and planted rumors with visiting choreographers that had cost me professional opportunities.
The backlash was merciless. #Victoria WintersIsOverParty trended for days.
That afternoon, SAB released a terse statement: âThe School of American Ballet maintains the highest standards of personal conduct. In light of recent revelations, we have revoked Ms. Wintersâ acceptance, effective immediately.â
A staff memberâs phone captured Victoriaâs meltdown when she received the news. The leaked video spread like wildfire.
âWHY DOES EVERYONE LOVE HER?!â she shrieked, hurling a vase against the wall. âSHEâS NOTHING! NOTHING! IâM THE TALENTED ONE!â
Her voice rose to an unhinged pitch. âShe stole everything from me! Everything that should have been MINE! I should have been Maxwell Dagonetâs daughter! IâLL FUCKING END HER! I SWEAR TO GOD IâLL END HER ENTIRE BLOODLINE!â
TikTok exploded with vicious takedowns: âHoney, your mom was literally screwing a married man for 20 years. Youâre the side pieceâs kid. Stay in your lane.â
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The blame expanded: âThe father and brother are the real villains. Imagine TORTURING your own daughter/sister because your mistressâs kid was jealous? Electric chair for all of them.â
Internet sleuths unearthed Victoriaâs history of calculated destruction: anonymous bullying accounts, blackmail schemes, even a suspicious fire at a competitorâs apartment before a crucial audition.
The outrage spiraled beyond Victoria to target Camilla. Someone doxxed her, leading to protesters outside her apartment building with signs reading âHOME WRECKERâ and âCHILD ABUSER BY PROXY.â
Did I feel vindicated? Not particularly.
The universe was simply balancing its ledger.
What genuinely surprised me was seeing Dad and Caspian huddled outside the Geneva clinic on my discharge day, looking like theyâd aged decades.
Despite my completely reconstructed face, they recognized me instantly.
âVal-â Dadâs voice cracked. His onceâperfect hair had gone steel gray, his designer suit hanging off his frame like borrowed clothes.
âBaby girl, I-â He struggled visibly. âIâve destroyed everything. I was blind. So fucking blind.â
âThose men were just supposed to... to scare you a little. Just enough to keep you from competing with Victoria. I swear to God, I never meant for you to get hurt like that.â
âI never imagined... Jesus Christ, Val, I never wanted this...â
I studied him with clinical detachment. âLet me understand this correctly. You deliberately postponed emergency surgery that could have saved my legs. You leaked videos of my torture online. You systematically dismantled my reputation and future. But you ânever meant to hurt meâ?â
Dad crumpled, physically staggering as if Iâd struck him.
âIâve sold the company,â he whispered. âIâve sold everything. Iâll spend the rest of my life making this up to you.â
Caspian looked hollowed out, his eyes sunken and bloodshot. âVal... I donât even know what to say. Victoria had me completely fooled. Sheâs-â he shuddered. âThe doctors say sheâs showing signs of actual psychopathy.â
96.99 Chapter 8 âYouâre my sister. My only sister. And I helped that monster destroy you.â His voice broke. âI donât deserve forgiveness. I donât deserve anything.â
I adjusted my Hermès scarf, glancing at my watch. My flight to Monaco was boarding soon.
âHow unfortunate for you both,â I said mildly.
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