Claire's days were always packed, and honestly, Cindy wasn't any less busy. Octavia had set Cindy up with a private tutor, so her schedule was jammed with classes and study sessions from morning to night. She barely had time to worry about what Claire was up to anymore.
When the DNA test results finally came in, Latham could finally breathe again. He'd been on edge, terrified of another mistake that would turn the James family into a joke all over Apex. Meanwhile, rumors about Claire's car accident were still running wild at school. People were saying she was cold and mean, that she was some sort of villain. Since she wasn't the James family heiress anymore, everyone claimed her pride was just an act. The craziest rumor was that she'd delayed a little girl's treatment during the accident, and that it had cost the girl her life. According to the gossip, the only reason Claire wasn't facing charges was because the police felt sorry for her, since she was a student.
Every day, the stories got more dramatic, like Claire could get hauled off to jail at any minute. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with these people. How could anyone actually believe this stuff? All she ever did was keep her head down in class and head straight home after the bell. She never stuck around longer than she had to.
It got even weirder when Edison didn't have time to pick her up and sent his driver instead. Someone snapped photos and posted them on the school forum. Now, everyone was whispering that after she left the James family, Claire couldn't get a dorm room and had resorted to being some old guy's sugar baby. They said all her money came from this so-called sugar daddy, and that she rushed home after school just to be with him.
Even a quick trip to the restroom meant overhearing people from other classes pointing and whispering about her. But if she so much as glanced their way, they'd clam up and look awkward, too scared to say a word when she was actually around. Maybe it had something to do with the time Claire had punched a guy, or when Edison almost messed someone up. Either way, no one dared to mess with her face-to-face.
Rumors hurt, and somehow, the less Claire tried to defend herself, the wilder the stories got. Like now. A few girls in the restroom saw her and immediately started gossiping.
“That's her,” one girl whispered. “She's totally got herself a sugar daddy. She used to be so high and mighty, but now she's selling herself for cash."
"She is pretty, though," another chimed in. "I could see why an older guy would go for her."
"It's not just older guys. Tons of boys at school are into her. I heard one say he'd pay a thousand bucks for a night with her."
"So she's making money the easy way, huh?"
"Shh... stop talking, she's coming out."
Claire stepped out of the stall,
making them all go quiet. They just stared at her, unsure what to do. She recognized one of them-the girl with a crush on the school's star basketball player. He'd confessed to Claire, but she'd turned him down. Then he'd turned around and rejected the class beauty, this same girl standing in front of her.
"What are you staring at?" Claire said, fixing her with a cool look. The class beauty shifted awkwardly, suddenly nervous under Claire's gaze. She had no idea if Claire had heard their conversation But even if she had, who cared? The whole school was talking. It's not like she'd started the rumors herself.
"I heard you're someone's side chick," Claire said, her tone casual but sharp. "I was
just curious what kind of qualifications you need for that."
The girl's face went pale with anger. "What are you even talking about? My family's rich. Why would I need to get money from some guy?"
"Oh, so your parents must be making their money illegally. Maybe I should report them, have the authorities check out your family's company. Who knows, maybe they've been dodging taxes."
Claire flipped the script without
missing a beat. The girl looked even
more furious now, probably because
her
there was a very real chance h
family's business was exact
squeaky clean. After all, hardly any company could pass a serious
investigation without something
coming up.