My Roommate Framed Me for Crashing Car—It’s Owner Was My Brother Chapter 10
The Cedar Ridge financial–aid fraud scandal sent shock waves through the university community.
The university administration moved fast, removing everyone involved and firing several student–affairs employees who had covered for
Madison and Ethan.
Every dollar of the stolen aid was recovered.
Whitmore Holdings also created a dedicated
hardship fund and matched the recovered amount, doubling the assistance available to the
students who had truly needed it.
As for the cycling–club members who had
surrounded me on the mountain and helped
pressure and humiliate me, I didn’t let them walk
away without consequences either.
Whitmore Holdings‘ legal department moved
quickly, sending formal claims for defamation,
harassment, and intimidation to everyone who had
joined in.
Ryan, once so full of himself as club captain,
became so terrified he could barely eat or sleep.
Eventually, unable to handle the pressure, he
withdrew from the university.
The others involved were publicly disciplined and
quit the cycling club.
They became campus pariahs, unable to show
their faces without whispers following them.
After more than a month, the mess finally came to
an end.
One weekend morning, the air smelled fresh with
grass and trees.
I had barely stepped outside when the sight
waiting in the yard stopped me cold.
To make up for everything I’d been through, Grant
had called in a favor and had a brand–new bike
flown in from overseas.
It was an even more expensive, ultra–limited
carbon–fiber racing bike.
Its sleek frame gleamed in the morning light.
Grant leaned against the doorframe and raised an
eyebrow.
“Take it. I’d like to see who has the guts to try that
crap with my little sister again.”
I shook my head, smiling as my eyes stung.
I changed into a brand–new cycling kit and pulled
on a lightweight aerodynamic helmet.
I wheeled the bike out and swung onto it with
practiced ease.
This time, my earbuds were silent. The strange
woman’s voice never came again.
Behind me, there were no more fake friends
plotting against me, no more people trying to
shame me into taking the fall.
The road ahead was broad and smooth, stretching
all the way to the horizon.
With a crisp click of the gears, I pushed down on the pedal.
The wheels spun faster, cutting cleanly through the air.
I rode into the brilliant sunrise, the wind rushing past me.
Straight toward the wide–open life that was finally
mine.