Not A Small Town Girl (Danielle and David) novel Chapter 149

Jane was also bewildered by June's statement.

June retorted, "I'm just looking out for Danielle, but it's not okay for you to speak like that." June knew it was unwise to provoke someone from a wealthy family like Danielle, but she deeply disliked Juniper. June suspected Danielle only received such fawning attention because of her family's wealth, and resented the accusation from Juniper.

Juniper despised this two-faced behavior, saying, "Is this really a concern or just nonsense? Danielle doesn't need this."

June found Juniper very annoying and said softly, "Juniper, you can't just throw me under the bus to get on Danielle's good side, can you?"

Juniper was truly frustrated with June this time. "Stop acting helpless. Danielle is my best friend - do I need to please her? Something is wrong with you."

Unable to bear hearing June speak any longer, Jane intervened and said, "June, stop it."

"Jane, do you also think I was wrong? I was only worried about Danielle, but you're all being so unfair to me." June burst into tears. "How did I end up living with such unreasonable people?"

June's constant questions about Jane's family since she moved into the dorm made Jane uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything since they were living together. Now, June was acting innocent again.

"You were wrong to accuse me of sharing contact information without evidence and to answer my phone without asking. Now you're acting like you're about to cry? What are you trying to do?" Danielle said calmly.

June was furious at Danielle's words, but she didn't want to offend Danielle. She swallowed her anger. "Danielle," she said, trying to calm the situation, "I think you misunderstood me. I'm very direct and sometimes speak without thinking. Please don't be upset with me."

Danielle glanced at June without saying a word and turned back to her seat.

The four of them remained silent on the matter.

Danielle opened her laptop and connected to the campus network, which was already buzzing with posts about her after just one week of classes.

She had seen only two posts: one about the campus belle contest with a photo of her, and the other one she had just found.

Danielle found a photo of herself on the "Not a Foodie" account and then discovered a slanderous post about herself on another account called "Sleepyhead."

She clicked on both accounts but found they were empty and newly registered.

The school's policy requiring real names for registration played to Danielle's advantage. She quickly hacked into the account "Not a Foodie," revealing the registered user as Emma.

Danielle wasn't surprised to see Emma's name. She knew Emma had posted her photo online to compete with Audrey for the title of "campus belle," hoping to provoke Audrey into doing something against her. However, Emma had miscalculated. Audrey wouldn't dare to retaliate openly and could only resort to petty acts in private.

Danielle's fingers flew across the keyboard as she hacked into Sleepyhead's ID, revealing the registered name: Nancy. She recalled that Nancy often spent time with Ava. Danielle found it very interesting.

Danielle took screenshots of the information to save it, already planning how she would fight back.

Emily was furious when she heard Ruby's words.

"How dare you speak about my daughter in such a disrespectful way? It's no surprise your father isn't fond of you. And let me be clear, he's involved in this decision too. If we don't see any progress within three days, you can say goodbye to ever seeing your mother again," Emily threatened.

With that, she hung up the phone directly, without giving Ruby a chance to speak.

After ending the call, Ruby gripped her phone, fighting back tears. Her mother's serious illness when Ruby was thirteen had kept them apart ever since. The following year, Robert brought Emily and Sienna home. Sienna was the same age as Ruby, only a month younger. The realization that her father had been unfaithful and had a daughter of her age was devastating.

After Emily's arrival, she subjected her to systematic mistreatment, often depriving her of food or locking her in a small, dark room, all while maintaining a façade of kindness in front of Robert. This deception, aided by complicit servants, led Robert to believe his stepdaughter was simply being difficult, causing him to dismiss her claims of abuse.

She seethed with hatred for Emily and Sienna, but her rage towards Robert, the man who had imprisoned her mother, burned even hotter.

After her grandparents died that year, they left her mother a sizable inheritance. Robert claimed the company had cash flow issues and took the money. Although her mother wasn't sick, she quickly became bedridden and her condition worsened each day. Robert refused to let her visit her mother.

The suddenness of her mother's illness struck Ruby, making her suspect Robert's involvement. She vowed to get justice.

She suppressed her emotions, her mind racing with thoughts of where her mother might be held captive and how to free her from Emily's clutches.