In an avalanche, no single snowflake was innocent.
Ophelia cast a cold, disdainful glance at the crowd.
She could hardly believe that these words were coming from the mouths of top students from Dellanex University.
Before long, fire trucks arrived. Teachers and school administrators began evacuating the crowd, cordoning off the area.
Ophelia lifted the caution tape and charged through, sprinting toward the rooftop.
Even with the building’s height, over ten stories, she managed to run faster than the firefighters.
Briony was the girl who, as a child, had lost a finger.
She’d grown up beautiful and, in high school, received sponsorship to attend college.
Before time travel, Ophelia had only heard about a girl who, unable to endure Zackary’s harassment and threats, had left behind a recording before jumping off a building. She’d died in the ICU less than a day later.
What Ophelia hadn’t expected was that the girl in question was Briony.
Zackary had always managed to evade justice because he chose his victims carefully, targeting girls others envied or disliked, those who were withdrawn or socially isolated.
At the time, Zackary had deliberately smeared Briony’s reputation. With his unassuming appearance, he managed to fool
everyone.
For the sake of the school’s reputation, the incident had been buried.
And because of Briony’s circumstances, an orphan with no relatives, there had been no one to advocate for her.
Zackary not only escaped punishment but even garnered sympathy from others.
Meanwhile, Briony, the true victim, was bombarded with vile words and cruelty.
The door to the rooftop slammed open under Ophelia’s force.
Briony stood at the edge in a white dress. The wind was strong, causing her dress to billow, her long hair whipping chaotically around her gaunt frame.
She looked frail, her body skeletal and devoid of vitality, teetering on the brink.
“Briony, do you remember me?” Ophelia called out, her chest rising and falling as she tried to soften her voice.
Briony turned her head slowly, her vacant eyes rimmed with dark circles glimmering faintly. “Ophelia…” Ophelia nodded fervently. “It’s me, Briony. Can you believe we’ve met again? Remember the promise we made as kids?” Briony thought for a moment before replying, “I remember. To build houses and schools in Gloomhaven…”
“Yes, that’s right, houses and schools. Come down, okay? I’m already working on it. We’re so close to developing that area. Come down, please,” said Ophelia.
Briony’s gaze remained hollow, though the corners of her lips lifted into a strained smile as if even that hurt. “Really? But, Ophelia… I’m so tired…”
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The wind scattered her words, leaving Ophelia straining to catch them.
“I know what you’ve been through. If you have evidence, I can help you bring him down. Don’t do anything reckless.” Ophelia pleaded.
At that moment, school officials, along with others, began arriving on the rooftop one after another.
77%1
The instant Briony saw Zackary among them, fear flooded her eyes. She stepped back, one foot hovering precariously over the void.
“Briony!” Ophelia frowned deeply, taking a few steps forward. “When have I ever lied to you? I can help you. Trust me.”
Cade, the vice principal, frowned and stepped in. “What are you all talking about? Briony, on the way up here, Mr. Gross already explained everything to me. He won’t breathe a word about this. There’s no need to resort to such measures.”
Cade’s voice carried a mix of sorrow and disappointment. ‘Briony is shameless. To secure a job after graduation, she actually tried to seduce Mr. Gross,‘ he thought with a sigh.
“It was Zackary who threatened me! If I didn’t listen to him…” Briony began, but Zackary cut her off.
“Briony, you’re about to graduate. You’ve worked so hard to get into Dellanex University. You can’t…” he began.
“Shut up!” Ophelia roared, glaring daggers at Zackary.
It was clear these were the same lines Zackary had used to manipulate Briony before.
As expected, hearing his words only made Briony’s emotions spiral further out of control.
“Four years… Four whole years…” Briony murmured, each word hitting Ophelia like a hammer to her heart.
Her fists clenched tightly, as though she wanted nothing more than to tear Zackary apart.
“Words cut deep. Even if I survive, I have nothing left. If my death can bring justice to these monsters…” Briony trailed off. “No. Your death will only let him get away with it even more. Briony, come down…” Ophelia’s voice was swallowed by the wind.
It was as if Briony hadn’t heard her at all.
“Ophelia, since my freshman year in architecture, I’ve been working on a design. I hope you can use it someday.
“If there’s a next life, I don’t want to be someone from Gloomhaven again…” Briony wore a faint smile. Briony’s entire life had been plagued by discrimination and hardship.
With those words, she closed her eyes and began to lean backward, her entire body tipping away from the rooftop. “No… please!” Ophelia lunged forward, and two firefighters rushed in from either side.
Ophelia reached Briony.
She grabbed her.
“Briony, don’t let go… please don’t…” Ophelia’s voice cracked as she pleaded.
Thank you, Ophelia, for sending me off in my final moments.” Briony smiled faintly, releasing Ophelia’s hand.
“No… please…” Ophelia choked out, desperation lacing her voice.
The warmth of Briony’s fingers slipped away little by little. At that moment, Ophelia had never wanted so badly to hold onto
Chapter 252
something.
Half her body leaned dangerously over the railing as she watched, helpless, as Briony slipped from her grasp and plummeted downward.
Bang! The impact resounded through the air.
Below, Briony’s white dress fanned out like a grotesque, blood–red rose blooming against the cold, hard ground.
‘I had her… I could’ve pulled her up,‘ Ophelia thought, her mind a whirlwind of anguish.
Watching a vibrant life vanish through her fingers, Ophelia’s eyes turned bloodshot.
“Hey… why couldn’t she just hold on…” murmured someone in the crowd.
Around her, people wore faces of grief and regret. Firefighters rubbed at their reddened eyes, visibly shaken.
And yet, the school officials‘ whispers carried an insensitive tone entirely.
Cade immediately ordered damage control. “Make sure this doesn’t leak beyond campus,” he instructed curtly.
Among the onlookers, some students stood frozen, the trauma of witnessing such a scene evident on their faces. A few staff members muttered about arranging psychological counseling.
But for all the outward gestures of concern, not a single person truly cared about Briony.
Ophelia’s gaze lifted. Her bloodshot eyes, burning with fury, now glinted with a malevolent edge, as though she were a demon emerging straight from hell.
The oppressive energy around her silenced those nearby.
Without a word, she pushed through the crowd, descending the stairs one step at a time, her movements heavy with purpose.
For the sake of appearances, the school had called an ambulance. Briony’s body was hastily placed on a stretcher, handled with the kind of detachment one might reserve for an object rather than a person.
Ophelia stood motionless, watching the ambulance disappear down the road. Under her breath, she murmured a name, her voice low and cold. “Zackary…”
Her lips curled, and she repeated his name, enunciating each syllable with venom.
Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone. In a matter of minutes, she uploaded a damning video of Zackary with Hendrick and the muscle–bound man from the other day.
Along with it, she included evidence provided by Lesly, proof of Zackary’s misdeeds.
She should’ve done this long ago.
‘Why did I wait until now?‘ Ophelia thought bitterly.
If she’d acted sooner, just maybe today’s tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
Half an hour later, the university forum exploded.
The administration tried frantically to contain the situation, but Ophelia had already taken precautions. The posts were impossible to delete.
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In no time, Zackary’s true colors were fully exposed online.
All of Zackary’s carefully cultivated lies and his carefully polished image came crashing down in an instant.
“Holy crap, Mr. Gross is seriously twisted!”
“Twisted doesn’t even begin to cover it. Who’d have thought he was that kind of guy? Using graduation as leverage to threaten female students? Absolute scum!”
“So that whole thing about him smearing Professor Spencer was fake too, huh?”
“Obviously! Professor Spencer is talented and gorgeous like she’d ever need to flatter a creep like him. What a joke.”
“Then Briony must’ve been one of his victims too…”
“Poor Briony. She didn’t deserve this.”
News soon arrived from the hospital. Briony had succumbed to her injuries and passed away.
The announcement sent ripples through the campus. Students began spontaneously laying white flowers at the site where Briony had fallen, a quiet, collective expression of grief.
In just a single morning, the situation spiraled completely out of control.
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