I Was Switched at Birth and Framed in School

Nadia's POV

I was shaking all over, terrified, and begged Bentley to let me go.

But his eyes were ice-cold. “I heard that offering a virgin to the snake spirit can bring someone back to life. This is what you owe Ivy.”

The memory of being strangled and suffocated by that python in my past life was still fresh. I shuddered, and this time, rage took over.

As such, I immediately typed into the class group chat.

[I earned that forty grand scholarship through my own hard work. Why should I hand it over?]

But Bentley quickly replied.

[Don’t be ungrateful, Nadia. Ivy using your scholarship is her doing you a favor.]

[You’re the only one in class who can’t fit in. I’m giving you a chance to be part of something, can’t you see that?]

I let out a cold laugh and shot back.

[Did I ever say I wanted to go on this graduation trip? If I’m not joining, why should I pay for it?]

[Whoever invites, pays. I’m not gonna be the sucker footing the bill. I’m here to study, not to win popularity points.]

[Ivy is all you ever talk about. If she's so amazing, why don’t you just date her already?]

The group went silent for a few seconds after that.

Then Bentley sneered.

[Nadia, are you seriously jealous right now?]

[Quit the attitude. Transfer the money to Ivy, or you’ll mess up the whole booking, flights, hotels, everything. And I swear, I won’t let it slide!]

Ivy chimed in, too, even tagging me.

[Nadia, I think you misunderstood me and Bentley. I just wanted everyone to relax and enjoy the summer, that’s all.]

[If you don’t want to chip in, that’s fine. I can cover the costs, just come along, okay?]

Right after that, Bentley followed up with another message.

[See? That’s how generous Ivy is. Unlike some people who pinch pennies like their life depends on it.]

[No one’s against the trip, right? I’ll go ahead and give everyone’s ID info to Ivy for the visa applications.]

With that, the whole class blew up in excitement.

[Of course! Where else would we get such a great offer?]

[Some people just act all high and mighty because they’re top students, always worried someone else might steal their spotlight.]

[Totally! She’s just jealous of Ivy. Let’s ignore her.]

Watching them cheer and flatter Ivy like mindless sheep, I couldn’t help but scoff.

In my past life, I only learned after I died that this whole “graduation trip” was just a cover.

Ivy had another plan. She wanted to collect everyone’s ID cards for the visa process so she could take out massive loans in their names.

It was because her father’s company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and she needed a huge sum to cover the losses.

If I hadn’t spoken up then, they all would’ve ended up saddled with millions in high-interest debt.

But now, these same people were attacking me with the most vicious words.

Good thing, I still had my ID. If they were dead set on jumping into the fire, I wasn’t about to stop them.

Knowing all that, I quickly sent a voice message to the group.

“You want to go on a graduation trip? That’s your business. Leave me out of it. But just a friendly reminder. Keep a close eye on your personal documents. Otherwise, you might not even know you’ve been sold off.”

As soon as I hit send, Bentley exploded with anger.

[Nadia, just because you’ve got a filthy heart doesn’t mean everyone else does. Ivy is beautiful and kind. How could you say something like that about her?!]

Ivy also chimed in.

[I just wanted to do something nice for everyone. I never thought Nadia would accuse me like this. Maybe we should just cancel everything.]

A few classmates jumped in, annoyed.

[Can’t believe one rotten apple is spoiling the whole thing! Don’t listen to her, Ivy.]

Ivy responded with a pitiful emoji.

[But it’s a graduation trip. It won’t feel right if we’re not all together. And if Nadia doesn’t come, she’ll probably go online and say we excluded her.]