Page 52 of Cruel Riches

10

Nate

With narrowed eyes,I read the email that had just been sent out to every student at Blackthorne.

Dear students,

A lewd video of a current Blackthorne student was recently sent to our student and staff directory after a person (or persons) was able to breach our database to collect everyone’s contact information. Rest assured, the breach has been fixed, and your data is safe.

I am writing to you today to provide some clarity on the matter of the video.

Firstly, the tape was a fake. It was created using what is known as ‘Deepfake’ technology in order to smear the student in question. This was brought to our attention after the video was released, and we have since confirmed it with three independent experts.

Secondly, this is a clear-cut case of cyberbullying. Bullying is not just something that happens with children on the playground—it is also prevalent among college students and adults in the workplace. Virtual harassment is just as serious as harassment made in person, and it can actually feel more devastating to the victim because of the public nature, large audience size, and long-term effects of public shaming.

The anonymity of the perpetrator is also a serious problem, because the victim remains unaware of who chose to target them. This can result in serious paranoia and mistrust, which can lead to ongoing health and psychological issues.

Overall, cyberbullying can be extremely damaging to a student’s personal and academic life, and these damages can follow them to their future career.

At Blackthorne, we aim to create a safe, friendly, and enjoyable environment for all of our students to ensure that they can pursue their studies while feeling secure and confident. As part of our commitment to providing that safe environment, we consider bullying in any form to be unacceptable. We expect civility and mutual respect from our students. Freedom of expression does not mean freedom to harass or threaten others.

If you have any information on the perpetrator (or perpetrators) of this recent incident, please contact me. You will be able to remain anonymous if that is a concern for you.

For those in our community who have experienced bullying in the past, I hope you will feel comfortable enough to continue your studies here despite the shock of this incident. If you would like some help or guidance with this or simply want to know more about our free student counseling programs, please visit our website or contact Student Services.

Thank you,

Brian Rademacher

Dean of Students

Angry heat prickledup the back of my neck. I slammed the lid of my laptop down and went over to my window to let in some cool air. From this side of the room, I could see the twinkling lights of the distant homes surrounding the dark waters of Arcadia Bay. It was a nice view, but the beauty was lost on me in my current state.

One day.

One fucking day.

That was all it took for my scheme to be uncovered. No one actually knew that it was me behind the whole thing, but still… it was ruined. Down the fucking drain.

I’d hired the very best computer experts to make the tape for me, and they assured me that no one would be able to tell it was fake. It looked good enough to me when I first saw it, but I now knew that the so-called experts were lazy and incompetent enough to leave a few incorrect frames in some of the scenes under the assumption that no one would notice the split-seconds of difference. Some eagle-eyed asshole had gone through the tape frame by frame in order to expose its true nature, though, and now everyone knew it was a fake.

When I commissioned the tape, I hoped it would be enough to drive Alexis away from Avalon. I wanted it to happen without me having to blow the lid off her real secret, considering the emotional shitstorm that would ignite for the people of the island if I did that, and I figured a dirty, humiliating sex scandal was my best bet.

Public shaming was an absolute bitch, and most people couldn’t handle it. They’d slink away with their tail between their legs, unable to face anyone within a hundred miles ever again. That was what I hoped would happen with Alexis. But now everyone knew the sex tape was a cruel prank, so there was no shame for her to experience.

If anything, the incident had actually made her somewhat popular on campus. Even though the Dean of Students had only just emailed his official statement to everyone this evening, the college had posted an informal statement on all of the Blackthorne social media pages yesterday afternoon, explaining that the tape was a fake. As a result, I’d seen people fawning over Alexis all day today, begging her to forgive them for believing the tape was real and telling her she could always go to them if she ever needed a friend.

Rage grew inside me as the infuriating memories flashed in my mind, bursting into riotous bloom behind my ribs.

The worst part of the whole thing was Alexis’s smug reaction to it.

When all the sycophantic assholes groveled at her feet, begging for attention and forgiveness despite the fact that they’d been publicly trashing her the day before, she didn’t respond with an angry ‘I told you so’ attitude or ask why she should forgive them. She didn’t play the martyr or tear up at the memory of the terrible shaming either. She just arched her chin high and smiled beatifically at all of them before telling them it was okay. All was forgiven.

Her new ‘friends’ and fans lapped up the faux dignity, of course. It was like she wore an invisible crown upon her head, and they all worshiped her over it.

I wanted to tear that fucking crown off and throw it in the dark, murky waters of the bay. Wanted to force her to her knees again until she cried and begged for mercy with tears streaming down her pink cheeks. Then everyone would see what she really was—a nasty, pathetic little bitch.

Clenching my jaw, I went back over to my desk and opened my laptop again. I clicked out of my emails and went to the surveillance program I’d hired someone to install on my system a few weeks ago. Through it, I had twenty-four-hour visual access to Alexis’s dorm in Redstone Hall.

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