Then nodded slowly.
“She said if the video got out… my dad would lose his job.”
Olivia’s stomach twisted.
The Davis family again.
Sophia always had someone else to hurt.
“I’m sorry,” Jack said quietly. “I can’t help you.”
Olivia looked down at the floor.
Maybe the truth would never come out.
Maybe Sophia had already won.
“Jack.”
A deep voice cut through the room.
Everyone turned.
Ethan leaned casually against the doorway.
But there was nothing casual about the intensity in his eyes.
“Ethan?” Mia whispered.
Olivia’s heart skipped.
He walked toward them slowly.
Jack looked even more nervous.
“Did Sophia threaten you?” Ethan asked calmly.
Jack nodded.
“Then she’s counting on your silence.”
Jack looked miserable.
“I don’t want trouble.”
Ethan’s voice softened.
“I know.”
For a moment, the room was quiet.
Then Ethan looked at Olivia.
And something in his expression shifted.
“Olivia deserves the truth.”
Her chest tightened.
Jack hesitated.
“Why do you care so much?” he asked.
Ethan didn’t look away from Olivia when he answered.
“Because this isn’t the first time the Davis family has done something like this.”
Olivia’s breath caught.
Ethan finally turned to Jack.
“My cousin used to be the cheer captain here.”
Jack blinked.
“Lena Carter?”
Ethan nodded.
“She was accused of bullying Sophia’s sister.”
Olivia felt her stomach drop.
“It wasn’t real,” Ethan said quietly. “The evidence was fabricated.”
Mia swore under her breath.
“That forced her to quit the team,” Ethan continued. “She spiraled into depression.”
Jack looked stunned.
“And you think Sophia did the same thing to Olivia?”
“I know she did.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“I started paying attention after the election speech video came out. The edit looked wrong.”
He looked at Olivia again.
“I’ve seen the full clip before.”
Her pulse spiked.
“You have?”
He nodded.
“Someone showed it to me briefly.”
Jack’s eyes widened.
“You’re talking about the backup footage.”
Silence filled the room.
Mia leaned forward.
“You do have it.”
Jack hesitated.
Then sighed.
“I saved a copy… just in case.”
Hope exploded in Olivia’s chest.
“Jack,” Ethan said gently, “hiding the truth only helps people like Sophia.”
Jack looked torn.
“She’ll ruin my family.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Ethan said firmly.
Something in his voice carried absolute certainty.
Jack stared at them for a long moment.
Then finally opened a drawer.
He pulled out a small external drive.
“Okay,” he muttered. “But if this blows up… I was never here.”
Mia grinned.
“Deal.”
Jack plugged the drive into his laptop.
The video opened.
Olivia held her breath as the footage played.
The scene showed the backstage hallway before the speeches.
There was Sophia.
Walking straight toward Olivia.
Then—
She deliberately rammed into her.
Olivia’s papers scattered everywhere.
Gasps filled the small room.
Then the video captured Sophia grabbing Olivia’s speech pages.
Brett appeared beside her, holding a phone.
“Make sure you film it right,” Sophia whispered.
The audio was clear.
“We’ll cut the part where I pushed her.”
Mia slammed a hand on the desk.
“That witch!”
Jack fast-forwarded.
The edited moment appeared.
The clip Sophia had released publicly.
It looked completely different.
Manipulated.
Twisted.
Olivia’s chest felt like it might explode.
“I knew it,” Ethan murmured.
Before anyone could speak again—
The door burst open.
Lucy rushed inside, breathing hard.
“I found it!”
Everyone turned.
“What?” Mia asked.
Lucy held up her phone.
“I recorded Sophia talking to her sister.”
Olivia’s heart pounded.
Lucy pressed play.
Emma Davis’s cold voice filled the room through the speaker.
"Make sure Olivia loses. She can’t threaten our position in the cheer squad."
Sophia’s voice followed.
"Don’t worry. Just like what we did to Ethan’s cousin."
Olivia felt the room spin.
The evidence was undeniable.
Jack leaned back in his chair.
“Oh my God.”
Lucy looked relieved.
“That recording proves they planned everything.”
Jack swallowed hard.
“You don’t understand.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Sophia already sent people to scare me yesterday,” he said nervously.
“They told me to delete the video.”
Olivia’s stomach twisted.
“You almost did?”
Jack nodded.
“But I made a backup first.”
He pulled another flash drive from his pocket.
“Just in case something happened.”
Ethan exchanged a glance with Mia.
Things had just become a lot bigger than a school election.
This was a war.
And for the first time since everything began—
Olivia finally had weapons.