Badass in Disguise (Shadow) novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Author’s POV:

Jade’s phone vibrated in her pocket as Chase and his friends stormed off to confront the Reddit poster. She didn’t bother following them. When she pulled out her phone, Ethan Haxton’s name flashed on the screen. Perfect timing.

“Hello, Mr. Haxton,” she answered, keeping her voice neutral despite the commotion around her.

“Jade.” His voice was calm but carried an undercurrent of concern. “I’ve been informed about what’s happening at

Princeton. Are you alright?”

She leaned back in her chair, watching students hurry between classes through the rain–streaked windows. “I’m fine. It’s just university gossip.”

“It’s more than that.” There was a pause. “I’m coming to Princeton.”

Before she could respond, the classroom door burst open. A group of students rushed in, eyes glued to their phones.

“Holy shit, did you see the new post?” a girl with a pink streak in her hair exclaimed. “Someone just dropped a bomb

on the forum!”

Her classmates immediately pulled out their devices. Whispers quickly turned to gasps.

“Is that a fucking Maybach purchase receipt?”

“Look at the name–Ethan Haxton!”

“The car plate matches–NY001!”

Jade turned back to her phone. “What did you do?” she asked Ethan, already knowing the answer.

“What needed to be done,” he replied simply. “The forum needed some clarity.”

Across the room, conversations erupted like popcorn.

“Wait, so that ‘sugar daddy‘ rumor was about Ethan Haxton? The Ethan Haxton?”

“This can’t be real. Why would someone like him even look at a Princeton student?”

“If it’s him, then fuck–Astor, Sheldon, and Jensen all look like nobodies in comparison.”

“This is obviously fake. Whoever posted this has zero common sense. You can’t just fake documentation for someone like Haxton.”

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Chapter 175

Jade could practically hear Ethan’s satisfaction through the phone. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I simply dislike misinformation,” he replied. “And I particularly dislike when it involves you.”

In his downtown New York office, Ethan had pushed aside contracts for a multi–billion–dollar merger to personally review comments on a university forum. One by one, he banned accounts posting malicious comments, exercising administrator privileges that shouldn’t have been possible for anyone outside the university’s IT department.

Meanwhile, across campus in the female dormitories, panic had erupted in one particular room.

“We’re so fucked,” Megan Hayes whispered, pacing frantically. “It’s Ethan Haxton. What if they find us?”

Her two roommates sat frozen on their beds, faces pale.

“It wasn’t me who started the sugar daddy rumor,” one of them said quickly. “That was all you, Megan.”

In the computer science building, Chase’d cornered a terrified junior–the top student in computer science–who’d been coordinating with dozens of paid commenters.

“I–I was just having fun,” the student stammered as Chase dragged him toward the administration building. “It was

just a joke!”

In President Thornton’s office, the atmosphere was tense. The student sat hunched in a chair, while Chase stood by

the window, arms crossed.

“Who paid you?” Jade asked calmly, having arrived minutes earlier.

The student looked up, startled by her direct approach. “N–nobody! I told you, I just-”

“Was it Megan Hayes? Emily Morgan? Aurelia Sullivan? Catherine Sullivan?”

At “Catherine Sullivan,” his eyes widened fractionally–a tell even an amateur could spot.

“I…” he swallowed hard. “Catherine paid me a few hundred thousand. She said it was just a prank.”

President Thornton sighed heavily, massaging his temples. Just minutes earlier, he’d been praying the culprit wasn’t

a student.

While this drama unfolded, across town in a luxurious office, Dominic Sullivan was reviewing quarterly reports when his phone rang without him touching it. Somehow, it had accepted the call automatically and switched to speaker mode.

“Hello?” he said, confused.

“You have thirty minutes,” a cold female voice responded. “If you don’t want Sullivan Group bankrupted by morning, bring Catherine to Princeton. Now.”

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Chapter 175

The line went dead just as Archer pushed open the door. “Dom, Aurelia just called. She says Jade’s in some kind of

trouble at school.”

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Back in her bedroom, Catherine Sullivan lounged on her bed, scrolling through comments with satisfaction. People were tearing Jade apart, questioning her integrity, her grades, her appearance–everything. Perfect.

Then she saw the new post–the Maybach receipt with Ethan Haxton’s name. Her face contorted with rage and disbelief.

“This slum rat must be insane,” she muttered, gripping her phone tightly. “A girl from that disgusting neighborhood thinking she can have Haxton’s heir?”

Jealousy burned through her veins as she began typing instructions to hire more online trolls.

On campus, the revelation about the Maybach owner hadn’t cleared Jade’s name as intended. Instead, students now speculated that Jade herself had posted the receipt, desperate to prove her connection to someone important.

“She’s so pathetic, making up relationships with billionaires.”

“Someone should warn her before she gets hurt. Haxton will sue her for defamation.”

Then, at precisely 3:15 PM, a sleek black Maybach with the license plate “NY001” pulled up at Princeton’s south gate. Students gasped, phones raised to capture the moment.

“Holy shit, the car is real!”

“Is that… oh my God, it’s actually Ethan Haxton!”

Inside the car, Connor grimaced. “I feel like we’re in a zoo exhibit.”

Ethan, perfectly composed in his tailored suit, simply lowered the window and gave the gawking students a clear

view of his face.

“This is a significant sacrifice, sir,” Connor muttered.

Ethan smiled slightly. Is it? Or is this actually quite convenient?”

He pulled out his phone and texted Jade: I’m at the south gate. Would you mind coming to pick me up, Miss Morgan?

The crowd grew as word spread, and students whispered among themselves.

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