Framed for Cheating, Saved by the Army

When the college entrance exam results were released,

I received a 20-point bonus for being the child of a martyr.

For the first time ever, I, the perpetual runner-up, surpassed the school's "cool" heartthrob and became the top scorer in the province.

He confronted me, accusingly:

"I never thought you’d stoop so low as to fake your identity just to beat me."

My classmates erupted in anger:

"How could someone as petty as you be a martyr’s kid?"

"You must’ve pulled some dirty trick!"

They broke into my locker and exposed my family records,

revealing that my so-called heroic father was actually a street-side pancake vendor.

The story spread online like wildfire—

"A second-generation pancake seller faking martyr status to grab 20 bonus points on the college entrance exam."

My mother came to school, trying to set things straight,

but Ryan Caldwell and his goons shattered her hands with a baseball bat.

Then, with a box cutter, they carved “fake martyr’s relative” onto her face.

I brought her medical records to the police,

but they refused to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.

I reached out to lawyers, but no one would take the case.

With nowhere else to go, Ryan even dared to sneer,

"My father’s the richest man in Cedarville. If you two want to stay alive, you’ll do as I say."

Watching my mother slip in and out of consciousness in the ICU,

I knelt before the gates of the military compound,

a plaque reading "First-Class Meritorious Service" strapped to my back.

"Uncle... I don’t want the extra 20 points anymore. Can you just give my father back?"

——

"Wesley Grant, congratulations!"

"750 points, plus 20 bonus points for children of martyrs—that’s 770!"

"You’re this year’s provincial top scorer!"

The homeroom teacher’s excited voice rang through the phone.

Before I could even celebrate with my mother,

I was flooded with messages in the class group chat—

Ryan and his cronies are leading the charge:

"Wait—Wesley? He’s the provincial top scorer?"

"770 points? That’s over the full score!"

"He got 20 extra points? Martyr’s child? Never heard that before."

Then, an anonymous document was uploaded.

It was deleted almost instantly,

but one sharp-eyed classmate had already saved it.

The chat group exploded.

"Shocking news! I can’t believe what I’m seeing!"

One screenshot after another followed,

all allegedly showing me hiring someone to fake my identity to surpass Ryan.

The final message came from Ryan himself:

"@Wesley, didn’t think you’d go so far as to forge your identity just to beat me."

That message sealed my fate—

accused of impersonating a martyr’s child.

The group chat turned into a courtroom,

and I was already declared guilty.

The messages came like poison-tipped arrows:

"Wesley always pretends to be some righteous guy. Turns out he’s just a fraud!"

"If his dad’s a martyr, then mine’s the Secretary-General of the UN!"

"One point in the college entrance exam can ruin thousands. You stole 20. Do you know how many lives you just crushed?"

"Everyone, report him to the school and the Education Bureau! Why should someone like that get a single bonus point?"

I tried to defend myself, furious.

But just as I brought out my father’s martyr certificate, a new post surfaced in the group—an Instagram Moment from one of Ryan’s admirers.

A photo of my father in uniform had been photoshopped—he now stood behind prison bars.

Another photo, of my mother flipping pancakes,

was altered to make her look like a street solicitor.

Even my school honor roll photo was doctored,

with the words "SAT cheater" stamped across it.

Caption: "Behold the true face of the ‘top scorer’ family!"

I trembled with rage.

I posted my father’s official martyr certificate,

But no one believed me.

Instead, more doctored photos surfaced,

each one crueler than the last.