Fated Villain
Copyright© 2026 by Traverse
Chapter 43: From Villain to Hero
When Sasha saw Yelena, she was just as stunned.
After all, she hadn’t invited her.
Why was she here?
And how did she get in?
“Miss Porter.”
Yelena was very polite. Swaying the hem of her dress, she walked up to Sasha, gave her a soft smile, and nodded in greeting.
“I apologize for coming uninvited. I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”
There’s an old saying, you don’t hit someone who’s smiling at you. Seeing how courteous she was, Sasha couldn’t stay angry. She returned the smile and asked, “May I know what brings you here today, Miss Miller?”
Internally, she was nervous.
She had long heard that Yelena was kindhearted and stood for justice. Was she here to defend the person who was bullied and go against Lucas?
Yelena replied with a smile, “Of course, I came for Lucas.”
Just as she feared.
Sasha’s expression darkened, and she was about to speak when Yelena turned toward Lucas and gave him a reassuring look.
Lucas stood frozen on stage, completely unsure of what she was planning to do.
He didn’t know, but he had a feeling she was here to help him.
Based on the few interactions he’d had with Yelena, she had always treated him as a friend.
At the very least, she wasn’t an enemy.
But what was she trying to do?
Yelena gently lifted her skirt and walked onto the stage, coming to stand beside Lucas.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Yelena from Miller Pharmaceuticals. I’m very happy to see you all. I came here today to clarify something regarding Lucas. I hope you’ll be patient and allow me a moment to speak. Thank you.”
With her hands folded in front of her, she gave a respectful bow.
The reporter was already blushing from being dazzled by her beauty. He quickly tried to draw her attention. “Miss Miller, are you here to denounce Lucas? He bullied an innocent classmate and just now arrogantly insulted us regular folks. A person like that deserves to die!”
Yelena looked at the reporter with a faint smile, though there was a chill in her eyes.
“May I ask your name, Mr. Reporter?”
The man eagerly stepped forward with his camera and livestream equipment. “My name is Cyrus Dixon!”
Yelena nodded slightly. “Mr. Dixon, you claim Lucas committed bullying based on the video circulating online, correct?”
“Of course!”
“So you fully understand the reason behind Lucas’s actions?”
“What?” The reporter froze. “Wh-what reason? Isn’t it obvious? He used his power to bully people he didn’t like. He even admitted it himself!”
Yelena shook her head and smiled. “If he knew how to defend himself, he wouldn’t have been misunderstood for so long. You’re all reporters. You should know the basic elements of news reporting: time, location, and people involved.”
“A bullying case involves more than one party. Yet you haven’t asked the supposed victim for the truth. Instead, you came straight to interrogate Lucas. Doesn’t that fall short of your responsibility as a journalist?”
The reporter frowned, starting to sense something was off.
No, wait.
Goddess Miller wasn’t here to expose Lucas. She looked like she was trying to help him.
“Luckily, I’m someone who pays attention to detail. When I noticed a gap in the reporting, I helped you by inviting another key person involved, such as the student who was supposedly bullied by Lucas. Student Sun, please come onstage.”
One of the attendants who had arrived with her, a thin man, slowly stepped onto the stage.
His head hung low, and he didn’t say a word.
Everyone in the room was shocked when they saw him.
This man looked exactly like the person in the video who had been bullied.
But many had tried to find him and failed.
How had Yelena managed it?
“Back when he was classmates with Lucas, he was beaten up and later dropped out of school. After that, he changed his name and started a new life.”
The reporter quickly jumped in, trying to control the narrative. “Miss Miller, are you saying Lucas ruined this man’s life? That he couldn’t even graduate from college because of him?”
Yelena smiled. “I’m just stating the facts. I never made any claims about cause and effect. As a reporter, you should be more careful with your words than I am. How could you make such irresponsible statements?”
“Irresponsible?” The reporter pointed to himself. “What did I say that was wrong?”
Lucas folded his arms, frowning as he studied the so-called victim.
There was a hint of sympathy in his gaze.
Beaten by a villain, forced to drop out, and even had to change his name, that was rough.
But what exactly was Yelena doing? If she was trying to help him, why bring out the victim? Wasn’t that making things worse?
Then Yelena smiled again. “Mr. Dixon, it’s better if you explain what really happened. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say it myself.”
Hearing this, the man finally looked up. His face was pale, and his lips trembled as he spoke.
“Back then, I confessed to a beautiful girl. She rejected me, and I got angry. So I stuffed a dead rat into her backpack. Later, I even followed her around and secretly took photos of her...”
“Lucas found out and beat me up. He also reported it to the school. The school didn’t want to escalate the matter, so they had a talk with me and the girl. The girl chose to report me to the police, and I was expelled.”
“I was terrified after being detained for two weeks. When I got out, I felt ashamed and changed my name. I enrolled in a community college instead. That’s ... that’s everything.”
What?
Lucas’s mouth fell open in shock.
So after all this, he hadn’t been bullying someone. He had been the hero saving a girl from a creep?
No way.
This didn’t match his character at all.
The young villain in the book never did anything decent. How could he suddenly be so righteous?
Could it be that Yelena had bribed this guy behind the scenes?
He wasn’t the only one thinking this. In fact, most people present were wondering the same.
Sylvia scoffed. “So Yelena isn’t as sweet and gentle as she seems. She’s got some serious strategy.”
Monica snorted. “She’s the only daughter of the Miller family and runs their business empire solo. How could she be a naive girl? She’s clearly capable.”
The reporter was clearly flustered. “Miss Miller, I don’t trust this man! Did you and your rich friends threaten him into saying this?”
Yelena kept smiling. “Your suspicion is understandable. Nowadays, there’s a lot of resentment toward the wealthy. People are quick to hope the rich drop dead. I get that. But this event really happened. To clear up the truth, I personally requested the case file from the police.”
As she spoke, she held up a document in front of the camera.
“Take a good look. See for yourself. That way, there won’t be any more doubts.”
The reporter immediately moved closer, and the camera zoomed in.
The file had a red official stamp. The description inside matched what the man had said word for word.
In other words, Lucas wasn’t a bully. He had stepped in to stop a predator.
He wasn’t a villain. He was a hero.