Chapter 4: The Person Behind the Lies
The meeting at Weston Ridge University was three days later.
Three days of panic.
Three days of wondering if everything I had worked for could disappear.
Dad drove me there.
Claire sat in the back seat.
She hadn’t said much since the phone call.
For once, my sister wasn’t angry.
She was scared.
When we arrived, the admissions building looked exactly like the pictures I had seen online.
Beautiful.
Modern.
A place where dreams were supposed to begin.
Instead, I walked inside feeling like I was entering a courtroom.
The admissions officer, Ms. Reynolds, greeted us.
She looked at the documents in front of her.
“Emma, we want you to understand that this is a review, not a punishment.””
I nodded.
“Who filed the complaint?””
She looked uncomfortable.
“We cannot share private information.””
Dad leaned forward.
“But you contacted her because you believed the complaint was connected to her sister.””
Ms. Reynolds looked at Claire.
“Yes.””
Claire swallowed.
“I didn’t do it.””
“I believe you,” Ms. Reynolds said.
That surprised all of us.
She opened another folder.
“Because the complaint wasn’t actually submitted from your account.””
Claire looked confused.
“What?””
“It was created using a copied identity.””
Dad’s expression changed.
“Someone stole her information.””
“Yes.””
My heart pounded.
“Then why would they do that?””
Ms. Reynolds looked at the papers.
“Because they wanted the complaint to appear personal.””
Silence.
Someone wanted to hurt both of us.
Someone wanted Claire blamed.
Someone wanted my scholarship questioned.
After the meeting, we walked outside.
Claire stopped near the steps.
“Emma.””
I turned.
She looked uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry.””
Those words were almost impossible to hear from her.
I waited.
“For the letter,” she continued.
“For everything.””
I nodded slowly.
“I don’t know if I can forget it.””
“I know.””
“But I believe you didn’t file that complaint.””
She looked relieved.
“Thank you.””
For the first time in years, we stood there without fighting.
Then Claire’s phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“What?””
“What is it?”” Dad asked.
She handed him the phone.
A message.
From an unknown number.
*Stop pretending you’re innocent. You know what you did.*
My skin prickled.
Dad took the phone.
“Who sent this?””
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
Then another message appeared.
This time, it included a photo.
A photo of me receiving my scholarship letter.
Taken through the living room window.
My blood ran cold.
Someone had been watching us.
And then a second photo loaded.
It was a picture of Claire.
Holding the scissors.
The person who sent it wrote:
*“If you don’t want everyone to know what your family is hiding, stay quiet.””*
Claire stepped back.
Because the threat wasn’t just against me.
May you like
It was against her too.
And whoever was behind everything had been planning this long before my scholarship letter was torn apart.
