Episode7-PAPER TRAIL
540 Words
Lena’s hands shook as she slammed her best friend’s laptop shut.
“She’s done this before.”
Across the cluttered dorm room, Riley snatched up her iced coffee before the vibrating table could topple it. “Okay, first of all, breathe. Second—are you sure?”
Lena stabbed a finger at the screen. “Two years ago, Claire sued some guy in Portland for paternity support. Case was dropped when the DNA test came back negative.” She pulled up another article. “And here—a hospital complaint from her college days for faking a miscarriage to keep some frat guy from breaking up with her.”
Riley whistled. “Jesus. This girl’s a serial liar.”
Lena’s phone buzzed for the twelfth time in an hour. Ethan’s name flashed on the screen again. She ignored it.
After finding that ultrasound, she’d waited just long enough to hear Claire’s blackmail threat before sneaking out the back door. Ethan’s voicemails ranged from frantic (“Lena, it’s not what you think—”) to furious (“Goddamn it, answer me!”).
Riley scrolled through the court records. “So Claire’s pulling the same scam on Ethan. But why?”
Lena’s throat tightened. “Because she knows.”
Knows how he looks at me. Knows what we did last night.
Her phone lit up with a new text—not from Ethan, but an unknown number:
Unknown (3:47 PM):
Running away won’t change the facts. He’s still the father.
A photo followed. Ethan, shirtless and asleep in Claire’s bed, dated two months ago.
Lena’s stomach lurched.
Riley grabbed the phone. “Oh hell no. That’s Photoshopped.” She zoomed in. “See the pixelation around his—”
“It doesn’t matter.” Lena stood abruptly, her chair screeching. “Even if she’s lying, he slept with her.” The words tasted like ash. “After everything we… God.”
Riley’s expression softened. “You gonna talk to him?”
Before Lena could answer, her phone rang. Sophia.
She hesitated, then answered. “Hi, Mom.”
“Lena!” Her mother’s voice was shrill. “Where are you? Ethan’s tearing the town apart looking for you, and Claire just told us the most outrageous story—”
Lena’s blood ran cold. “What did she say?”
A pause. Then, carefully: “That she’s pregnant with Ethan’s baby. And that you… reacted badly when you found out.”
Lena almost laughed. Of course Claire spun it that way.
Sophia’s next words came in a rush: “She also mentioned seeing you and Ethan acting inappropriately before the storm. Please tell me that’s not—”
“We kissed.” The confession tumbled out, sharp and unvarnished. “Once. Last night.”
Dead silence.
Then a muffled sound—like her mother had dropped the phone.
When Sophia spoke again, her voice was barely recognizable. “Come home. Now.”
The line went dead.
Riley grimaced. “Well. Shit.”
Lena stared at her reflection in the dark laptop screen—pale, wide-eyed, terrified.
Claire had won.
She’d turned their secret into a weapon.
And now the fallout would destroy everything.
- Writer
