They Believed Her, So I Exposed The Truth

Chapter 3

Holden held me in his gaze with pure disgust, then pulled Melody into his arms and soothed her with soft, careful words.

His reaction set the tone for everyone else in the room.

"Are we seriously supposed to believe anything Wren says?"

"She's probably not just a thief. She's a liar, too."

"Think about it. If Wren were actually Holden's real sibling, would he have hit her like that?"

Melody lifted her head, her voice fragile and trembling. "I know you hate me. But Lily's necklace is worth a lot of money. We should figure out what really happened before this gets worse."

I looked up sharply. "How much?"

Lily glared at me. "Enough that you'd better hand it over right now. If you don't, I'm searching your bag."

I pulled out my phone and dialed emergency services. "I need to report a possible theft. An item valued at over thirty thousand dollars. Yes. Kensington Preparatory Academy. First-year hall."

The entire call took less than thirty seconds.

Melody's voice was pitched high. "Why would you call the police?"

"Something worth over thirty thousand dollars went missing. Did no one think to involve the authorities? Or are you all so convinced I stole it that searching my bag feels like a reasonable next step?"

The police arrived. My parents arrived. Lily's parents arrived.

"You brought my necklace to school?" Lily's mother rounded on her daughter, furious. "That piece is worth a fortune. What were you thinking?"

Lily flicked a glance at Melody and then set her jaw. Loyalty won. She looked the officer in the eye and insisted I was the thief.

I pulled out my notebook, the one where I tracked every scenario I had already predicted. I placed a check mark next to "framed for theft" and looked up at my mother.

"You told me none of the things I imagined would actually happen."

My mother paused. Then she placed both hands on my shoulders and spoke with sudden, fierce clarity. "That's right. My daughter can have anything she wants. She has no reason to steal."

It was the first time I had ever felt someone stand beside me. My eyes burned. I held the tears in.

At Lily's insistence, the officer searched my bag and found the necklace inside.

The room erupted.

My father spun around and struck me across the face, harder than Holden ever had. My ears rang. I could barely hear him over the high-pitched whine.

He jabbed a shaking finger at the necklace. "You said you didn't take it. Then what is that?"

Holden's voice dripped with contempt. "Guess you never did shake off those habits you picked up in the gutter."

"Wren." My mother's voice was barely a whisper now. "Did you take it?"

Her doubt cut deeper than my father's hand ever could.

The officer stepped between us. He told my father to back away. There were no fingerprints on the necklace, he said. Jumping to conclusions wouldn't help anyone.

Melody spoke up, her voice dripping with false realization. "Oh. That explains the gloves in her bag. She must have worn them so she wouldn't leave prints behind."

Every face in the room turned toward me with contempt. I didn't bother defending myself with words.

I reached up and unclipped the barrette from my hair. I handed it to the officer.

"This is a recording device. You should check the footage."

The footage showed everything. I had never once approached Lily's desk. She, on the other hand, had paraded past me multiple times, the necklace visible around her throat. I had removed the barrette and left it in my pencil case when I went to the restroom.

The screen went dark for a moment. Then the voices came through.

"Will this actually work? Will everyone believe she took it?"

"Of course they will. Once the thief label sticks, she'll be completely isolated."

"Fine. But you have to promise I'll get it back. My mom will kill me if it's gone."

"Relax. If anything happens to it, I'll buy you ten more."

Melody's voice. Lily's voice. Recorded with perfect clarity.

All the color drained from their faces.

Lily's mother grabbed her daughter by the ear and dragged her toward me to apologize. Melody buried herself against Holden's chest, trembling.

My mother lifted her hand, tears streaming down her face, and tried to reach past Holden to strike Melody. He blocked her.

"Mom, if you need to hit someone, hit me."

My mother's arm dropped to her side. Her voice broke. "Why would you do this to her? She's my real daughter."

Melody sobbed and said she had made a terrible mistake. She said it was a moment of weakness. She promised it would never happen again.

And just like that, everything was declared resolved.

Except for me. I stood there with my father's handprint still swelling across my cheek. It was almost funny.

My father stepped forward, awkward and uncertain, trying to pull me into an embrace.

I took a step back. I let my gaze move across their faces, cold and flat.

"I want to transfer classes."