Emma stared at the photo in her trembling hands. She couldn’t stop looking at the two smiling girls in the picture: herself and Victoria. They looked so innocent, so happy. But how could that even be possible?
Her parents had to know something.
She marched downstairs, clutching the photo tightly. Her mom was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through a magazine, while her dad scrolled on his phone.
“Can we talk?” Emma asked, her voice sharper than she intended.
Her mom looked up, concerned. “Of course. What’s wrong?”
Emma slammed the photo onto the table. “What is this?”
Her mom’s face went pale, and her dad stiffened in his seat.
“Emma, where did you find this?” her dad asked, his voice low.
“It was taped to my window,” Emma snapped. “Why do I not remember this? Why does it look like Victoria and I used to be friends?”
Her mom exchanged a nervous glance with her dad. “Emma, it’s complicated,” she began.
“Then explain it to me!” Emma’s voice cracked.
Her dad sighed, rubbing his temples. “You and Victoria used to be close when you were little. Her family and ours… we had a connection. Business.”
“What kind of business?” Emma pressed.
Her mom hesitated. “Your dad and Victoria’s dad were partners. But things fell apart. There was a deal—one that went very wrong. It cost the Sterlings everything.”
Emma blinked. “You’re saying our family ruined them?”
Her dad shook his head. “It wasn’t that simple. They made bad choices, but yes… they blamed us. The fallout was messy. We didn’t want you involved, so we cut ties with them.”
Emma’s mind raced. “So that’s why Victoria hates me? Because of something that happened when I was a kid?”
Her mom reached for her hand. “We didn’t want you to grow up with that kind of burden.”
Emma pulled her hand back, her chest tightening. “Well, congratulations. You kept me in the dark, and now she’s made my life a living hell.”
By the next day, the school was buzzing with another round of rumors.
“She kissed him to trap him. It’s so obvious,” someone whispered as Emma passed.
“Poor Liam. She’s so desperate.”
Emma gritted her teeth, trying to block out the voices. Victoria had struck again, this time spinning a narrative that Emma had kissed Liam as some kind of manipulative scheme.
She found Liam by the lockers, leaning casually as if nothing was wrong.
“Did you hear the latest?” Emma asked, crossing her arms.
Liam raised an eyebrow. “That you’re a master manipulator? Yeah. Heard it. Don’t care.”
Emma groaned. “Everyone else does.”
“Let them,” Liam said with a shrug. “They’ll believe whatever Victoria feeds them.”
Emma’s frustration boiled over. “Doesn’t it bother you at all? That people are saying I trapped you?”
Liam’s smirk softened into something gentler. “No. Because I know it’s not true. And so do you.”
His calm confidence threw her off. She didn’t know whether to thank him or scream at him.
Katie found Emma in the library later that day, her face flushed and her words tumbling out in a rush.
“Emma, I need to tell you something,” she said, sitting down across from her.
Emma raised an eyebrow. “What now?”
“I overheard Victoria talking at the gala,” Katie whispered. “She said she has some big plan for the winter formal. Like, bigger than anything she’s done so far.”
Emma’s stomach churned. “What kind of plan?”
Katie shook her head. “I don’t know. She didn’t say. But, Emma, it sounded bad. Like, destroy-your-life bad.”
Emma studied Katie’s face, searching for any sign of dishonesty. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because I’m trying to make things right,” Katie said, her voice breaking. “I know I messed up, okay? I know I hurt you. But I don’t want Victoria to win.”
Emma hesitated. Part of her wanted to believe Katie, but another part couldn’t shake the betrayal.
“I’ll think about it,” Emma said finally, standing up and leaving Katie at the table.
When Emma told Liam about Katie’s warning, his reaction was immediate.
“You can’t trust her,” he said firmly.
Emma frowned. “She sounded genuine.”
Liam scoffed. “She sounded desperate. That doesn’t mean she’s telling the truth.”
“Why are you so against her?” Emma asked, crossing her arms.
“Because she’s the one who gave Victoria the list in the first place,” Liam snapped. “She’s only trying to help now because she’s scared. That’s not the same as being trustworthy.”
Emma sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Then what am I supposed to do? Ignore her and hope Victoria doesn’t ruin my life again?”
Liam stepped closer, his voice softer. “I’m saying be careful. Don’t let her drag you into something worse.”
Emma nodded reluctantly. “Fine. But if Victoria really is planning something for the formal, I need to be ready.”
That night, Emma sat at her desk, trying to piece everything together. Her parents’ secrets, Victoria’s vendetta, Katie’s warning—it all felt like a puzzle with pieces missing.
Her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts.
It was a text from an unknown number.
“Thought you might want to see this.”
A video file followed.
Emma clicked on it, her heart pounding.
The video showed Liam and Victoria standing in a dimly lit hallway, their voices low but heated.
“This isn’t what we agreed on,” Liam said, his tone sharp.
Victoria smirked. “Relax. She’s already halfway broken. We just have to finish the job.”
The video ended abruptly.
Emma stared at the screen, her blood running cold.
Another text came through.
“They’ve been working together all along.”
Her breath hitched. The one person she thought she could trust had been lying to her.