Emma sat across from her parents in the living room, her fingers gripping the edge of the coffee table. The tension in the room was suffocating. She had confronted them about Victoria’s cryptic comment at the parking lot—about her dad being part of the reason for the feud. But their silence now was almost worse than her fears.
“Just tell me the truth,” Emma said, her voice trembling. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Her father exchanged a weary glance with her mother before letting out a long sigh.
“It wasn’t just business,” he admitted, his tone heavy.
Emma’s heart sank. “What do you mean?”
Her mom reached for his hand, her voice soft but strained. “Emma, years ago… there was an incident. Victoria’s brother, Thomas, was driving late one night. He was drinking. There was an accident. A young girl was killed.”
Emma froze. “Oh my God…”
Her dad continued, his voice low and regretful. “Thomas’s family was desperate to protect him. They didn’t want his future ruined. They asked me to help cover it up. They thought if we could make it look like an accident caused by bad weather, no one would question it.”
Emma’s chest tightened. “And you did it?”
Her dad’s face twisted with guilt. “I didn’t want to, Emma, but I agreed. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time—keeping the peace. But when the truth almost came out a year later, the Sterlings panicked. They blamed us, said we didn’t cover our tracks well enough. That’s when everything fell apart.”
Her mother’s eyes were glassy with tears. “We never wanted you to know, Emma. We thought we could leave it in the past.”
Emma stood, her stomach churning. “This is why Victoria hates me? Because of a crime her brother committed, and you helped cover up?”
Her dad stood too, his voice pleading. “Emma, we were trying to protect you. We had no idea she would do this to you.”
“Protect me?” Emma’s voice cracked. “You lied to me my whole life, and now I’m the one paying for it!”
She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
The next day, Emma tried to keep her head down at school, but Victoria had other plans. As she walked into English class, she noticed everyone staring at her, their eyes filled with pity or amusement.
“What’s going on?” she whispered to Katie, who sat next to her.
Katie shifted uncomfortably. “You haven’t seen it?”
“Seen what?” Emma demanded, her stomach twisting.
Before Katie could answer, their teacher walked in, holding a stack of papers.
“Class,” he began, his voice tight, “it has come to my attention that one of you has been caught cheating. A test was turned in with identical answers to the answer key, and it came from…” He paused, his eyes narrowing on Emma. “Emma Williams.”
The room erupted into whispers.
“What? No!” Emma stood, her voice shaking. “I didn’t cheat!”
The teacher held up a piece of paper with Emma’s name scrawled across the top. “This is your handwriting, isn’t it?”
Emma’s heart raced. “Yes, but I didn’t—someone must have—” She turned to Victoria, who was smirking from her seat near the back.
“This is ridiculous!” Emma said, her voice rising.
“Calm down, Miss Williams,” the teacher said, his tone stern. “We’ll discuss this in the principal’s office.”
By the time the meeting was over, Emma’s fate was still undecided. The principal agreed to investigate further, but the damage was done. Everyone thought she was a cheater, thanks to Victoria.
Liam found her sitting on the bleachers after school, her face buried in her hands.
“Hey,” he said, sitting beside her.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Emma mumbled, her voice muffled.
“Don’t let her break you,” Liam said firmly.
Emma looked up at him, her eyes red. “Why are you even here? You said you were trying to take her down, but you won’t tell me how. How am I supposed to trust you when you keep me in the dark?”
Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Because the less you know, the safer you are.”
“That’s not good enough,” Emma snapped. “If we’re in this together, I deserve to know what you’re planning.”
He hesitated, his jaw tight. “I can’t. Not yet. But you have to trust me.”
Emma stared at him, torn between wanting to believe him and feeling like she was being played.
Later that day, Katie pulled Emma aside, her face pale and nervous.
“I need to tell you something,” Katie said.
Emma folded her arms, wary. “What now?”
“It’s about Liam,” Katie said, her voice low. “I don’t think he’s who you think he is.”
Emma frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Katie hesitated, biting her lip. “I overheard Victoria talking. She said Liam’s been involved with her from the beginning. That he has his own reasons for helping her.”
Emma’s stomach dropped. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” Katie insisted. “I don’t know the whole story, but… you’re not going to like what you find out.”
Emma couldn’t shake Katie’s warning, so she decided to do some digging of her own. That night, she went back through her texts, photos, and messages, searching for anything that didn’t add up.
Finally, she found it: a screenshot buried in her files—a text conversation between Liam and Victoria.
Liam: “Got the list. This is going to be fun.”
Victoria: “Good. Let’s make her regret ever writing it.”
Emma stared at the screen, her heart racing. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Her phone buzzed with a new message.
Unknown Number: “Told you he couldn’t be trusted.”
Emma dropped her phone, her breath coming in short gasps. Liam had been involved from the start.