7 - The Investigation That Exposed Everything
The next morning, Chloe showed me something on her phone.
“I recorded everything yesterday,” she said. “From the moment your father raised his hand until you walked off the stage.”
She played the video.
It was clear and steady. You could hear my father’s slap. You could hear my mother screaming. And most importantly, you could clearly hear me speaking on stage about the stolen scholarship and forged loans.
“I didn’t know if you would need it,” Chloe said. “But I figured having proof from someone else would help.”
I stared at the screen.
“Thank you,” I said. “This might be the most important thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Chloe smiled. “You’ve been protecting yourself alone for too long. Let someone help you for once.”
Later that day, I received a call from Dr. Ramirez at the university.
“The president wants to meet with you tomorrow,” she said. “And we’ve already forwarded the documents you gave us to the police and the financial aid investigation team.”
I took a deep breath.
“Is there any chance they can get away with this?” I asked.
Dr. Ramirez was quiet for a moment.
“With the evidence you have and the public nature of what happened yesterday… it’s going to be very difficult for them to walk away from this without consequences.”
After the call, I sat on my bed and looked at the diploma I had placed on my desk.
For four years, my parents tried to take everything from me — my money, my education, my reputation.
But they forgot one thing.
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I had been quietly collecting proof the entire time.
And now, the whole world was about to see it.
