Chapter 5

I held the bracelet between my two fingers and walked straight up to the teacher's desk. "Miss, I think we should call the police."

The room went silent. The curly-haired girl shot up from her seat. "It's just a bracelet. Are you seriously making that big a deal out of it?"

"Yes, I am." I set my phone down on the desk with a firm slap. "I just transferred here today, and somehow that bracelet went from her drawer straight into my bag. If it's a bracelet today, tomorrow it could be exam answers, cash, or jewelry.

"Give it a few more days, and who knows? Maybe the guy in her bed will magically end up in mine. So what do you think? Is that a big deal or not?"

The classroom exploded into chaos. Even the teacher was left speechless for a moment by what I had just said.

Sophia's eyes were red, and her voice shook as she said, "Charlotte, there's no need to be so harsh. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

"Oh, shut up." I turned to look at her. "That drawer of yours is three steps away from where I'm sitting. I've been right here the whole time. Who saw me touch it?

"And the second you realized something was missing, she was the first one to point a finger at me. You two went through that whole act like you'd rehearsed it."

The teacher finally snapped out of it and went straight to get the grade coordinator.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up the security footage, and the picture was perfectly clear.

During the break while I was dozing face down at my desk, the curly-haired girl had snuck around to the back of the classroom, slipped the bracelet into the side pocket of my backpack, and made it all look like she was just passing in some homework.

The entire classroom went completely silent.

The curly-haired girl turned red in the face, but she still tried to talk her way out of it. "I was just messing with her. It was a joke."

"A joke?" I laughed. "You slip a bracelet worth thousands of dollars into my bag. So what? The next step was going to be telling everyone I'm so desperate for money that I'd steal it? That's a pretty twisted sense of humor you've got there."

The grade coordinator's face darkened on the spot, and she ordered the girl to call her parents.

Meanwhile, Sophia stood nearby with tears welling up in her eyes. "Please," she pleaded, "she was only trying to look out for me. Don't punish her for this."

I turned my head and looked at her. "And here you are, pretending to be the good guy. The surveillance footage is right there in front of everyone, and you're still trying to clean up after her. Wasn't this whole setup your idea in the first place?"

She froze for a second, then quickly shook her head. "No, it wasn't."

"Whether it was or not, we'll find out once I go through your chat logs," I said, my voice quiet and steady. "I don't have many strengths, but I'll say this for myself. I hold a grudge, and I don't stop digging until I get to the bottom of things."

The whole affair eventually followed me back home.

At dinner, Richard looked at me with a dark frown. "Why are you so set on calling the girl's parents? It was just a minor disagreement between classmates. Was it really necessary to blow it up like this?"

I didn't even look up from my plate. "Someone tried to set me up, and I defended myself. And somehow I'm the one making a big deal out of it.

"You call it a little disagreement when Sophia's been setting a pack of dogs on me at school? You've got a funny way with words, Dad."

"Sophia already apologized to you on that girl's behalf," Richard said.

"So what?" I lifted my head to meet his eyes. "She was the one who framed me in the first place. Does a simple 'sorry' erase what the security camera saw?"

Mary sat off to the side, her expression weary. "Charlotte, I know this feels unfair. But you two go to the same school, and making enemies out of each other won't do anyone any favors."

I set down my knife and fork then and there. "Won't do anyone any favors? You mean it won't do Sophia any favors.

"She's spent years being treated like a princess at that school, and now that she's slipped up for the first time, you're all concerned. What about me? When I was nearly accused of stealing, who was concerned then?"

No one at the table said a word.

I took a breath and softened my tone. "Don't worry. I won't start anything with her. As long as she doesn't treat me like an idiot."

With that, I got up and headed upstairs.

I had just reached the stairs when Richard's voice came from behind me. "Next week is the school's open house. Sophia was supposed to give the student address. She's been upset lately, so don't cause her any more trouble."

I stopped and turned around. "What exactly are you saying?"

His voice was low and steady. "You have a way with words. Put together a speech for Sophia."

I thought I must have heard him wrong. "You want me to write a speech so Sophia can deliver it?"

He said, "She's represented the Evans family in public since she was a child. For an occasion like this, it's only appropriate that she be the one to speak."

I looked at him and let out a laugh. "Got it. The biological daughter provides the brains, so the adopted daughter can have the spotlight. The Evans family really knows how to set its priorities."

Richard's face went dark. "Drop the sarcasm."

"I'm not being sarcastic. I'm being completely straightforward." I rested my hand on the railing, my voice quiet but every syllable sharp. "I'm not writing the speech, and I'm not giving up my place.

"Whoever has the ability can stand up there. If she wants to keep playing the role of the perfect scholar and socialite, she needs to stop trying to steal someone else's show."

Sophia came chasing after me from the dining room and grabbed hold of my sleeve, tears already spilling down her cheeks. "Charlotte, I really wasn't trying to compete with you. Why do you always have to come down on me like this?"

I glanced down at her hand gripping my arm, then raised my voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Come on, everyone, take a good look!

"The moment I say I won't let her use me as a stepping stool to get on that stage, she turns on the waterworks. And now you're all going to assume I'm the one bullying her. Sophia, aren't you getting tired of this routine?"

The whole house echoed with my voice.

Mary pressed her hand against her temple, and Richard's face went dark. The whole house echoed with my voice.

Victor came out of his study and drove his cane hard against the floor. "Whoever's got the talent gets the stage on open day."

The moment those words landed, I caught something in Sophia's eyes, a flicker of pure hatred she couldn't quite conceal. And I saw it as clear as day.

*****

Later that night, I had just gotten out of the shower when a scream suddenly rang out from the hallway.

The next thing I heard was a heavy crash from downstairs, the unmistakable sound of someone tumbling down the stairs.

I pushed open my door and rushed out, only to find Sophia lying at the bottom of the staircase, blood showing on her forehead.

Then she raised a trembling hand, pointed up at me on the second floor, and spoke in a voice so weak it barely held together. "It was... It was Charlotte... She pushed me."