Chapter 4

In the statement, Nora admitted to "deliberately copying commercial code and intentionally hiding the source."

It only took one glance for me to know she hadn't written it.

Deliberate infringement, subjective gain—these were terms an adult wouldn't even use naturally.

At the very bottom was Nora's messy, shaky signature.

"Where is she?"

Nora was sitting alone on a hallway bench, hugging her backpack.

Grant stood by the window. Owen was nowhere to be seen.

The second Nora saw me, she scrambled up.

"Mom, I—"

I crouched down in front of her. "Who wrote this statement?"

She lowered her head. "I signed it."

"I asked you who wrote it."

Grant walked over. "The hearing is over. Nora confessed on her own. The school is only revoking her entry for this year without putting it on her permanent record. This is the best outcome."

"The best outcome for who?"

"For everyone."

"Why wasn't Owen disqualified?"

"Because Nora clarified that she added the code by herself and Owen knew nothing about it."

A heavy weight crashed down on my chest.

"Nora, look at me. Tell me, who made you sign this?"

"Don't push her," Grant stepped between us. "She already admitted her mistake."

"Get out of the way."

I walked around him and grasped Nora's freezing cold hand.

"No matter what happens, I will never abandon you. Neither the wedding nor Owen is your responsibility."

Tears instantly spilled from her eyes.

Grant's face twisted. "Nora, we had a deal—"

"What did you two talk about?"

With shaking hands, Nora unzipped her backpack and pulled out another page of the statement. The paper was crushed from how tightly she had been holding it.

At the very bottom, right next to her signature, was a line written in neat handwriting:

Adult Witness: Grant Walker.

I stared at the name.

"When did you make her sign this?"

"At lunch today," Grant sighed. "I was just helping her make the right choice."

"Taking the fall for someone else is what you call the right choice?"

"The evidence pointed to her account! If we kept investigating, both kids would get dragged down. Nora can enter again next year, but Owen only gets one shot at his applications!"

He sounded so justified, as if the person being sacrificed wasn't a living child, but a disposable tool that could be replaced anytime.

"Who put the code in?" I asked.

Nora looked at me through her tears.

"It was Owen."

Grant barked, "Nora!"

She flinched, but she didn't shut her mouth this time.

"He was scared he wouldn't be able to answer the admissions counselor's questions, so he copied a section from the internet. He said as long as the robot ran, nobody would ever know."

"Why did you take the blame for him?"

"Grant said Owen only has this one chance, and I can just try again next year."

She clutched my sleeve tight.

"He said a real family makes sacrifices for each other. If I wanted to be a part of the Walker family, I had to help Owen this once."

I looked up at the man who was supposed to become my husband in three weeks.

There was zero guilt in his eyes—only a deep frown, as if Nora had ruined his master plan.

Nora pulled the wedding seating card out of her pocket.

"Dad" had been erased, leaving only a faint smudge behind.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she sobbed as she shoved the card into my palm.

"I was just scared that if I didn't sign it... you guys wouldn't get married anymore."

Grant reached out toward me. "Claire, let's go home and talk."

I dodged his hand and slowly took off my engagement ring.

"Go home to where?"