Chapter 7: The Person Behind The Account
The name on the screen stayed there like a scar.
I stared at it, waiting for my mind to reject what I was seeing.
But it didn’t.
Because the person connected to the fake account was real.
And she was standing only a few feet away from me.
“Claire,” I whispered.
My stepmother’s face turned pale.
The room went completely silent.
Dad looked at her slowly.
“Is this true?””
Claire opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was the answer.
I felt something inside me collapse.
Not anger.
Not even sadness.
Something worse.
Disappointment.
Because Mia had hurt me before.
I expected it from her.
But Claire?
She was the person who always told me she wanted us to be a family.
She was the person who hugged me after my mother passed away.
She was the person who said, “You can always come to me.””
And now I was realizing those words had limits.
Only when Mia wasn’t involved.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
Claire looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Aaliyah…”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“Please don’t say my name like you’re surprised I’m hurt.””
She looked down.
“I was trying to protect Mia.””
Dad stepped forward.
“By framing Aaliyah?””
Claire immediately shook her head.
“No. I never wanted that.””
“Then explain.””
Claire took a deep breath.
“Mia was terrified.””
I looked at Mia.
She looked away.
“She knew the showcase was going to expose everything,” Claire continued.
“She knew people would find out Aaliyah created the dress.””
Dad’s expression hardened.
“So you helped her hide it.””
“I panicked.””
Claire’s voice cracked.
“I thought if the dress disappeared, the competition would disappear too.””
I stared at her.
“You destroyed my chance because you were afraid Mia would be embarrassed?””
Claire started crying.
“I didn’t destroy anything.””
I looked at the screen.
“At least admit what you did.””
The room became quiet.
Finally, Claire whispered:
“I created the account.””
My heart sank.
Mia looked at her mother.
“You said you would never tell.””
Everyone turned toward Mia.
Those words revealed more than she intended.
Dad looked between them.
“You both planned this?””
Mia shook her head quickly.
“No. Mom handled the account.””
Claire looked at her daughter.
“Mia.””
“What?”” Mia snapped.
“You wanted me to fix it.””
Dad stepped back.
He looked exhausted.
Like every answer was breaking something else.
The principal cleared his throat.
“Regardless of the reason, this is a serious issue.””
I nodded.
“I understand.””
But my mind wasn’t focused on the school anymore.
It was focused on one question.
Why?
Why did they think destroying me would save Mia?
After the meeting, I walked outside alone.
The graduation decorations were everywhere.
Balloons.
Flowers.
Pictures of smiling students.
Everyone else was celebrating.
I was trying not to fall apart.
Dad found me near the empty hallway.
“Aaliyah.””
I didn’t turn around.
“I defended her.””
Dad stopped.
“What?””
“I defended Claire.””
My voice became smaller.
“When people said she only cared about Mia, I told them they were wrong.””
Dad was quiet.
“I wanted to believe she loved me.””
He walked closer.
“She did love you.””
I looked at him.
“Then why did she do this?””
Dad didn’t answer immediately.
Because sometimes the hardest questions don’t have simple answers.
“She made a terrible choice,” he finally said.
I wiped my eyes.
“And Mia?””
Dad looked toward the office.
“She made more than one.””
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed.
A new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence.
*“You still don’t know the whole story. Ask Mia why she really hated that dress.””*
I looked at the screen.
My heart started racing.
Because suddenly, I realized something.
Mia didn’t just want to steal my design.
May you like
She wanted to erase that dress for another reason.
A reason nobody had told me.
