This time it showed university records.
Chloe’s full name.
Student ID.
Former graduate program.
Then, at the top, in unmistakable lettering:
ACADEMIC STATUS: PERMANENTLY EXPELLED.
Mom made a sound like she had forgotten how to breathe.
Dad moved closer to the screen.
Underneath were the details.
Reason:
Repeated unexcused absences.
Failure to meet academic requirements.
Effective date:
Three years earlier.
The room became completely silent.
Mom clutched the pearls around her neck.
“Chloe.”
My sister didn’t answer.
“Tell me this is wrong.”
Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.
For three years, she had been pretending to be a doctoral student.
During those same three years, my parents had been giving her money.
A lot of money.
Tuition.
Laboratory fees.
Research expenses.
Travel.
Special academic programs.
Every time Chloe asked, they paid.
They had dipped into their retirement savings because they believed they were investing in the brilliant daughter who was going to make the family proud.
There had been no tuition.
No research.
No thesis.
Much of the money had gone toward luxury trips, designer clothes, expensive hotels, and the lifestyle Chloe displayed online.
She had created fake report cards.
Fake university letters.
Fake progress updates.
Mom’s face crumpled.
Dad stared at Chloe like he no longer recognized her.
Then Nora said,
“There’s more.”
Chloe looked at her.
“Stop.”
Nora clicked again.
A series of financial transfers appeared.
For the previous eighteen months, Chloe had been moving large amounts of my parents’ money into a company connected to her ex-husband, Julian Vance.
At first, Mom seemed confused.
Dad was the one who understood.
“Our retirement accounts.”
His voice came out as a whisper.
Nora nodded.
The transfers were designed to move money into accounts controlled by Julian before Chloe’s lies collapsed.
Dad sank into a chair.
“How much?”
Nora looked at me.
Enough.
More than enough.
Then the doorbell rang.
Nobody moved.
Except Nora.
She walked to the front door and opened it.
A man in a dark suit stood outside with two uniformed officers.
Arthur Vance.
Julian’s uncle.
He had also been my late husband’s uncle and had stayed in touch with Nora and me after my husband passed away.
Arthur was a corporate attorney.
And unlike the rest of the Vance family, he had never trusted Julian.
“Good morning,” he said.
Then he stepped inside.
“I’m representing Evelyn in this matter.”
Chloe’s face drained of color.
Arthur continued.
“The university has also submitted documentation regarding fraudulent academic credentials. The financial evidence has been forwarded to investigators.”
One of the officers moved closer.
Arthur looked at Chloe.
“You are under investigation for financial fraud, theft, forged records, and the attempted transfer of assets through accounts connected to Julian.”
Chloe screamed.
Then everything happened very quickly.
The officers approached her.
She started yelling at Mom and Dad.
“Help me!”
Neither moved.
Then Chloe said something that turned every head in the room.
“It was Julian’s idea!”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
Chloe kept talking.
“He said we needed more money. He said Evelyn’s house would solve everything!”
I stared at her.
My house.
So that was why my parents had suddenly decided Chloe “needed” it.
She had not merely accepted their favoritism.
She had been planning to use it.
Mom turned toward me.
Her eyes were red.
“Evelyn, please.”
I stepped back before she could touch me.
“She’s your sister.”
I looked at the deed still sitting on my kitchen counter.
Then I picked it up.
Dad watched.
Mom watched.
Chloe watched.
I tore it in half.
Then again.
And let the pieces fall onto the floor.
“You called me a failure.”
Dad lowered his eyes.
“You told me Chloe was the pride of this family because she had a title you never even bothered to verify.”
No one spoke.
“I spent ten years earning this house honestly. I worked until my feet hurt. I missed weekends with my daughter. I did everything without asking you for anything.”
Mom started crying.
“You were willing to take the one thing I built and hand it to someone who had been stealing from you for years.”
“Evelyn—”
“No.”
I looked at both of them.
“You came into my home with legal papers and ordered me to leave.”
Dad looked suddenly much older.
“We didn’t know.”
“You didn’t want to know.”
That hurt him.
Good.
“You knew one daughter worked two jobs for ten years. You knew the other constantly needed money. You simply decided Chloe’s story mattered more because you liked the way it sounded.”