chapter 5
The video exploded online overnight.
Everyone saw Chloe’s obsession. Everyone saw my parents’ favoritism. Everyone saw exactly what they had tried to do to me, and suddenly the people who had once whispered that I was jealous began sending apologies.
Even some of my teachers texted.
Some classmates too.
Northbridge University learned what had happened to my admission letter and mailed me a replacement, this time in a reinforced package that couldn’t be easily damaged.
Then I sued.
I sued Chloe for maliciously destroying my admission documents and for the violence surrounding the incident.
I sued my parents for their role in unlawfully confining me.
Panic hit the Lawson household for real then.
Because Chloe had just turned eighteen. She was legally an adult now. And if the case went badly for her, it wouldn’t be a meaningless slap on the wrist. It could follow her. Damage her future. Maybe destroy it.
My parents asked to meet privately.
When I arrived, they looked older than I had ever seen them.
Dad’s shoulders had sagged. Mom’s face was worn down. Both of them had new gray in their hair.
“Avery,” Dad said, voice rough, “please. Withdraw the complaint. Chloe didn’t mean it.”
I stared at him.
“Didn’t mean it?”
Mom rushed in, still trying to rescue Chloe the way she always had.
“She was emotional. She wasn’t thinking clearly.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course. Chloe never means anything, right? Framing me for cheating—she didn’t mean it. Turning classmates against me—she didn’t mean it. Destroying my admission letter—she didn’t mean it.”
I leaned forward.
“If one day she pushed me off a cliff, would you still say she didn’t mean it?”
Dad lowered his head slowly.
But Mom, somehow, still kept going.
“She’s your sister. She just turned eighteen. She’s still a child. Can’t you give her one more chance?”
A child.
That word snapped something in me.
“Chloe just turned eighteen,” I said. “Do either of you know how old I was when she tore up my college acceptance?”
Neither of them answered.
“I was nineteen. Did either of you remember my birthday this year?”
Silence.
I emphasized the last two words with ice in my voice.
“My dear parents.”
Their faces turned red with shame.
At least there was that.
At least for one moment, they had to feel it.
I let the silence sit before speaking again.
“I can withdraw the complaint,” I said, “under two conditions.”
Dad looked up immediately. “Anything. Say it.”
“First, Chloe gives me a public apology.”
Mom’s mouth tightened, but she stayed quiet.
“Second, from this day on, I cut all ties with this family.”
Dad’s expression cracked.
Mom stared at me like she had finally realized I wasn’t bluffing.
The apology happened a few days later.
Chloe stood in front of me with a face full of resentment and muttered, “Sorry, Avery.”
I looked at her.
“Does that sound like an apology to you?”
She frowned, irritated.
“Fine. I was wrong, okay? Are you happy now? Everyone online is already cursing me out. Isn’t that enough for you?”
Then, without warning, she reached into her clothes and pulled out a small knife.
Everything happened fast after that.
Maybe she meant to scare me. Maybe worse. I had been expecting something unstable from her for days, so I had stayed alert. The second she moved, I stepped back.
She rushed forward once.
Missed.
Tried again.
And before she could do anything else, the officers nearby pinned her down and wrenched the weapon away.
Her hair had fallen loose around her face. Her eyes were red and wild.
“Avery Lawson!” she screamed. “Did you do that on purpose? Did you score that high just to ruin me? We’re sisters! Why wouldn’t you help me? Why wouldn’t you let me use you? This is all your fault!”
I looked at her like I was seeing something rotten stripped of its disguise at last.
“My score came from my own hard work,” I said. “If you had worked, you could have earned yours too. But you didn’t want to earn anything. You wanted to feed off me. And the moment I stopped letting you, you called me cruel.”
I shook my head.
“The person who ruined your life wasn’t me, Chloe. It was you.”
For the first time, fear really appeared on her face.
Her voice changed instantly.
“Sis… Avery… I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Please. Please forgive me. I’ll repeat the year. I’ll study. Just help me one more time. Please.”
I turned away.
This time, I let the officers take her.
I did not answer.
Later, the evidence was judged more than enough.
Chloe was held responsible for destroying my admission documents and for the violent incident during the apology arrangement. My parents tried every connection they had, but nothing worked.
In the end, Chloe Lawson was sentenced to three years.
And I finally, finally walked free of the family that had spent my whole life trying to use me up.