Chapter 3

The rest of the comments section took a turn after that comment. Several replies agreed with it.

[There’s a point there. The timing is too perfect.]

[This aunt doesn’t seem like a good person.]

[I pity her niece.]

There were only a few posts trying to defend me, but they were buried by the comments that castigated me.

I did not get angry, because I had read far more scathing words in the previous timeline.

I did not post a clarifying statement. The whole point of this project was to gain attention.

The more people that know about this, the more people I would have on my side once I put the proof up after Kristen’s essay went viral.

The commenters thought I did not reply because I felt guilty, and the debate ramped up to a fever pitch. Similarly, the whole debacle became more viral.

Right then, my phone rang. It was Kristen calling.

“Aunt June—” The second I answered the phone, I could hear Kristen crying so hard that she could barely speak. “Aunt June, can you take me in?

“Dad wants me to do the laundry, cook, and do farmwork. I still have to babysit Kinsley, too. They treat me like a workhorse. Please, Aunt June, please take me in.

“I swear that I’ll never fight with you again. I’ll take care of Gabby. I can do chores, too. I only want to go back to you, and I can do anything you ask…”

If it were still the previous timeline, I would get her to come back overnight after hearing that.

However, I only listened silently as she cried.

Then, I said coolly, “Kristen, they’re your parents. How could they treat you so badly? Stop crying for a moment. Could you be having some sort of misunderstanding with your parents?”

After talking a bit more, I pretended that the signal was bad and hung up.

Kristen was already unable to handle things there?

I was really looking forward to seeing how she would handle things after eight days and she really learned her lesson.

“Was that Kristen, Mom?” Gabrielle asked.

“Yes.” I nodded.

Gabrielle seemed to want to say more, but she only ended up saying, “Mom, could you not bring Kristen back?”

I was stunned. It was very rare for Gabrielle to express such open dislike for someone.

Had Kristen done something I did not know about?

Gabrielle continued, “At school, Kristen keeps saying you’re biased against her and that you abuse her. I’ve heard it many times. I’ve tried talking to her, but she never listens. I don’t like her, Mom, and I don’t want to talk to her anymore.”

I could not help but sigh.

So, this whole thing had started so much earlier on.

I thought that Kristen had only decided to burn bridges after her SATs, but it seemed that she had never been happy during these past three years.

I closed my eyes and regained some calm.

Then, I turned around and ruffled Gabrielle’s hair. I swore to her, “Don’t worry. I won’t bring her back home ever again. It’ll just be us three from now on.”

Gabrielle brightened up at that.

Five days after the end of the SATs, my posts were overrun with people cursing me out, saying that I stole Kristen’s living expenses from her parents and calling me heartless.

Someone had even tried to doxx me.

I did not stop any of this.

I had even followed my main account with the one I posted on, making it easier for them to find my information.

On the seventh day, someone doxxed me.

Calls from people wanting to curse me out kept flooding in.

Seeing that the whole debacle was coming to a head, I finally posted the evidence I had prepared, such as the 300 dollars from Caleb and Harmony and the ignored texts when I asked them for some financial help raising Kristen.

I posted these in the comments section and added: What money did I steal when they only gave me 300 dollars in three years?

Once this was posted, the comments section went very quiet.

I was preparing to post something else to rile things up even further when the doorbell rang.

I put down my phone and opened the door.

Standing outside was Kristen.

“Aunt June!”