Chapter 5

Mrs. Hooper exchanged a few more pleasantries before leaving, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

The moment the door closed, Dad was the first to explode.

"Why did you agree to go? What's the point of being there? To let them walk all over you?"

Mom was spiraling too. "Courtney, listen to me—don't go. The Hoopers are completely unhinged right n—"

I cut her off. "Mom, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Mom looked at me, her eyes slowly reddening. "It's just that my heart really breaks for you. Why should you have to endure this humiliation when they're the ones who did something so vile?"

"I'm not enduring any humiliation, I promise," I said, taking her hand. "Besides, how could I let a perfect opportunity like this slip by?"

Five days passed, and the day of Josh's college send-off party arrived in the blink of an eye.

The hotel ballroom was lavishly decorated and buzzing with excitement. Every seat was filled, and the air hummed with the lively chatter of relatives, friends, and classmates, all gathered to congratulate Josh on his academic success.

Mom, Dad, and I arrived at the scheduled time and found a quiet table in the back corner.

We had barely been seated for two minutes when the lights dimmed, and a single spotlight landed squarely on the center of the stage.

Josh stood there in a sharply tailored suit, holding a microphone and radiating an insufferable level of confidence.

His gaze swept across the room before deliberately coming to rest on our table. The corner of his mouth curled into a provocative smirk.

"Actually, I want to give special thanks to one person in particular today—my childhood friend, Courtney Reid."

Every head in the room swiveled toward us.

Mom and Dad tensed up instantly.

Josh's tone was laced with feigned regret, but the malice in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Although, due to a certain… well, mishap, she wasn't able to take the SAT. I believe that with her abilities, one more year of studying will surely get her into her dream college."

A thin, scattered spatter of applause rose from the audience, punctuated by a few stifled snickers.

Josh waited for the clapping to die down before continuing. "Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to clear a few things up."

He signaled offstage, and someone cued the projector. An image flashed onto the giant screen.

It was a photo of me with a man I didn't recognize—someone who looked sketchy by design. He had his arm draped around my shoulder, and my head was turned down, making us look intimate.

The room erupted in whispers.

Josh let out a heavy sigh. "Someone sent this to me a few days ago. Apparently, Courtney was frequently out and about with this guy right before the SAT, which is why… Well, when I saw the photo, it finally made sense to me why she was so careless with her admission ticket."

"Bullshit!" Dad shot up from his seat, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"Dad, calm down. Let them finish their show. The best part hasn't even started yet."

Dad's chest heaved with fury, but he eventually sat back. His eyes remained locked on Josh, as if he were trying to burn holes through him with his stare alone.

Josh seemed quite pleased with my lack of reaction. He smiled and flipped to another slide.

It was a grainy screenshot from a video taken the day Ms. Doyle and Ms. Boyer had come to my house. It was obviously taken on the sly, because all one could see was their backs as they walked through the door.

Next to it was an audio clip from who-knows-where. It sounded like one of our neighborhood security guards.

"Yes, they were looking for Courtney. They said they were dropping off some documents."

Josh's tone turned grave. "As you can see, Mr. and Mrs. Reid have already put a lot of effort into helping Courtney prepare for her retake. And I get it—failing the SAT is a heavy blow."