All Chapters of The Switch: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

53 Chapters

Two Weeks Later

SAGE'S POV "Your teachers are worried, Sage. You failed a quiz in AP History. You've never failed anything. You even fell asleep in English class.....twice and you didn't turn in your art project. Ms. Lopez said that's the first." I didn't respond. I couldn't sleep at night so I passed out during the day, I couldn't focus on homework when my brain won't stop replaying the park conversation. That art felt pointless when the person who made me love it doesn't want me anymore. Mrs. Palmer slid a paper across her desk. "This is a referral for counseling. I think talking to someone might help." I stared at the paper and ignored it. Mrs. Palmer leaned forward. "Is everything okay at home with your family?" "Everything's fine." "Sometimes breakups can affect our academic performance more than we realize. I heard you and Julian...." "I said I'm fine.....urrgh" I rolled my eyes. She didn't believe me and could see it in her face. But she couldn't force me to talk. "The refe

The birthday party

SAGE'S POV 2:55pm. I was in the taxi across the street from the Morrison house with the gift I had spent an hour in wrapping for Julian. Madison's car was down the block. She texted: I'm here. Me: Alright. I was dressed in a blue dress with curled hair and little make up to cover up the dark circles under my eyes. I grabbed the gift and walked towards the house. Music and laughter drifted from inside, I could see balloons and people then my eyes drifted to Victoria standing next to Julian with her hand on his arm and laughing. I took a breath and walked up the steps through the open front door, into my worst nightmare. "Sage! You came!" Susan Morrison appeared immediately and pulled me into a warm hug. "I'm so glad you're here. Here, let me take your coat." She helped me out of it and took the gift. "Julian will be so happy you came. He's in the living room. Come on." She led me through the house. The living room was full of Julian's relatives, cousin, a few friends from s

Madison's Discovery.

SAGE'S POV At exactly 6:45AM, I met Madison in the parking lot. Her hair was in a messy ponytail with dark circles under her eyes like she didn't sleep at all."Get in my car. We need to talk where no one can hear us."I got in the passenger seat and she immediately locked the doors."I spent all night researching and looking into Victoria's claim about your bracelet." She pulled out her laptop from the backseat. "And I found something...eerrr...but you're not going to like it."She opened the laptop and showed me an old photo of a party from Lincoln's high dated two years ago and in the background was a younger me with different hair and a silver bracelet on my wrist. I gasped."You were there, at that party. The night Cameron Morrison got his lead and you were wearing the bracelet she claims to have."I stared at the photo and tried to remember."It's not a bluff," Madison said quietly. "Victoria's telling the truth.""Do you remember this party?" Madison asked.I thought hard. "

The Showcase

SAGE'S POV The email from the name 'Thomas Ashford' arrived at 3:47 AM.I didn't know the content of the message but I saw a little part where he said that he was Victoria's uncle. But at 6:45 PM, I was sitting in the back row of the Ashford auditorium with Madison, waiting to destroy my last chance with Julian."You can still back out," Madison whispered. "We can leave right now."I shook my head. The auditorium was filling up with students, parents and teachers. Everyone was excited for performances they thought will be normal.I scanned the crowd and found Julian near the front with his performance group with Victoria beside him, touching his arm.They hadn't seen me yet and didn't know I was there."Let's do this," I said.Madison nodded and opened her laptop. The video was queued and ready but we just had to wait.Madison had the technical setup ready. She spent days hacking into the auditorium's AV system and could override the projector at any moment.The plan was to play E

The Meeting

SAGE'S POV I didn't tell Madison and Aria that I was going to the coffee shop. The place was mostly empty with only a few college students and an elderly couple. I ordered coffee that I couldn't drink. I just held it and watched the door. What if he doesn't show? What if Victoria walks through that door instead? I thought. At exactly 10:00 AM, a man entered. He looked like he was in his late fifties with gray hair, an expensive suit and tired eyes. He scanned the room looking for me than he finally saw me, walked over and sat without asking. "Thank you for coming. We don't have much time. Victoria thinks I'm at a business meeting in Chicago." He slid a manila folder across the table. "Everything you need is in here. But you won't like what you find." Thomas ordered coffee while still watching the door. "I'm Thomas Ashford. Victoria's uncle. I've watched her destroy people since she was twelve." "When did it start?" I looked up. "In middle school. A girl named S

Aria's Move

ARIA'S POV.I watched my sister fall apart with three days of restraining order and Sage barely eating or sleeping. She had given up completely. I tried everything possible to encourage her but it was futile.She just sat in her room and stared at nothing."Victoria won," she kept saying. "There's nothing left to do."But I disagreed because while Sage was fighting Victoria head-on, I watched from the sidelines and learnt. And I saw something Sage didn't see.Victoria moved faster and bolder. Either she was completely confident that she won or she was scared of something.I sat at breakfast with Sage. She pushed scrambled eggs around her plate and didn't eat.Dark circles under her eyes, her hair unbrushed and the same sweater she had worn for three days.Mom set down her coffee cup. "Honey, should we see a doctor? You don't look well.""I'm fine." Sage turned away.After breakfast, Sage went back to her room and I followed."You can't give up. Julian is still in danger."She didn't

The Search

ARIA'S POV "I'll plant the bracelet in a crime scene where Sage has never been. When police find her prints there, she becomes a suspect." Victoria's threat kept ringing in my head as soon as I woke up. Victoria didn't need Sage to actually be guilty. She just needed her to look guilty and that Sage's bracelet from two years ago was the proof. I grabbed my phone and texted Madison and Cole: Emergency meeting in your house, now. I got dressed and went to Madison's house and met them waiting for me. Madison looked like she didn't sleep. "I found how Victoria knows everything we're doing." She opened her laptop and showed me lines of code. "Spyware on all our phones." My stomach dropped. "How? I wasn't there". "Remember the showcase? Everyone left phones in the lobby during performances. Maybe not yours but mine". Cole leaned forward. "She had access to your phone?" "These apps install in fifteen minutes." Madison closed the laptop. "She's been reading every text. ." "I

The Confrontation

ARIA'S POV "You're very early. You guys couldn't wait?" Victoria said smiling and walking towards us. "We need to talk before this starts." I said. "I think we're past talking." Her eyes flicked to the bag. "What's that?" "Evidence." "Evidence of what?" She frowned. "You'll know soon." Victoria's smile tightened. "You sound paranoid. Maybe you should sit down. Rest." Behind us, a taxi pulled into the parking lot. A thin and nervous lady got out and walked towards the courtyard. Victoria glanced at her but didn't recognise her. "Who's that? Another character witness?" "Someone you know," I said. The woman reached us and looked directly at Victoria. "Hello, Victoria." Victoria's face went very pale. It was the first time I had seen her rattled. "Melissa. What are you doing here?" Melissa Grant stood straighter and stronger than I expected. Stronger. "I came to watch Sage's apology and to tell everyone what you did to me." Victoria recovered fast. "I hea

Consequences

ARIA'S POV We pulled into the driveway and saw both mom and dad's car there. The living room lights were on.They saw the news coverage and the videos going viral. They knew something happened but they don't know everything yet."Ready?" I asked Sage.She stared at the house for a while. "No.""Me neither." I said.But we still got out and walked to the front door.Inside, Mom and Dad sat at the kitchen table and when we entered, they both turned. Mom's face was relief mixed with fury. "Where have you been? Your phones were off and we've been calling for hours.""We saw videos from Ashford. Victoria Ashford being arrested and you two in the middle of it." Dad's voice was firm. "What is going on?"I looked at Sage. We agreed to tell the truth."We need to explain everything from the beginning."Mom pulled out chairs. "Sit and talk."We sat and Sage took a breath. "It started with the switch. When Aria and I decided to trade schools."For the next hour, we told them how the switch the

Victoria's Leverage

ARIA'S POV"I know what your parents did."Victoria's voice at 6 AM was calm and almost cheerful.I was barely awake with my phone pressed to my ear and heart already racing. "What exactly are you talking about?""The forms they signed and the emails they sent. The lies they told to keep your little identity switch going."My blood turned to ice."Margaret Chen's signature on enrollment forms for 'Aria Chen' at Lincoln High. Robert Chen providing proof of residence for 'Sage Chen' at Ashford. Parent-teacher conferences and emergency contacts are all fraudulent and documented and they've not been exposed yet"I sat up and widened my eyes in disbelief. "You're lying.""Am I? Ask them what they signed this year. Ask them if they knew which daughter was at which school when they put pen to paper."There was silence on my end.Victoria laughed. "That's what I thought. Conspiracy to commit fraud. As adults, they'll face real prison time unless you do exactly what I say."I breathed. "What d

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