Chapter 3

When I slammed my hand onto the coffee table in the living room, Miranda almost dropped her mug.

"Chloe! What is the meaning of this?!"

I ignored her, slapping a stack of printed documents onto the table, page by page.

"I had a security firm trace the IP address. The login came directly from Ethan’s MacBook."

"Melanie’s Instagram post from three days ago was geo-tagged at the Hyatt. That matches the exact hotel and time on Ethan's forged records."

Miranda's face went from flushed red, to pale white, and finally to a sickly green.

"This... this is slander!"

"Slander?" I slapped down the final page. It was a set of photos. "Miranda, look closely. These are photos from Melanie’s private archive. Last month, on the fifteenth, she and Ethan were in Miami.

Ethan told you it was a 'company retreat,' right? Since when do retreats only have two people?"

Miranda fell completely silent.

I pulled out my phone and played an audio file. It was a voice call between Ethan and Melanie that Caleb had recovered for me.

Ethan's voice played: "Did you post the photos? How is her family reacting?"

Melanie giggled, sounding incredibly smug: "It completely blew up. Her mom kicked her out of the family chat immediately!"

Ethan laughed. "Perfect. I'll go cry to my mom in a couple of days, and this will all be over. Once her reputation is completely trashed, we can be together openly, and everyone will pity me."

"You are evil."

"Only for you, babe."

The recording ended, and the living room fell into a suffocating silence.

Miranda’s lips were trembling.

I looked her dead in the eye, pronouncing every single word clearly.

"Miranda, I didn't come here to ask for your help. I came here to notify you."

"Tomorrow morning, I am filing a criminal defamation lawsuit against your son."

"Every single piece of evidence in his study has already been backed up."

I stood up, looking down at her.

"I'll see you both in court."

I turned toward the door, but stopped and glanced back.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"You shared that deepfake photo in the neighborhood group yesterday. I have the screenshot of that, too."

"Under the law, sharing and distributing defamatory material makes you liable. If I choose to press charges against you, you will be going down right alongside him."

Miranda’s face drained of all color.

By the time I left their house, the sun had already set.

My phone was buzzing with dozens of missed calls and texts. I didn't bother opening them, only scanning the previews.

From my mom: "Chloe, have you lost your mind? Why did you go raise a scene at Ethan's house?"

From Cody: "Are you insane? How am I supposed to show my face at work with you acting like this?"

From Ethan: "Chloe, we need to talk."