She Said It Was Therapy, They Signed A Pardon Chapter 07
Noah got the full file two hours later.
The police report from three years ago. Hotel surveillance. Court records. Mia’s chat logs.
Everything.
He read the first page and went white.
The records were clear.
I had never met that man before.
The person who’d talked to him for months was Mia.
She’d used my photos the whole time. She’d pretended to be me.
Noah’s hand shook as he held the phone.
But that wasn’t all.
He kept scrolling.
Then he found a chat log from back then–one that had never been made public.
The man had asked Mia, “Is your sister prettier than you?”
It took her a long time to reply.
“Yeah. Everyone’s liked her since we were kids.”
The man sent a suggestive emoji. “I’d like to meet her.”
Mia sent him my school, my class, and the address of the hotel where the birthday party was being
held.
“Come,” she wrote. “She’ll be there.”
Noah’s breath stopped.
He stared at those lines.
Then there was another conversation–Mia and a friend
“I just wanted to scare her. It’s her own fault. The second she came back, Mom and Dad only had eyes for her.”
“So what if she’s their biological daughter?”
“If her reputation’s ruined, she can’t stay at school. If Noah doesn’t want her anymore…”
“What’s she got left?”
The last line was a knife in his chest.
“Then this family is mine again.”
The phone slipped from his hand and hit the ground.
Noah stood frozen.
So it wasn’t an accident.
It never was.
He thought back to three years ago.
I’d chased him to the airport, crying, my face white as paper.
“Noah, please. Just believe me. I don’t know him.”
Mia had been right there, tugging at his sleeve, her eyes red.
– “Noah, my sister’s emotional right now. Don’t upset her.”
So he hadn’t even listened to the rest.
He turned and left.
Later, Mia told him I’d threatened suicide at home because I couldn’t accept the breakup.
She said, “My sister was ruined by her adoptive parents. When she doesn’t get what she wants, she forces people to give in.”
He believed her.
She told him I’d always hated her and had forced Mom and Dad to kick her out.
He said, “You don’t have a home anymore. I’ll take care of you.”
And from then on, he’d stayed by her side.
Eventually, she looked him in the eye and told him, My sister can’t let go of you. If she finds out we’re together, she’ll lose it
So for three years, he never once came back to see me.
Even when Mia said she’d bring that man in to “trea” me, he didn’t question it.
He thought maybe I really did need to face the past once and for all.
Noah’s eyes welled up.
He bent to pick up his phone, but his hands were shaking too hard to hold it steady.
On the screen, Mia’s message from earlier was still open.
“Honey, I’m waiting for you. We still have our honeymoon.”
Noah stared at that word for a long time.
Then he laughed.
And as he laughed, tears hit the screen.
He remembered me in the library, bent over a table drawing a ring.
He remembered the first time I won a scholarship, how I’d hugged him with shining eyes.
He remembered three years ago, when I’d begged him to believe me.
And then the hospital room.
I looked at him and said, “Okay.”
That was the moment I’d given up on everything.
Including him.
Noah closed his eyes.
When he opened them, there was only cold.
He clutched his phone so hard his knuckles went white.
“Ivy”
His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper
The justice you never got”
“I’ll get it for you”
When Noah returned to the hospital, Mia was still crying
She looked up and explained. “I really just wanted to cure my sister. I don’t know how it came to
this…”
Noah stood at the end of the hallway and stared at her for a long time.
Then he asked, “What about three years ago?”
Mia’s crying stopped.
Mom and Dad looked up.
Noah walked over and dropped the file at her feet.
“You always said you used Ivy’s photos because you were insecure. Then what are these?”
Mia’s face went white.
Mom picked up the papers with trembling hands.
On top were Mia’s chat logs from three years ago.
From beginning to end, she’d used my photos to lure that man in.
On the day of the birthday party, she’d sent him the address and said, “My sister will be there too.”
The man asked, “The one in the photos?”
Mia replied, “Yes. Haven’t you always wanted to meet her?”
Mom’s hands shook so badly she could barely hold the paper.
“Impossible…”
Noah laughed coldly. “I’m not done.”
Dad turned the page.
The next chat was between Mia and a friend.
“She’s their biological daughter, so Mom and Dad want to make everything up to her. She gets
good grades, has scholarships, and even Noah like her.”
“If this keeps up, will there still be a place for me in his family?”
Her friend asked, “So you called that guy on purpose?”
it took Mia a long time to answer
“I just wanted to destroy something of hers
“She has everything anyway.”
“Even if she loses her reputation, her college, her boyfriend, she’s still their biological daughter.”
“But if I lose everything, I’ll have nothing.”
The hallway was dead silent.
Mom’s lips trembled as she looked at Mia like she’d never seen her before.
“So… you did it on purpose…”
