Jonathan stood abruptly, pacing the living room. "She's my daughter. I didn't think something like this could happen to her. I thought she was smarter than that."
"She is smart," Carla said. "But she's also seventeen. She made a mistake, yes. But that doesn't make her a slut. Making mistakes make her human."
Angela added softly, "What she needs now isn't your judgment. It's your protection. She needs to know she's not alone."
"You owe her an apology," Carla chipped in, her voice low and shaking with restrained fury.
Jonathan exhaled heavily. "Carla, not this again. We've been through this. I told you I didn't know what to believe—"
"That's the problem, Jonathan! You didn't try to believe her." She stood up now, pointing a finger at him. "Our daughter was humiliated, violated, and expelled. And you turned your back on her when she neededyou the most."
He looked up at her, jaw tight. "She sent those photos, Carla. It wasn't a rumor. It happened."
"She was coerced," Carla snapped. "Manipulated by her best friend and her boyfriend. Don't you get it? Mira and Liam set her up. Angie's been saying it all along, and now it's proven. And the new photo, the one Bella was blackmailed with? She didn't even remember taking it. But you were already convinced she was lying again, weren't you?"
Jonathan didn't answer.
"She's not even home anymore," Carla whispered, more to herself. "She's at Whitethorn Academy now, a whole new school, trying to pick up the pieces of her life, and you can't even pick up the pieces of your pride long enough to say sorry."
Unable to bear their banter anymore, Angie proceeded to place her folder on the coffee table and sat down.
"I told Bella I'd get to the bottom of it," she began, unclipping the folder. "And I did."
Carla sat beside her, eyes wide. Jonathan moved closer, arms folded, but clearly uneasy.
"That blackmail photo? The one Bella received two weeks ago, the one threatening to leak a nude she doesn't even remember taking? It was edited. Badly."
Jonathan raised a brow. "Edited?"
"Yes," Angie said, pulling out printed screenshots and documents. "I had a digital forensic specialist at school, one of the IT instructors run a check on the photo. There are clear signs of manipulation: mismatched lighting, uneven pixels, and traces of cloning. Someone took one of the real photos, the ones Liam leaked, and edited it to look like a new one."
Carla covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God…"
"But it gets worse," Angie continued, flipping to a second sheet. "The message Bella got? It was sent from a dummy account. I got access logs through the school's tech department, because, lucky for us, the account was opened during school hours from a school device.
Not from somewhere close to school like I thought earlier. They tried to confuse us so we would think it came from a different location which my guy traced only go find the phone in a garbage bin somewhere close to school, completely wiped clean.
But these pings came from a school device, right inside the school."
Carla turned to Jonathan. "You see? She was blackmailed. Someone tried to destroy her all over again."
"Who was it?" Jonathan asked, voice low.
Angie looked him dead in the eye. "A student named Raquel. Apparently, she and Mira are cousins. Mira asked her to keep tormenting Bella even after the first scandal. They wanted to make sure Bella never recovered. Raquel got access to Bella's photos through Mira, edited one of them, and sent it from a school library computer.
That was really bold of them, doing that from a school's device. It was a weak attempt to confuse us, hoping we would never look there."
Jonathan stared at the floor.
Carla closed her eyes, emotions rolling through her. "Poor Bella… She's already been through enough."
Angie placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's going to be alright, she's handling it better than I expected. But only because she knows someone believes her. And I know it's a bit distant, but I promise I'll be keeping a close eye on things at Whitethorn. To make sure Bella is alright."
Carla nodded gratefully.
Then Angie turned to Jonathan. "And you? You need to speak to your daughter. You may think your silence and distance is the best way to handle this, but what it really does is validate what the world has already tried to tell her, that she deserved what happened."
Jonathan swallowed hard.
There was a long silence.
Finally, Jonathan sighed. "When she gets home for the holidays, I'll talk to her. I'll tell her I was wrong. Completely wrong."
Angela didn't blink. "No. You will call her and do that immediately."
Jonathan stiffened. "Angela, I can't. Not over the phone."
Carla's brow furrowed. "What do you mean you can't?"
"Because it's not the kind of thing you say through a damn speaker," he snapped. "It's serious. And I won't cheapen it by tossing it at her over a call just like that."
Angela's jaw clenched. "This isn't about you feeling better about how you apologize. It's about Bella hearing it. Needing to hear it."
"She's not exactly begging to talk to me," Jonathan muttered.
Carla stood. "Can you blame her? You humiliated her, Jonathan. You judged her before you even tried to understand. You broke something in her. This isn't about the format of your apology. It's about you giving it
Jonathan looked away, his mouth tightening. "Look, I said I'd do it. I will. But not like this. She'll be back for the holidays. That's when I'll say what needs to be said. To her face."
"You better," Angie said sharply. "She's not entirely broken, Jonathan. Don't let it be too late."
"How did I end up with such a wicked man?" Carla cried.
"She deserves to feel safe at home," she said quietly. "Yet here is her father, giving excuses to apologise to his own daughter."
"I wouldn't blame her if she grows up hating him," Angie said, packing up the documents and standing up. "I should take my leave now. I need to get back to school. We're yet to confront those kids. I wanted to inform both of you first before taking any actions"
"Thank you, Angie," Carla said sincerely.
As she saw her sister out, Jonathan remained seated, staring at the folder on the table.
All the lies, all the doubt, all the silence, it was clear now that it had only served one purpose, which was to isolate Bella further.
And now, even though it was late, he realized he owed her more than just an apology.
But he'd be damned if he gave her that.