“Mr. Read,” Russell said sharply, “tell everyone here – who gave you the tip for that front-page article?”
A pause. Then, confidently:
“Didn’t we already go over this? It was Ms. Tilda.”
All eyes swung toward her.
This time, they thought, there’s no way she can wriggle out of it.
But Tilda didn’t even blink.
She quietly pulled out her own phone, turned the volume up, hit speaker, and said in a soft, lilting voice that wasn’t her own,
“You’re saying I gave you the tip?”
The voice was higher, delicate – clearly altered. Anyone who actually knew Tilda’s tone would know instantly: it wasn’t her.
Russell frowned.
What the hell is she doing?
Kyla’s stomach twisted. This is bad. Really bad.
But if she jumped in now, she’d look suspicious.
“Yes, Ms. Tilda,” said Stan Read, the editor’s voice nervous now. “It’s not my fault – I didn’t think your father would find out so fast! We’re just a small outlet trying to stay alive. If we cross the Jenson Group, we won’t last a week!”
He kept rambling, but cracks were already forming in his story.
“Then tell me,” Tilda cut in, her tone smooth and steady, “how exactly did I contact you? And why would I be dumb enough to expose my own identity?
“If the Jenson Group is as powerful as you claim – and you crumble this fast – doesn’t that make me suicidal?”
“Well – ” Stan stuttered, grasping for words. “You, uh, called from a public phone. And as for your identity… let’s just say you slipped up. I figured it out myself.”
“You guessed?” Tilda’s laugh was soft, cutting.
“So you ran a headline that big based on a guess?”
“I – uh…” Stan’s voice faltered.
Sweat prickled at his temples.
He’d already said too much.
He took a shaky breath and tried to recover. “I recognized your voice. It’s one of a kind. Even with a disguise, I’d know it anywhere. And we met in person, remember? You handed me those photos yourself.”
“Oh, really?” Tilda arched an eyebrow. “So you’re that sure someone’s identity can’t be faked by voice – the same voice I just proved can be altered with an app? That doesn’t sound too smart, does it?”
Her words sliced through the air like glass.
“And you claim we met in person. That I handed you those photos myself. Do you have proof? Any security footage? Pictures? A recording?”
“I…” Stan’s voice wavered.
Nothing. He had nothing.
Because it was all a lie.
“And one more thing,” Tilda said coolly. “The voice you’re hearing right now? Not mine. It’s filtered. I’ve been using it the entire time. So if you really met me face-to-face, how could you not notice the difference?
“You’re not seriously saying I stood there in front of you for half an hour using a voice-changer, are you?”
The silence that followed was deafening.
The truth was, Tilda didn’t even need the app – she could mimic voices on her own. But the app made the setup flawless.
She’d lived this moment once before.
This time, she came prepared.
Armed with knowledge of what was coming – and the freedom that came from not caring anymore.
Stan had no comeback. None.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
He’d been told Tilda was meek, compliant, easy to scare. That if they cornered her, she’d fold. Cry. Beg. Take the blame.
No one said she’d fight back.
No one said she’d win.
If he’d known she could flip the script this fast, he never would’ve touched this story.
Kyla’s heart pounded. You idiot! she screamed silently. You had one job! One!
Even Russell’s expression was shifting now, suspicion creeping in around the edges.
“Mr. Read,” he said slowly, “didn’t you say Tilda gave you instructions personally?”
“There’s gotta be some misunderstanding,” Stan stammered. “It must’ve been someone pretending to be her – someone set me up!”
Desperation dripped from every word. He didn’t even know who had really pulled the strings. He’d just chased a fat payout and walked right into a trap.
Still, he had an idea. A guess.
But saying that name out loud could ruin him – career and all.
“I’ll – I’ll find out who did it,” he blurted out quickly. “I swear I will.”
Russell’s gaze drifted toward Kyla.
She kept her head down, shoulders shaking, quiet sobs escaping between breaths.
She looked fragile. Helpless.
Like something that needed to be protected.
He pushed the doubt away.
No. It couldn’t be Kyla.
Kyla was kind. Sweet. Pure.
There was no way she could ever come up with something this cruel.
When the call ended, the room sank into an awkward, heavy silence.
Russell, Blair, and Wade all looked uneasy – because they’d just accused Tilda without a shred of proof.
Now that they thought about what Stan had said, the holes in his story were painfully obvious. Still, the second they’d found the tiniest scrap of “evidence,” they’d jumped on it, convinced Tilda had leaked the story just to force them into acknowledging her as the real daughter.
The truth was simpler.
They’d never trusted her.
Their blind love for Kyla had shut down every ounce of reason.
All it took was one tear from Kyla, and logic went straight out the window.
“Tilda, I’m so sorry,” Kyla finally said, breaking the silence. Her eyes were red and watery as she stepped closer. “They just wanted to defend me because I looked so upset. This is my fault. If I’d never come into this family, none of this would’ve happened.”
She started to bow, voice trembling.
“Kyla! What are you doing?!” Wade, standing closest, grabbed her arm.
But Kyla didn’t stop. “Don’t stop me, Wade. This is my fault. If Tilda won’t forgive us, I’m not getting up.”
With a sudden, dramatic drop, she bent at a perfect ninety degrees. Tears spilled down her cheeks and hit the floor.
“Kyla, that’s enough! Get up!” Russell and Blair rushed forward, flustered and panicked, trying to pull her upright.
Her display of guilt and devotion was… convincing. Moving, even.
And just like that, every doubt they’d had about her vanished.
Of course Kyla couldn’t have done something so cruel.
How could a sweet, selfless girl like her ever scheme?
It had to be someone else.
“Tilda, we were wrong to accuse you,” Russell said firmly. “Don’t worry – I’ll find out who’s behind this and make them pay. Anyone who dares to slander our family won’t get away with it.”
His jaw clenched tight. Nothing angered him more than someone trying to tear apart his “harmonious” family.
“You’re going to make it right?”
Tilda let out a short, sharp laugh. Then another. Until she couldn’t stop. It started small but quickly built into full-blown laughter, shaking her shoulders until she had to hold her stomach. Tears slid down her cheeks – not from sorrow, but from how utterly ridiculous this all was.
Russell’s face darkened. “What’s so funny?”
Tilda laughed harder. She couldn’t help it.
Russell’s noble declaration to “make things right” had to be the biggest joke she’d ever heard.
This was the same man who’d turned on his own daughter without a second thought.
The same man who’d rallied the entire family against her – just to protect the adopted one.
All because he was terrified the girl they’d abandoned might come back and take even the smallest piece of what they’d given Kyla.
They ignored the truth.
They blamed her.
And now he wanted to make things right?
Maybe the old Tilda would’ve clung to that hope, desperate for their love.
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