"Where have you been!" Jonathan hollered angrily.
Bella walked in the door slowly and sat on the edge of the sofa, her fingers tangled in each other. Her eyes, rimmed with red, barely lifted as her father entered the room. Her mum stood at the far end, arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching the tension thicken.
Jonathan didn't sit. He stayed standing, his jaw tense and rigid. The silence stretched uncomfortably.
"I'm not here to argue," Bella said, flinching away from him.
Jonathan exhaled through his nose, like her voice irritated him.
"Then what are you here for? I asked a damn question."
Carla stepped forward, her voice sharp. "Watch your tone Jonathan, she's your daughter."
He didn't look at his wife. His eyes were fixed on Bella like she was the most disgusting sight ever.
"She disappeared without a word. For two days!" he said flatly. "And now what, we're supposed to welcome her back like nothing happened?"
"I didn't mean to keep you worried," Bella said.
"No?" he asked. "So what did you leave for? To meet that stupid boy?"
Carla moved between them, glaring at him.
"Enough," she snapped. "She was blackmailed."
Jonathan's expression didn't change. If anything, his face hardened.
"Blackmail," he repeated. "You expect me to believe that's all there was to it?"
"It was real!" Bella cried desperately. "Someone had new pictures of me. They threatened to post them if I didn't pay some money—I didn't know what to do."
"You could've told us," Jonathan said. "You chose to run instead."
Carla's eyes flared.
"She was scared, Jonathan."
"She is not a child," he said. "Scared or not, she made her decision."
Carla stared at him like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Do you even hear yourself?" she asked. "She was being blackmailed. That doesn't sound suspicious to you? The timing?"
Carla turned to Bella, her voice trembling with emotion. "Where have you been, Bel? You had us worried sick."
Bella's throat tightened as she tried to find the words. "I stayed at a motel the first night," she admitted. "Then I moved to a friend's place."
"A motel?" Carla echoed, horrified. "Alone?"
Jonathan muttered something under his breath no one could hear.
Bella nodded slowly, her eyes cast downward. "I was scared and ashamed. And you both were really mad at me."
Carla softened, dropping her arms to the sides. "Bel, you should've come to us. No matter what."
Bella looked up, her face etched with guilt. "I thought maybe I should give you both some time to cool off."
She clenched her hands tighter, knuckles turning white.
"Then the blackmail… This person knew personal things too," she continued, her voice barely a whisper. "In the second message they sent, they mentioned stuff. Stuff I'd only told one person."
Carla stepped closer.
"Who?" she asked gently. "Who did you tell?"
Bella hesitated, lips parting and closing again. "I thought it was Mira," she said. "But she swore she never did anything again. Now I'm not sure."
Carla's lips parted in disbelief.
"You believed Mira?" she asked. "After everything she's done?"
Bella blinked. "She convinced me she didn't do it."
Carla knelt down in front of her, voice softening just slightly. "And you believe her? Bella, someone threatened you with personal photos and somehow Mira's name is the only one tied to the information they had—information you say only she knew—and yet you took her word for it? Just like that?"
"She was my best friend," Bella whispered.
Carla shook her head, brushing Bella's hair away from her tear-stained face. "And she threw a raw egg at your face! Why can't you see her for what she is? You're not stupid, Bel. You should know better."
From behind them, Jonathan snorted under his breath.
Carla turned her head slightly. "Is there something funny?"
He didn't respond. He simply took a sip from the glass he'd poured himself and stared blankly at the wall.
Carla turned her attention back to Bella.
"You forwarded the messages to Angela right?"
Bella nodded quickly. "The moment I got the first threat. She's been trying to trace the number."
Carla stood and reached for her phone on the console. "Good. Let's call her now. Put her on speaker."
Bella's eyes widened. "Now?"
"Yes, now. We can't sit around waiting. We need to know if she's found anything."
Carla dialed and hit speaker. The phone rang twice before Angela answered.
"Hello?"
"Angela, it's Carla," she said. "You're on speaker. I'm with Bella now—Jonathan too."
Angela's voice softened immediately. "Oh… good evening. Bella, sweetheart, are you okay?"
Bella swallowed. "I've been better."
"I can imagine," Angela said gently. "I'm so sorry you're going through this. I've been digging into the number that sent the messages. They were sent through an app that can help keep senders anonymous, but there were some cracks in the trail."
"What kind of cracks?" Carla asked, stepping closer to the phone.
"There were IP pings around your school's Wi-Fi around the time the messages were sent," Angela explained. "But it wasn't just the school—it bounced again off the network near Mira's house."
Bella looked up, heart racing. "Are you saying it was her?"
Angela hesitated. "Not directly. That's the thing. The messages didn't come from her phone. But whoever sent them used a VPN that slipped for a few seconds. Long enough to register two access points—one of which was about four blocks from Mira's house."
Jonathan scoffed from behind them. "Of course."
"Do you think someone she knows could've used her Wi-Fi?" Carla asked, her brow furrowed.
"Possibly," Angela said. "Or it was her, just using another device."
Bella's voice cracked. "She told me she didn't do anything."
"And maybe she didn't," Angela replied. "But you told her. That means she had access to the information either way. She could've told someone else. Or someone might've seen your chat on her screen."
Carla exhaled, shaking her head. "This just gets uglier."
"Can you find out who exactly this person is?" she asked.
"I'm working on it," Angela replied. "But I need a bit more time. Whoever did this knew how to cover their tracks—but they're not so good, it's still traceable."
"Okay," Carla said quietly. "Please keep us updated. I'm grateful you're doing this, Angela."
"Of course," Angela said gently. "Bella, I'm going to find this person. I promise."
"Thank you," Bella whispered.
Carla ended the call and placed the phone down on the table. Her expression was harder.
"That's it. No more school for you, Bella. Until further notice."
Then she turned to Jonathan, her voice firmer. "And you— from now on, no more hurtful words. She's still a child. Your daughter, for crying out loud. Kids make mistakes all the time."
Jonathan held her gaze for a moment, then said nothing. He turned and walked out of the room.
Bella watched him leave, her throat burning.
"I don't think he cares anymore. He hates me," she whispered.
Carla sat beside her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
"He doesn't, alright?" she said softly. "He just doesn't know how to express his emotions. But right now, we don't need his approval. We need the truth. And we're going to get it."
Bella leaned into her mother's side, her chest tightening with silent questions. How had it all spiraled like this? The threats, the silence, Mira's betrayal… And now, her father looking at her like she was a stain on the entire family's name.
Before either of them could say more, Carla's phone buzzed sharply on the coffee table.
She reached for it, intending to ignore it—but the subject line caught her eye. Her brow furrowed.
"What is it?" Bella asked, her voice still hoarse.
Carla tapped into the message. "It's an email. From some school. Whitethorn Academy."
Bella blinked. "Where's that?"
"I've never heard of it," Carla murmured. Her eyes scanned the text. Then she stilled. "They're offering you a full scholarship. Full admission. No application required. Room and board included. Immediate enrollment."
Bella sat up straighter. "That makes no sense."
Carla didn't answer. Her fingers scrolled slowly to the bottom of the email. Then she frowned.
"What is it?" Bella asked, already feeling her stomach twist.
Carla turned the screen to her. "There's a message signed at the bottom."
Bella leaned closer. In a small italic font, just beneath the school crest, were the words:
You belong here now, Bella. We've been expecting you.