“I think there are a few files everyone should see.”
Chloe’s face changed.
Not confusion.
Fear.
Pure fear.
Dad saw it too.
“What kind of nonsense are you making up?” he demanded.
Nora remained completely calm.
“Aunt Chloe, last week you told Grandma and Grandpa that you spent Tuesday defending your doctoral thesis in molecular biology.”
Chloe immediately snapped,
“Because I did.”
“You also told them you spent the previous four nights working in the research archive.”
“Yes.”
Nora tapped a button.
An image appeared on the television.
At first, I didn’t understand what I was looking at.
Then I saw Chloe.
She was on the deck of a luxury yacht.
Bright swimwear.
A drink in her hand.
Ocean behind her.
The image had been captured in the background of a public social-media post.
A date and location appeared beside it.
Tuesday.
Dubai.
The exact day Chloe claimed she had been inside a university auditorium defending her thesis.
Mom went pale.
Chloe exploded.
“That’s fake!”
Nora didn’t react.
“The timestamp isn’t fake.”
“You edited it!”
“The geolocation data agrees with the timestamp.”
Chloe took an angry step forward.
Nora simply moved behind the coffee table and pressed another button.
A new screen appeared.
This time it showed university records.
Chloe’s full name.
