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“Who called?”
Betty stumbled out of the dorm.
“I did!” She pointed at Chloe's mom. “This woman broke into the dorm, attacked a student, and hit me too.”
The police started taking statements.
Chloe's mom couldn't stop ranting,
“This shameless trash needed money for an abortion, so she made my daughter take out a loan! My poor girl!”
“You need to arrest her! Make her tell us where my daughter is! And she owes us compensation!”
She held up her hand. “Officers, look! She cut me with scissors! I'm bleeding! She has to pay for this!”
Betty didn't let her off easy. “If we're talking compensation, she hit me for no reason! I want compensation too!”
“Pfft! You old hag, aren't you almost in the grave? How dare you ask for money? You're just trying to scam us!”
I held Betty's arm.
“It's okay, ma'am. The police are here. We'll get justice. No need to argue with dogs right now.”
Chloe's dad tried to rush me again, but the cops held him back.
Chloe's mom kept shouting, still convinced I was behind everything.
Go on, shout. I wonder how she'll react when she finds out her “perfect daughter” is the one behind it all.
I calmly explained to the officers and countered,
“Her daughter is Chloe. We went to high school together and were close, but once college started, her parents began harassing me over the phone. That's when I realized Chloe had been using me as her scapegoat.”
“Bull! My Chloe is a good girl! You've been bullying her! Even made her pay your rent!”
“Then have you ever seen me living off-campus?” I questioned.
Chloe's mom thought for a second.
“How should I know? Maybe you used that place to hook up with guys! Why else would you be pregnant?!”
Her voice raised. She thought she had me.
“I found a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom! Don't think I don't have proof—I took a picture!”
“My sweet Chloe even said a girl's reputation matters, so she made me promise not to tell anyone. Otherwise, everyone would know what you did!”
She eagerly showed the photo to the cops, certain it proved her point.
I responded calmly, leaving her speechless:
“After you yelled at me last time, I cut ties with Chloe. I never went to your house. How could I have left a pregnancy test in your bathroom?”
Really, if they'd thought about it for even a second, they'd have realized something was off. But Chloe's parents would rather believe their daughter's lies.
Just then, Chloe's mom's phone rang.
Seeing it was Chloe, she answered right there in front of everyone:
“Honey, I've called you dozens of times! Where are you? I was so worried!”
