Chapter 17
Back at the hotel, my family sat in silence for a long time.
Nestled in my mother’s embrace, I gradually calmed down.
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I knew my parents were worried about me. To reassure them, I ordered dinner and smiled as I tried to comfort them.
“Mom, Dad, it’s all in the past now. I’ve moved on, so please don’t look so sad, okay?”
Seeing how mature I was being, they patted my hand, their eyes full of concern. “Autumn, since you’ve moved on, I won’t ask too many questions that might bring up painful memories. But I need you to be honest about one thing–did Ryder ever hurt you in other ways?”
I was caught off guard by the question.
Thinking back on everything that had happened over the years, and especially right before leaving Boston, I didn’t know where to begin.
Most of my pain came from discovering that Ryder had been playing with my feelings all along, leaving me feeling helpless and lost.
But emotions are complicated things, impossible to fully explain or judge in simple terms.
After thinking for a long time, I realized there was one incident that definitely needed to be addressed.
So I told them what had happened at the bar the night before we left.
After hearing the whole story, my father pounded on the table in rage, and my mother looked horrified.
They couldn’t let this go. Immediately, they booked flights back to Boston. “Attempted sexual assault by manipulation is a crime! Autumn, don’t worry. We won’t let anyone who tried to hurt you get away with this.”
After resting for the night, our family’s first stop back in Boston was the bar to get the security footage, and then straight to the police station to file charges.
With solid evidence, the police brought in all the suspects for questioning that same day.
At first, Elle didn’t know what was happening, but when she saw me at the police station, her face went pale.
Before the formal questioning even began, she rushed over to me, trying to take control of the situation.
“Didn’t you move away? What are you doing back here?”
“Settling scores, of course. You know exactly what you did.”
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17
Thu 24 Apr
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Though panic flashed across Elle’s face, she still tried to deny everything.
“I didn’t do anything. How dare you accuse me!”
I didn’t bother arguing with her nonsense.
“Whether it’s an accusation or not, the security footage proves everything. It’s not up to you to decide.”
Soon, the clear surveillance video reminded Elle of everything that had happened
that night.
When she heard the police talking about pressing charges, she completely panicked and changed her previously arrogant attitude, starting to apologize.
“I’m sorry, I was jealou’s that night and wasn’t thinking clearly. But you weren’t actually hurt, so can we just let this go?”
Hearing this, I couldn’t help but laugh coldly.
At the time, I’d been so devastated by everything that had happened that I was desperate to leave Boston and hadn’t gotten around to dealing with this incident. What did she mean I “wasn’t actually hurt“?
If I hadn’t grabbed that ashtray, I might not have made it out of that bar alive! For Elle to show zero remorse for such a terrible act and to try to brush it off as nothing…
I absolutely couldn’t let that happen.
“Save that for court. I’m going to make sure you face every consequence of what you did.”
With those words, Elle’s world came crashing down.
Just the thought of possibly going to prison and having her bright future destroyed left her distraught. She turned to beg my father.
“Professor Sullivan, please, for old time’s sake, let me off just this once. You know how hard I’ve worked to get where I am. Please show mercy and give me another chance. I’m begging you!”
Looking at his once–promising student now crying and pleading, my father remained unmoved, telling her only one thing:
“You’ve disappointed me deeply.”
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