An Unfounded Debt

Mom's words were met with nods of agreement from everyone there. The judge looked at me sternly.

"Yara, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

When I remained silent, my younger brother, Andrew Guthrie, immediately jumped in to accuse me.

"Hmph, nothing to say, huh? Feeling guilty now? Let's see how you argue your way out of this now that we have witnessed and supporting evidence!"

I let out a chuckle. "Nothing to say? Andrew, you should know better than anyone who actually took Jocelyn's money!"

A flicker of unease passed through his eyes, but he quickly stiffened and shot back,

"What nonsense are you spouting? Jocelyn sacrificed her health and money for your college tuition. Now, she's just trying to get justice for herself!"

I sneered.

"Fine. Since you're so sure I went to college, why don't you tell everyone which college I attended? What major did I study?"

He clearly had not expected that question.

After a brief pause, he blurted out, "You've always resented Mom for favoring me, so we're not close. How would I know which college you went to? All I know is, without a prestigious degree, how could a multinational company hire you, let alone give you an important position?"

Before he could finish, Mom hurried to add, "Andrew is the youngest. Of course I gave him more care... That's only natural, but you're too jealous, too petty. You could never tolerate him. That's why I asked Jocelyn to take better care of you."

"As for the college? I know. You studied at Jargath College and majored in new media."

I let out a quiet snort. They had clearly done their homework.

The chairman of the company I work for graduated from Jargath College, and to give back to his alma mater, he returned every year for campus recruitment.

The moment she named the university, whispers spread through the courtroom. The looks directed at me were filled with undisguised contempt.

I calmly pulled out my phone, went to the university's website, and brought up the graduation photo for the Class of 2018, new media major.

"Take a look. If I really graduated from here, why am I not in the group photo?"

Jocelyn turned to look at Mom in confusion.

A flicker of panic crossed Mom's face, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Whose fault is that? Yours, of course. To celebrate graduation, you went out drinking with friends. You drank to the extent that you had a gastric hemorrhage and ended up hospitalized for five days."

To make her story more convincing, she threw out a hospital certificate, her tone full of bitter disappointment.

"I told you to be considerate of Jocelyn and not to waste her hard-earned money, but you never listened. That one night alone, you spent thousands of dollars on alcohol."

A collective gasp rippled through the room.

"Spending thousands? Her sister worked herself to the bone to support her, and she just wastes it like that? Utterly shameless."

"Some people don't even earn a few thousand a month, and she blew it all in one night? That's outrageous."

Jocelyn's eyes widened in fury.

"What? If you asked me for money and used it properly, I could accept it, but to think you spent it on drinking and partying… Do you think my money comes easily? What kind of sins did I commit in my past life to end up with a sister like you?"

Her chest heaved violently, her face turning ashen with rage. She looked at me as if she wanted to tear me apart.

"Yara, I've changed my mind. I don't want just those three hundred thousand dollars anymore. I want every single cent I ever gave to you back! Principal and interest, plus two hundred thousand dollars for emotional damages. Six hundred thousand dollars in total, and I won't accept a single cent less!"