Chapter 9: The Last Attempt To Take My Dream Away
The words from the admissions office replayed in my mind long after the call ended.
Someone submitted evidence claiming my application was dishonest.
Someone claiming to be my biological relative.
I sat there holding my phone while the room around me became strangely quiet.
The sunlight coming through my window looked the same.
The sound of cars outside sounded the same.
But everything felt different.
Because I thought the battle was finally over.
I thought once the truth came out, everyone would stop trying to control my future.
I was wrong.
My father walked toward me.
“Maya.””
I looked up.
His face was serious.
“What did they say?””
I swallowed.
“Someone challenged my scholarship.””
His expression changed.
“What?””
“They said my application was dishonest.””
For a moment, anger flashed across his face.
Not at me.
Never at me.
At the idea that someone would try to hurt me again.
“Who?””
I shook my head.
“They didn’t say.””
A memory suddenly came back.
The woman’s voice.
The hesitation.
“The person said they were my biological relative.””
My father went still.
Not confused.
Concerned.
And that scared me.
“Dad?””
He looked away.
“Maya, there’s something I should have told you.””
My stomach tightened.
Not again.
Another secret.
Another hidden piece of my life.
“What?””
He sat on the edge of my bed.
“Before your mother passed away, she had been searching for someone.””
“Who?””
He took a breath.
“Her older sister.””
I frowned.
“My aunt?””
He nodded.
“You had an aunt you never met.””
“Why?””
“That’s complicated.””
I stood up.
“Dad, I’m tired of complicated.””
He looked at me.
And I knew he understood.
“I’m sorry.””
I sat back down.
“What happened?””
“Your mother had a disagreement with her sister years before you were born. They stopped speaking.””
“Why?””
“She never told me the entire story.””
I looked at the folder on my desk.
“And now that person is challenging my scholarship?””
“I don’t know.””
“But you think so.””
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
A few hours later, the admissions office sent us a copy of the complaint.
My father opened the email.
I stood beside him.
The document loaded.
The first line made my chest tighten.
*Statement from Rebecca Carter.*
My aunt.
My father read silently.
Then he handed me the page.
I scanned the words.
The letter claimed my application exaggerated my responsibilities.
It claimed my academic achievements were supported by “false family narratives.””
It claimed my father had pressured the university to accept me.
I felt sick.
Not because it was true.
Because someone had written lies that sounded almost believable.
That was the scary thing about lies.
The worst ones weren’t impossible.
They were close enough to reality to hurt.
My father looked at me.
“Maya.””
“I’m okay.””
“You don’t have to be.””
I looked at him.
“I worked too hard to let someone take this away.””
That night, we called the university.
We explained everything.
We provided documents.
School records.
Employment records.
Teacher recommendations.
Everything.
But there was one problem.
The university needed time to review.
Time.
The one thing I didn’t have.
My enrollment deadline was approaching.
The next morning at school, I tried to act normal.
I went to class.
I smiled at my friends.
I answered questions.
But inside, I felt like I was waiting for someone to decide whether my future belonged to me.
After lunch, my counselor, Ms. Parker, called me into her office.
“Maya.””
She closed the door.
“I heard about the review.””
I nodded.
“I’m sorry.””
She shook her head.
“Don’t apologize.””
She opened a file.
“I want you to remember something.””
“What?””
“Your application was not built on one person’s opinion.””
She pulled out my records.
“Your grades are real.””
Another paper.
“Your work history is real.””
Another.
“Your community service is real.””
She looked at me.
“Someone can question your story. They cannot erase your effort.””
I smiled slightly.
“Thank you.””
She nodded.
“Now, there is something else.””
“What?””
She hesitated.
“Someone contacted me.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
“Your aunt.””
I sat straighter.
“What did she say?””
Ms. Parker looked uncomfortable.
“She asked questions about your home life.””
“What kind of questions?””
“She wanted to know if you were being pressured by your father.””
I frowned.
“She thinks my dad forced me?””
“Yes.””
I laughed quietly.
“That’s impossible.””
Ms. Parker studied me.
“Are you sure?””
The question surprised me.
“Yes.””
Not because my father was perfect.
He wasn’t.
But because I knew him.
“He spent years telling me I could become anything.””
Ms. Parker nodded.
“That’s what I told her.””
I looked up.
“You spoke to her?””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
Ms. Parker sighed.
“She said she was protecting you.””
My hands tightened.
Everyone used those words.
Protecting you.
Helping you.
Keeping you safe.
But sometimes those words hid the same thing.
Control.
When I got home, Vanessa was waiting.
She looked nervous.
“Maya.””
“What happened?””
She looked down.
“I need to tell you something.””
My heart sank.
“What now?””
She flinched.
And I immediately felt guilty.
But I couldn’t pretend anymore.
She nodded.
“I understand.””
She took a breath.
“Rebecca contacted me.””
My eyes widened.
“My aunt contacted you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Before Evelyn came.””
I stared.
“What did she want?””
Vanessa sat down.
“She wanted information about your scholarship.””
I felt anger rising.
“Why didn’t you tell us?””
“Because I didn’t know what to do.””
“You could have told Dad.””
“I was afraid.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Fear.
The same thing that started everything.
“What did you give her?””
“Nothing.””
I looked at her.
“Nothing?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“She asked me to confirm that you were under pressure. That your father was pushing you toward college because he was trying to fulfill your mother’s dreams.””
I stared.
“And what did you say?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“I told her the truth.””
“What truth?””
“That Maya is the one who wants this.””
The answer surprised me.
She continued.
“I told her you were never forced.””
My eyes softened slightly.
It was a small thing.
But it mattered.
For the first time, Vanessa had chosen me.
Not because she was afraid.
Because she finally understood.
That evening, my father received another email.
This time, from the university.
He opened it slowly.
I stood beside him.
Vanessa stood behind us.
The three of us stared at the screen.
The message was short.
*After reviewing the submitted concerns, we require one final meeting with Maya and all involved parties before making our decision.*
My heart dropped.
“All involved parties?””
My father read the next line.
Then he became silent.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“The meeting includes the person who submitted the complaint.””
I swallowed.
“Rebecca.””
He nodded.
The next sentence appeared at the bottom.
*The meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow morning.*
I stared at the screen.
Tomorrow.
The person who had spent years away from my life was suddenly going to decide whether I deserved the future I fought for.
But this time…
I wasn’t a little girl.
I wasn’t silent.
And I wasn’t alone.
The next morning, when I walked into the university conference room, I saw a woman sitting across the table.
She looked at me.
And I immediately recognized her.
Not because I had met her before.
Because I had seen her eyes.
They were my mother’s eyes.
Rebecca Carter stood.
“Maya.””
Her voice trembled.
“I know you probably hate me.””
I didn’t answer.
Because before I could say anything, she placed a folder on the table.
And inside it was something I never expected to see.
A document with my mother’s signature.
May you like
A document that could either save my future…
or destroy everything I believed about my family.
