Vivi froze. The victorious smile that had adorned her face vanished in an instant. Her gaze grew uneasy, while Mr. Hardinata slowly furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean?” Mr. Hardinata asked.
Raya finally turned around completely. She looked at her grandfather calmly, but her eyes held the pain she had kept buried all this time.
“Aunt Vivi never told you?”
Vivi hurriedly cut in. “Raya! Don’t make baseless accusations!”
Raya shifted her gaze to Vivi. “I haven’t accused you, Aunt. I’m just asking.”
“You…”
“If you really didn’t do anything, why are you so afraid?”
Vivi fell silent.
Mr. Hardinata looked back and forth between them. Confusion began to show on the old man’s face.
“Explain it to me,” he said firmly.
Raya sighed.
“I didn’t go there that night looking for trouble. I was set up.”
“Who set you up?”
Raya gave a faint smile. “Aunt Vivi.”
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Vivi shook her head rapidly. “Papa, don’t believe her just like that! She’s only trying to shift the blame.”
Raya didn’t respond. Instead, she reached into the small bag slung over her shoulder. She pulled out a phone and held it up in front of them.
“I have proof.”
Vivi’s face immediately went pale.
Mr. Hardinata stepped closer. “What proof?”
“A recording of a conversation between the person who was paid to set me up and the person who ordered them to do it.” Raya looked straight at Vivi. “And the voice of the person giving the order is crystal clear.”
Vivi took a step back. “That’s impossible…”
Raya smiled bitterly. “Why is it impossible, Aunt?”
“You fabricated everything!” Vivi shouted.
“Then let’s listen to it together.”
Raya tapped the screen of her phone. A voice recording began to play. At first, all they could hear was the faint voice of a man. But a few seconds later, a woman’s voice they all knew rang out.
Vivi’s voice.
“Make sure she’s there that night. Don’t let her be able to deny anything.”
Mr. Hardinata fell silent. His eyes widened. Meanwhile, Vivi stood rigidly, as if all the strength had drained from her body.
Raya stopped the recording. “Still want to say I’m lying?”
There was no answer.
Mr. Hardinata stared at his daughter, his expression slowly hardening. “Vivi…”
“No, Papa!” Vivi hurriedly shook her head. “That isn’t my voice!”
Raya let out a soft chuckle. “Then let’s prove it in front of the police.”
Those words sent Vivi into an even greater panic. “Raya, don’t!”
For the first time, Vivi’s voice no longer sounded like an aunt scolding her niece. She sounded like someone who was afraid.
Raya put her phone back in her bag.
“I don’t want to take this that far.”
Vivi looked at her hopefully. “Really?”
Raya nodded slowly. “I just want you to stop pretending to be the victim, Aunt.”
Vivi’s face tensed again.
Raya then looked at Mr. Hardinata. “And you don’t need to worry, Grandpa. I never went there to do anything shameful.” She paused briefly. “I went because I was looking for the person who set me up.”
Mr. Hardinata remained silent. But this time, there was no anger in his eyes. There was guilt instead.
“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”
Raya smiled faintly. “Because every time I speak, no one believes me.” Raya’s gaze shifted to Vivi. “Including the person who supposedly took my parents’ place.”
Vivi lowered her head. Raya then walked past them. But after only a few steps, Mr. Hardinata’s voice sounded again.
“Raya.”
Raya stopped.
“Come with me tomorrow.”
Raya turned around. “We’ll settle this matter.”
Mr. Hardinata glanced at Vivi.
“And this time, I want to hear everything. No one is allowed to hide anything.”
Vivi bit her lip. Her hands clenched tightly.
Meanwhile, Raya merely smiled faintly. That night, she felt the truth beginning to take her side.