Chapter 4

I thought I'd scared them off. At the very least, I thought they'd back off after our confrontation that day.

But I'd underestimated how shameless they were.

Sierra's room was unusually quiet that night. When I opened the door, she was curled up on her bed with her back to me. Her phone lay on the floor, its screen shattered.

I picked it up. The screen was still on, and Dad had texted her.

"Sierra, I'm sorry. Your mom and I really wanted you to come stay with us, but Shannon wouldn't let you. You probably don't know this, but she's always thought you took our love away from her. That's why she doesn't want you to be happy.

"I've always loved you two equally. She went to summer camp back then, too. She even left you home alone for a whole month so she could go. I wanted to make it up to you, which is why I wanted to bring you here. But she won't let you come no matter what. It's disappointing, but there's nothing we can do. We won't contact you again. Take care, sweetheart."

Sierra sent him multiple messages after that, but Dad never replied.

My hands shook as I walked over to Sierra's bed. "Sierra, listen to me. It's not what you think…"

"Get out!" Sierra screamed, throwing a pillow at me. "Are you happy now? They won't talk to me anymore. It's all your fault. Why? Why won't you let me go? What right do you have to stop me?"

After that day, Sierra seemed like a different person. She stopped talking to me. Every day, she did nothing but eat and lock herself in her room to study.

Unable to get through to Dad, she unleashed all her fury on me.

Sierra didn't understand why I'd been so adamant about keeping her away from them. She hated me even more for making her lose our parents.

But I couldn't tell her a single thing.

I couldn't tell her what kind of place that summer camp was, what I'd gone through at 18, or what kind of deal our parents had made for money.

I wanted her to go her whole life without ever finding out about those disgusting things.

Later, she got into that prestigious college. The day her acceptance letter arrived, she blocked me on every platform.

Her last text read, "I'll find a way to cover my living expenses at college and repay you for everything you've spent on me. Don't contact me again."

I sat on the couch all night, staring at her message.

When school started, I went to campus to look for her. I wanted to give her the money, but she wouldn't take it.

My phone rang, pulling me back to reality.

Helen said, "I've thought about it, Shannon. No matter what you think, Sierra has the right to know the truth. You can't hide it from her under the pretense of protecting her.

"Also, have you thought about this? Would your parents keep hounding her after you die? And if she grew fond of them because you hid the truth from her, would she end up believing them and suffering the same fate as you?

"Only by knowing the truth can she avoid suffering the same fate as you."

I gripped my phone, feeling my heart skip a beat. "What did you do?"

"I told her part of the truth. Sorry, Shannon. I can't see you like this."

With that, Helen hung up.

I stood there, feeling cold all over. Then someone knocked on the door. I looked through the peephole and saw Sierra.