Chapter 4

That was when I finally got it.

Some moms really didn't love their own kids.

'Fine. If I owe her, I'll pay her back. Then I'm free, right?'

Within a week, I applied for financial aid and started studying like crazy between work shifts.

Pure stubbornness kept me outside that mall all day.

I needed money.

A lot of it.

What I didn't realize was that working myself into the ground wasn't going to make me rich.

On my fourteenth day, my blood sugar crashed.

My vision went blurry.

Through the haze, I saw a white-haired woman talking to me.

Before I could answer, everything went black.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital.

A stranger had brought me in.

And just like that, my life started to change.

The first person I saw was the elderly woman sitting beside my bed.

Yesterday, I'd helped her with a cart full of recyclables at an intersection.

Now she was holding my hand, tears in her eyes.

"Annie, you're awake. I've been right here. Don't be scared. Don't be scared."

***

I stared at her, confused.

Before I could ask why she kept calling me Annie, Mom called.

For one stupid second, I thought she might actually care.

Nope.

She wanted money.

"Lucia, you've been working all weekend, right? You must've made a decent amount. Send me the money at the end of the month. Actually, just send it straight to Ryan."

The sharp hospital smell stung my nose and made my eyes water.

I was about to tell her I'd passed out and ended up here when the door flew open.

A young guy in a suit walked in.

Everything about him screamed expensive.

'Who is he here for?'

Then he came straight toward us.

"Grandma, why did you wander off again? I almost had a heart attack when I heard you were at the hospital!"

Oh.

So he was her grandson.

I figured he'd take his grandma and leave.

Instead, he looked straight at me.

His eyes reddened.

"Grandma... she's the Annie you were talking about."

I just stared at him.

I had no clue what was going on.

Then a contract landed in my hands.

Except this time, it wasn't another bill.

It was a paid-companion contract.

The elderly woman still had a tight grip on my hand, staring at me like she was afraid I'd disappear.

The guy stepped forward.

"I'm Logan Carter. My grandma misses her granddaughter, Annie. She thought you were her. She's been looking for you for days.

"I also heard your call just now. Sounds like things are rough. Maybe we can help each other."

I read the contract from top to bottom, feeling like none of this was real.

Then it clicked.

Logan was telling the truth.

Three years ago, his sister Annie had died in a car accident near the mall.

His grandma never got over it. She started collecting recyclables around the mall every day.

Then she saw me handing out flyers.

And thought I was Annie.

Annie had been working there too when the accident happened.

And for the past three days, her grandma had been searching for me.

Then today, I collapsed right in front of her.

This time, she got to save her "granddaughter."