Chapter 40: Background Check

The next morning, Laura woke up to find Scott already awake and on his phone, looking at something that made his jaw tighten.“What’s wrong?” Laura asked as she sat up in bed.“Detective Chen sent over more information about Lily’s background,” Scott said without looking away from his phone. “It’s not good.”Laura felt her stomach drop. “What did he find?”Scott finally looked at her, and his expression was serious. “Lily spent her entire childhood bouncing between foster homes. She was never adopted because of her heart condition and the medical expenses that came with it. She had three surgeries by the time she was ten years old and spent months at a time in hospitals.”“Oh God,” Laura whispered because that meant their parents’ attempt to save Lily’s life by giving her up for adoption had completely backfired.“It gets worse,” Scott continued. “According to the records, some of the foster homes she was placed in were investigated for abuse and neglect. She ran a

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Chapter 41: The Confrontation Setup

Two days after Lily sent that text message about meeting alone, Scott’s security team finally tracked down where she was staying because she made a mistake and used her phone near a cell tower that pinged her location. Scott came into my room looking serious and told me they found her.“Where is she?” I asked immediately because I’d been waiting for this moment even though Iwas terrified of it.“She’s staying in an apartment building on the east side of the city,” Scott said, holding his phone up showing me a map with a red dot on it. “It’s not a great neighborhood, and the building looks pretty run down from the street view.”“When are we going?” I asked and started getting up from the bed where I’d been reading.“We’re not going,” Scott said firmly. “I’m going with Marcus and James, and you’re stayinghere where it’s safe.”I felt anger flare up in my chest because of course Scott would try to cut me out of this. “No way. I’m coming with you.”“Absolutely not,”

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Chapter 42: Meeting Lily

I couldn’t speak because seeing Lily standing there looking exactly like me was so overwhelming that my brain just stopped working, and all I could do was stare at her while she stared back with those eyes identical to mine but filled with so much anger.“Are you going to say something or just stand there gaping like a fish?” Lily asked, her tone harsh but with something underneath that sounded like pain.“I…” I started, but my voice came out shaky. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I wanted to meet you.”“Did you now?” Lily said and crossed her arms over her chest. “And what exactly did you want to say to me? ‘Sorry your life was terrible while mine was perfect’? ‘Sorry our parents chose you over me’?”“That’s not what happened,” I said, feeling Scott’s hand on my back, which was reassuring.“Can we come in and talk? I have something to show you.”Lily looked at all of us standing in the hallway then shrugged. “Why not? It’s not like I have anything better to

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Chapter 43: Lily’s Story

“What if I mess it up?” Lily asked, sounding scared now instead of angry. “What if I’m toodamaged to have a normal relationship with anyone?”“Then we’ll work through it,” I said. “Nobody’s perfect, Lily. We all have issues and baggagebut that doesn’t mean we can’t try.”Lily looked around her apartment, then back at me. “I don’t have anything to offer you. Nomoney, no home, no job. I’m a mess.”“I don’t care about any of that,” I said. “I just want to know you.”“Why?” Lily asked, voice breaking. “Why would you want to know someone like me?”“Because you’re my sister,” I said simply. “And I think if things had been different, we wouldhave been best friends.”That made Lily cry harder, and I sat down next to her on the mattress and put my armaround her. She didn’t pull away, which felt like progress.“I’ve been so angry at you,” Lily sobbed. “I’ve hated you for having everything I didn’t.”“I know,” I said. “And I don’t blame you for that.”“But it’s not your fault,

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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Contract with the devil : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 44

Chapter 40: Background Check

Chapter 41: The Confrontation Setup

Chapter 42: Meeting Lily

Chapter 43: Lily’s Story