Chapter 47: Hours Earlier

CHAPTER 47

LILITH

HOURS EARLIER

“Now, now. Don’t get your panties in a twist, Mom.” I laugh.

My father’s nostrils twitch—so much anger for one tiny man.

But I get it. They’re pissed. I’ve had their precious daughter for the past several years while they cried themselves to sleep every night, thinking about what happened to her when she was two.

She was taken from the hospital the day I came into their life.

ME! The daughter who’s always been here. Always begging for an ounce of love.

But they saved it all for her. The favorite daughter. Even her nursery still looks the same as it did the day she vanished.

“How could you not tell us you found her?!” my father shouts. “That she worked for our hotel? We would’ve done anything to be reunited with her!”

“Yikes, Dad. Don’t give yourself a heart attack.”

My mother slaps me hard across my face, shaking her head at me in disgust as tears continue to fall. “What is wrong with you?! She’s your sister! Our daughter! Don’t you care? Don’t you love her?”

“Love?” I grit. “You wanna talk about LOVE?!” I get into her face. “Where was your love for ME?! The daughter who was alive and well? The daughter who was by your side all these years, begging for a tiny piece of this so-called love you like to throw around! Where was that, huh, Mom?” I grind my teeth, unable to hold back at the hypocrisy. “I’ll tell you where: it was with her! Instead of focusing on the daughter you have, you saved all your love for the daughter who was dead. I should’ve been enough! Me! But I never was.”

“She’s not dead.” My father’s icy glare hits me and I barely feel it.

I return with a thunderous look. “That’s what you have to say after I just spilled my heart out to you? Figures.” My upper lip curls. “You don’t deserve her. And after today, you won’t have her at all.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Mom’s eyes flare.

Before she can wonder, I remove the taser Julius got me and zap my father first before I zap her too, striking both of them hard on the head until they groan. Removing a pair of zip ties, I tie my father’s hands behind his back, tazing him again before I bind my mother’s arms too.

I wait for them to both come to, standing above them and staring with a smug look.

It’s finally happening. I’ll finally take her away from them for good.

“Now you both stay here and think about what you’ve done, and once your angel daughter is gone, we can all finally be happy.”

“Wait!” Mom calls. “Please, sweetheart, whatever you’re planning, don’t do it! We can all be happy together. I promise!”

I let out a snort. “Oh, Mother, you had your chance with me, and you blew it. But don’t you worry. I’ll make sure she dies quickly.”

“Stop!” Dad hollers. “We love you, baby, please!”

“Hush. I have places to be.”

And a brat to pick up from preschool.

I drag the fake ID out of my wallet. It pays to have friends who know how to hack a school’s computer system and add Grandma to the pick-up list.

Now let’s hope the school doesn’t make me take my sunglasses off.

“Please, Lilith!” Amara begs, and I almost feel something.

Almost. But it’s not enough.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” she cries. “Don’t kill me and my babies.”

Oh, right. She’s pregnant. I almost forgot. That’s too bad.

“You can save your tears, dear sister. They’re a damn waste.”

“I love you, Lilith. Please! If you tell me how to fix this, I will! We can be a family! I wanted one for so long! You know I did.”

I blow out an exhausted sigh. “That’ll never happen. You ruined my life!”

She jerks back from my shouting. “How?”

“Every single day you’ve been alive, every day they looked for you and swore they’d find you, was a day that I lived in the shadows.” I get to my feet. “And when you’re gone, we’ll all finally be happy. I’ll give them the closure they’ve always needed.” My mouth curls. “I’ll give them your death.”

She sobs, unable to control her pathetic emotions. “When did you know? When did you find out we’re sisters?”

“Oh, I knew before I inserted myself into Emily’s life. Became her instant BFF just so I could get to you.”

My grin is smug, and why wouldn’t it be? None of them knew shit! I deserve an Oscar.

“I took an ancestry test online, and surprise, we matched.”

“Oh my God. You’re…you’re GS!”

“Ding, ding.”

“I—I messaged you! I thought maybe you were my dad’s child or something, but you never wrote back.”

I snicker. “Of course not. I couldn’t tell you I discovered who you were. And when I followed you to Julius’s house, I put it all together. Because our parents always suspected someone who worked in the hospital took you. Then I discovered Julius’s dad worked as security there when I was born, and voila! I had the story.”

“But my mother never wanted me,” she whispers. “I don’t understand.”

I shrug. “Don’t know what to tell you, sis, but that’s what happened. He took you.”

She starts to cry again. My God, she’s pitiful. What did my parents ever see in her?

“Why Julius? Why did he want me dead?” She pants. “What did I do to him?”

“Oh, that. Well, his father had a change of heart or something. Wanted to add you to the will. And Julius being Julius, he wanted to prevent that from happening.”

“Oh my God,” she whispers as I continue.

“He told me his father wouldn’t hear it, and after he failed to convince him not to give you any money, Julius decided you had to die. Isn’t he a peach?”

She studies my face through her grief, like she’s seeing me for the first time, and I hope she likes what she sees, because I’m damn amazing.

“If you ask me, I think his dad just wanted to play nice with you so you wouldn’t go digging.”

She cries.

Aww, she actually looks sad. How cute.

Flipping my hair back, I continue with the story. “After I followed you to the restaurant where you met him, we struck up a conversation. He didn’t exactly know I was your sister.” My grin grows. “I told him you were my crazy friend, trying to come between my family and me, and he bought it. I don’t think he cared what the reason was. He just wanted a partner.”

“How could I have been so blind?” she whispers.

“There, there. We played you well. Don’t fret too much, sis. No one can blame you.”

“Please, I need to see Fia. She’s probably so scared.” Big tears drip down her cheeks.

“Don’t worry. Fia will be home soon. I already texted Lena to leave her at the local hospital. I would never hurt our girl.”

She shudders, eyes puffy from all that crying. “You don’t have to do this. Please just let me go.”

“No can do. I’m afraid this is where your story ends and mine begins.” I lift my gun in the air.

Pop.

Amara’s eyes widen.

Blood leaks down into my eyes, and when I touch my forehead…

Is that my blood?

Well, this didn’t go as planned. Of course, she always ruins everything.