Chapter 3

Mom spent the rest of that night on the phone with her lawyers.

By the time I brought her a cup of tea, she had her laptop open and was combing through financial records line by line. Dad had married into the Caldwell family. The house, the cars, the investment accounts — all of it traced back to Mom's side. He'd signed a prenup before the wedding, and her legal team was already making sure he wouldn't walk away with a single cent more than the law required.

"What about Nolan?" I sat down across from her.

Her fingers stopped on the keyboard.

Nolan. Fifteen years in our home. He wasn't Mom's son — Dad had swapped him in as a baby, a prop to hold the whole lie in place. But Nolan had no clue. To him, Mom was Mom and I was his big sister. He used to follow me around everywhere, slide his allowance under my door when he thought I was having a rough week.

"I've looked into boarding schools." Mom kept her voice even, but something shifted behind her eyes. "He's an innocent kid. I know that. But every time I look at him, all I see is fifteen years of that man's lies. I can't do it. Not right now."

I didn't push. She had enough to deal with.

"When did you figure all of this out?" She closed the laptop and looked at me. "From the beginning."

I leaned back and started talking.

"Three months ago. I got out of a training camp early and went downtown — I wanted to pick up that pearl necklace you'd been eyeing. For your birthday."

Mom's lips parted slightly. I'd told her I ordered it online.

"I walked past the jewelry counter and there he was. Arm around Renee. Laurel sitting across from them, trying on a custom diamond bracelet that probably cost more than my entire gear setup." I didn't let my voice shake. "Last month, for my eighteenth birthday, he gave me a pair of wrist guards he grabbed off a clearance rack."

Mom's hands curled into fists on her knees.

"I didn't confront him. I needed proof first." I kept going. "I started pouring out his smoothies every morning and making my own breakfast. My hands stopped trembling within a week. I jumped from fourth place at club meets back to first, just like that. Then I found a doctor on my own and ran six rounds of blood work over two months. Every single panel came back positive."

I paused.

"And the whole time — every single morning — he sat across from me at breakfast asking about my training, telling me to rest up and eat well. Then he'd walk out the door and buy Laurel top-of-the-line carbon arrows and a custom bow."

Mom pressed her palms flat against her thighs. Holding herself still.

"It gets worse." I leaned forward. "Last week, Laurel walked up to me at the club and cut my bowstring with a pair of scissors. Right in front of me. When I got in her face about it, she didn't even flinch."

I could still see her standing there. Brand-new shooting jacket Dad bought her. Twirling those scissors between her fingers like a toy.

Can't you tell? I'm teaching you a lesson on your daddy's behalf.

"She thinks because he's got her back, she can do whatever she wants to me." I looked Mom in the eye. "She has no idea what's coming."

Mom stood up. Crossed the room. Pulled me to my feet and held on tight.

"Tomorrow," she said. "Go take what's yours. The rest of this mess — leave it to me."

I hugged her back. Then I went to my room and laid out my gear for the morning.