Chapter 4

Lily's POV

"The police?"

Dad's getting up from the table, irritation all over his face. He grabs the phone from the housekeeper's hand. "This is Mr. Hayes. What's this about?"

The voice on the other end is loud enough that even Mom can hear it from where she's sitting. "Sir, we found a young woman's body in an abandoned warehouse outside town. From what was on her and the DNA test, we're pretty sure it's your daughter—"

"Stop right there!" Dad cuts him off, his voice full of rage. "If my daughter paid you to pull this stunt, you better stop right now. Pretending to be a cop is a serious crime!"

There's a two-second silence on the other end, then a much harder voice comes through. "Sir, I'm only gonna say this one more time. County homicide, badge 7749. Your daughter is dead. Get down here now for the ID."

Click.

They hang up on him.

Dad's standing there holding the receiver, frozen in place. His hand's shaking a little, but his face still shows more anger than fear.

"Ridiculous!" He slams the phone back down. "Let's go to the station. I want to see exactly how much money that girl spent to hire people for this circus act!"

Mom's setting down her napkin, frowning hard. "She's completely crossed the line. Paying people to stage her own death? That girl's got serious problems. She's completely lost it."

Nathan gets up, his eyes cold as ice. "Well, I can't wait to see how far she takes this little show."

"I should come with you to support her..." Claire stands up timidly, linking her arm through Nathan's. "She's gone way too far this time. Death isn't something you fake."

The whole family heads out the door.

Alexander follows along. As the "fiancé," he figures he should see how this plays out.

I'm sitting on top of their car, watching the city fly past.

The atmosphere inside is tense, but it's angry tension, not grief.

"When we get back," Mom speaks first, "we're sending her straight to that boarding school on the East Coast. I hear they're very strict there. They specialize in troubled teens."

Nathan laughs coldly. "You think boarding school's enough? I say we commit her to a psych ward. Sane people don't pull the death card on their own family."

Alexander's voice comes from the front seat. "After this is over, I need to have a serious talk with her about the engagement. That kind of crazy doesn't belong in our family. She pulls anything else like this, the engagement's off."

Then Mom sighs. There's no sadness in that sigh, just a kind of relieved lightness. "Honestly, when we sent people to find her all those years ago, nobody expected we'd actually get her back from that place."

"These past few years, we've all seen how close you and Claire have become. When you think about it, the engagement should've gone to Claire from the start."

Claire lowers her head, her cheeks flushing, saying quietly, "Mom, don't say that..." But there's a flash of triumph in her eyes.

Nathan nods thoughtfully. "Maybe this would be better for everyone. She's not good enough for you, and she's not good enough for our family's reputation."

I'm sitting on the car roof, listening as they plan out my future, sentence by sentence.

How nice.

They've got everything figured out.

Too bad the girl giving you all those headaches doesn't exist anymore.

The car stops in front of the county police station. It's not until they walk into the lobby and catch that particular official smell that Dad's steps hesitate just slightly.

"Who's the family of the deceased?" A young female officer approaches them, holding a clear evidence bag.

Inside the bag is a phone with a shattered screen.

Nathan recognizes it immediately. That's the old phone he'd tossed aside, the one I'd picked up like it was treasure.

His pupils contract, but he stays stubborn. "The phone's real. The person might not be. Look, are you sure she didn't set this whole thing up with someone?"

The officer's looking at them like they're monsters. She takes a deep breath and says coldly, "Follow me."

Through a long hallway, at the end there's a door with a single word on it: Morgue.

Mom pulls her coat tighter, her voice starting to shake. "Why are we at the morgue? Is she hiding in there?"

The officer doesn't answer, just pushes open the heavy metal door.

A mix of disinfectant and chemical smell hits them in the face. In the center of the room sits a stainless steel table with a white sheet covering it, outlining the shape of a body.

The outline is thin and small, fragile as paper.

"Her face and body took a beating. Brace yourselves." The officer's voice carries no emotion. Maybe she's seen death too many times, but facing this cold family, there's still a hint of anger in her tone.

"Drama queen." Nathan lets go of Claire's hand and strides forward. His footsteps are heavy, like he's trying to pump himself up or vent his rage.

"Get up, Lily! Is this fun for you, playing dead?"

He reaches out and grabs the corner of the white sheet.

He's convinced that any second now, that annoying sister of his will awkwardly open her eyes, jump up from the table, and beg for mercy.

I'm floating above the body, looking down at Nathan's twisted face.

Nathan.

This is the first time you've ever reached for me like this.

Too bad it's too late.

He yanks the sheet back.