Chapter 105
That would be the day Ivy met her end.
But there was no way Ivy couldn’t see right through her little scheme.
“Alright, if you won’t talk, I won’t force you. It’s your birthday, after all,” Ivy said, her tone oddly light. “For your second birthday present, I’m sending you somewhere I spent three years. Let’s see if you’ll be as lucky as me–if you’ll ever make it back.”
Just as she finished speaking, the car screeched to a halt, and the door swung
open.
Ivy stood, glancing at the “kidnappers.” “I’m getting out. You all keep an eye on my little sister, alright? Try to find her a good family–maybe one of those old–money types, with plenty of sons who still can’t find a wife…”
“No… No, Ivy, you can’t do this!” Emma’s voice cracked with panic as she lunged forward, hands bound, desperately reaching for something–anything–to hold onto. “Human trafficking is illegal! You can’t do this to me!”
But Ivy had never really intended to get out. She just wanted to scare her.
Emma’s hands reached out again, brushing Ivy’s ankle. Without thinking, she surged forward and clung to her tightly.
“Sis… Ivy, I’m sorry–I admit it, everything, all of it… Three years ago, I lost my mind. I was jealous–jealous of how you were always perfect, how everyone adored you, how you and Micah were so close… I–I thought if you were gone, maybe I’d finally get a taste of what you had, all that love and attention… I was wrong, Ivy. I was so wrong-”
Hearing the confession she’d waited for, Ivy’s expression didn’t change. If anything, she looked even calmer.
“Say it clearly. What did you do three years ago?”
“I… I—”
Emma hesitated, trying to wriggle free, but suddenly something smooth and cold slipped down the collar of her shirt. She froze in terror. “I–I worked with the traffickers… I told them to take you, to sell you off, out in the middle of nowhere–please, get it out, get it out!”
The thing writhed against her chest and Emma’s whole body went rigid, refusing to
move.
11:52
Chapter 105
Once Emma finished, Ivy nodded at the man in black. He reached into Emma’s shirt and retrieved the object.
Ivy turned to her best friend, shooting her a questioning look.
Katrina grinned and gave a reassuring nod. “Relax, we got the whole thing on tape.” She waved the recorder and her phone in the air.
A moment later, she sent the video to Ivy.
Only then did Ivy allow herself a faint smile. She sat back, more at ease. “Emma, if you’d just been honest from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”
The car door slammed shut, and they were on the move again.
Emma was still crumpled on the floor, her wrists and ankles tied.
Soon, two men grabbed her arms and hauled her upright, forcing her back onto her
seat.
Blinded by the hood over her head, Emma looked around frantically, her voice trembling through her tears. “Let me go, please! I want to get out!”
“Not yet,” Ivy replied smoothly. “We’re not finished.”
“What more do you want from me? I already apologized–I confessed everything!”
“Oh, there’s more I want to know…” Ivy’s voice was gentle, almost curious. “When did you start hating me? I treated you like my own sister–when did that change?”
It was the question that had haunted Ivy for three years.
She’d always thought Emma was sweet and innocent, grateful to be part of the family.
So when, exactly, did such darkness take root in her heart?
Emma was quiet for a moment, then finally spoke, her voice thick with resentment. “At first, I was grateful. I really was. I wanted to cherish the chance your family gave me… But then, one day, I overheard Mom and Dad talking about why they adopted me in the first place.”
Ivy leaned forward, intrigued. “What did you hear?”
Emma’s face was hidden by the hood, but her anger was clear in her voice. “They only took me in because you were a sickly child. Some so–called priest told them-”
–
11:52
Chapter 100
Chapter 106