Christine waved her hands frantically.
"That won't work. There's no heating or air conditioning on the third floor—it's below freezing up there. It'll make Leo sick..."
The words were barely out before she realized her mistake. She clamped her mouth shut.
Dad shot her a withering glare, then turned to me with a softer expression.
"Lola, just bear with the toy room for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll make sure your sister-in-law moves out of your room."
Looking at his weary face, I felt my heart soften again.
But that night, I accidentally overheard a secret that shattered everything.
At two in the morning, I woke up needing to use the bathroom and shuffled groggily toward the shared restroom at the end of the hall.
As I passed the master bedroom, I caught the sound of hushed voices inside.
Christine. And my father.
"When are you going to make her leave? Vivian said today that if Lola doesn't move out, she's taking Leo back to her parents' house!"
"What's the rush?" Dad's voice was clipped, irritated. "These things take time."
"How can I not rush? Vivian's pregnant with her second! If all this stress causes complications, how are you going to explain that to your son?"
"And another thing—is the stuff you've been giving her not working? It's been over a week. She hasn't shown any symptoms at all."
Every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.
Stuff? What stuff?
"Of course it's working." Dad's voice dropped even lower. "How do you think her mother went?"
I clamped both hands over my mouth. Mom—Mom died from organ failure after the car accident. That's what they told me.
"Then increase the dose!" Christine hissed through clenched teeth. "Hit her from both sides. I refuse to believe we can't finish her off. She has to die—it's the only way the house transfers to Rhys's name without raising suspicion. That's the only thing that'll keep Vivian quiet."
"I know. I'll handle it..."
I backed into the storage room, locked the door, and pressed my spine against it.
My whole body was shaking.
All these years, I'd believed Christine genuinely cared about me.
After Mom passed, she was the one who braided my hair, attended parent-teacher conferences, brewed brown sugar tea when my cramps were bad.
I even remembered my senior year—I'd had a fever, and she sat by my hospital bed the entire night.
Was all of it a lie?
And Dad. The man who, in every memory I had, loved my mother more than anything—he was the one who helped kill her?
No wonder I'd been dizzy and nauseous lately. I'd chalked it up to exhaustion.
They'd been poisoning me.
Don't panic.
If I stormed out there now to confront them, I had no proof. I'd only tip them off.
I had to stay calm. For Mom.
The next morning, I acted as though nothing had happened and got up at my usual time.
Dad and Christine had taken Leo to the park. Rhys was at work. That left just me and my sister-in-law.
She'd actually made breakfast.
"Lola, how'd you sleep last night?"
I sat down at the table but didn't touch the food.
"Vivian, if you have something to say, just say it."
Her smile stiffened. She lowered herself into the chair across from me.
"Lola, I was up all night thinking about this. I know I was harsh yesterday, but you have to see things from my side."
"Leo's about to start school. I'm pregnant again. The expenses are real, and your brother's salary only goes so far..."
She paused, then pressed on.
"You're Leo's aunt, after all. If we actually kicked you out, people would talk—say we couldn't tolerate family under our own roof. So here's what I'm thinking: you stay, but you contribute ten thousand a month toward household expenses."
"Honestly, a place like this in this neighborhood? You'd be looking at thirty thousand a month on the rental market, easy. Ten thousand is the family discount." She straightened in her seat. "But going forward, you'll need to pull your weight around the house—groceries, cooking, cleaning, picking up and dropping off Leo. All of it."
"Oh, and that New Year's Eve dinner? It cost your brother eighty-eight thousand. You should chip in for that too."
Looking at that entitled expression on her face, I couldn't help but laugh.
"You know what, sis? You're absolutely right. If someone's living in another person's house, they should pay for it."
Her eyes lit up. "You agree?"
I let out a cold scoff.
"But the one who should be paying isn't me. It's you."
Her expression froze mid-smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I tapped the table slowly, deliberately.
"This villa is mine."
"I've let you all live here rent-free out of family courtesy. But since you're so concerned about boundaries, let me draw some clear ones. You have one week to move out."
I paused, letting that sink in.
"Of course, if you'd like to stay, that's fine too. Ten thousand a month. Family discount."
"Oh, and that New Year's Eve dinner? I picked up the tab. Don't forget to pay me back."
The color drained from her face. She completely lost it.
"You're lying! There's no way this house is yours!"
