Hired To Destroy My Own Sister

"You little devil! You ran away from home just to come back and ruin your sister's life, didn't you?"

Slap. The sound cracked through the air a split second before the sting erupted across my face. Linda had hit me. Hard.

Her expression was venomous, her hand already raised for a second strike—but Griffin stepped between us, his brow furrowed.

"What's going on here? Do you know her?"

I cupped my stinging cheek, making myself small and fragile. "Sir, ma'am… I'm sorry, have we met?"

Sloan practically vibrated with vindictive energy. "Griffin, you have no idea what's really going on. 'Lila' is my sister, Avery Shaw. She's mentally unstable."

"She tore our family apart years ago. My parents finally threw her out, and now she's back under a fake name to destroy my life and steal you from me."

She looked impossibly smug, as if she'd just played a winning card. "I knew you wouldn't believe me if I just told you, so I called my parents. We set a little trap for her, and look. Caught red-handed."

She gave me a pitying sneer. "Avery, has your illness gotten worse? We might have to find a facility with better security this time."

Mark quickly jumped in, practically fawning over Griffin. "That's right. My daughter has problems—she's a danger to Sloan. You can't just let her wander around."

With that, they each grabbed one of my arms, trying to drag me toward their car.

But they clearly didn't expect my reaction. I didn't struggle. I just widened my eyes, a flicker of envy in my gaze. "I wish I had parents…"

Then I shook my head, tears welling but stubbornly refusing to fall. "Sloan, I understand you don't like me. But you're the golden girl. You have everything—loving parents, Griffin's devotion."

"You deserve the best. I'm just an orphan from who-knows-where."

"Just being at this school feels like a dream I don't deserve. Why would I ever dare to imagine I could be part of a family like the Lancasters?"

I looked at her, my expression serene but heartbroken. "Why would you make up such a cruel lie? Why go to such lengths just to hurt me?"

Before anyone else could react, Griffin spoke. "Lila is the orphaned daughter of an old family friend. You're mistaken."

Even he didn't seem to notice the shift in his own voice—no longer cold or neutral, but fiercely protective.

Linda was furious. "Avery, you little liar! You lived in our house for more than a decade! You think I can't prove who you are?!"

But the more frantically she swiped through her photo gallery, the whiter her face became. "It's… it's impossible…"

Sloan leaned in, her own panic rising. But no matter how deep they dug, they found nothing.

No photos. No records. Not a single trace of Avery Shaw.

Of course they couldn't. At my request, and with the Lancasters' bottomless resources, the hackers I'd hired had wiped every digital trace of Avery Shaw from their lives.

The Shaws had always despised me. Why would they have kept pictures anyway?

"Enough! How long are you going to keep this charade up?" Griffin snapped. His patience had evaporated. He'd disliked Mark and Linda on sight, and now his tolerance for Sloan was wearing dangerously thin.

Sloan froze. "Griffin, you don't believe me? Lila really is my crazy sister!"

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I thought you were different from your parents. But this? Ganging up on a girl who's done nothing to you? Kicking someone when they're down? I'm deeply disappointed."

Sloan tried to protest, but I gently reached out and took her hand.

"Sloan, I grew up without parents. I know what a precious gift that is. If you really thought I was your sister, maybe it's just because you miss her. You should go visit her. I'm sure she misses you, too."

That one sentence cemented my image: kind, patient, and tragically forgiving.

In the same breath, it was a stark reminder of the Shaw family's callous treatment of their other daughter.

I saw the change in Griffin's eyes.

The pity was gone.

In its place was something warmer, something more potent.

And a look like that?

That's how love usually begins.