Chapter 4

My dad set down the newspaper, picked up the photos, and flipped through them one by one, his face growing darker with each look.

In the end he was so angry his hands were shaking.

My mom had been smiling, but after she saw them, the knitting needles slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor.

“This… how could Ebony do something like this? No wonder she’s been asking me about our family’s company lately. So that’s why…”

My dad sighed and told me something I had never known.

“Ava, the truth is, Ebony isn’t an orphan. Her father used to be my finance manager. Ten years ago he embezzled thirty million dollars in company funds, and I had him put away. At the time he cried and begged me to look after his daughter. I figured, after all his years with me, I went soft for a moment and adopted her. But I never expected… she really is just like her father, an ingrate! I’m sorry… it’s all my fault. I’m the one who brought the wolf into our home.”

After my dad finished, the questions in my heart were finally answered.

I’d always wondered why Ebony liked to play pranks on me. So this was the reason.

My mom wiped her tears and gripped my hand. “Ava, thank goodness you have this ability and caught it in time, or our family really would have been finished. Wait, I’ll call right now, cancel the wedding, and throw that bitch Ebony out!”

“No rush.” My dad raised a hand to stop her, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

“These two animals plotted against Stan Henson’s daughter. There’s no way I’m letting them off that easily. Better to play along with their scheme and turn it against them at the wedding tomorrow, and ruin them completely!”

I smiled. I hadn’t expected my dad to be thinking the same thing I was.

I gave him a thumbs-up and said, “Dad, you really do think of everything! We’ll do it your way, then!”

After that, the three of us started working out a plan.

My dad would handle contacting the media.

My mom would gather David Sanchez’s medical records, going all the way back to his childhood.

As for me…

My job was to keep David and Ebony calm.

I went to the warehouse and let Ebony out ahead of schedule.

I said some nice, high-sounding things, then made an excuse and went back to my room.

And I waited quietly for tomorrow’s good show.