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“It took me a while, but I finally figured out how Lyla did it. Back at Cinco U, she heard I was applying for the Caddell internship too. She must’ve paid Courtney to make copies of my designs and get her hands on my drafts. She was probably planning to get the edge over me by peeking at my concepts, then designing something better. Then we both got the internship and that was that. When Damien teamed up with her to drive me out, she thought what almost worked before would work now. Damien still had a key to my place. It was easy for them to get all my drafts and samples, and give them to Courtney for her big performance.
“I tracked Courtney down two months after, and maybe because she felt some guilt for ruining a pregnant woman, she admitted it went down exactly how I said, but if I told anyone she said that, she’d deny it. She is now a junior designer at Caddell House—the job they promised her on top of the money. She wouldn’t ruin her shot to save me, so there went my last chance to prove I did nothing wrong.”
“Not necessarily.” Sunny fished out his phone. “Courtney. What’s her last name? Don’t worry, I’ll find out.”
I blinked at him typing something out. “Sunny, what—?”
“Keep going,” he said, his smile putting me at ease. “I’m listening.”
Warning bells clanged that I should find out exactly why he wanted to know Courtney’s name. But there was time to do that later. Once I started telling my story, I found I couldn’t stop.
“You can guess what happened. I was jobless, pregnant, and packing a degree in the one industry that would have nothing to do with me. I took a job working as a waitress, but my pregnancy was rough. I couldn’t keep anything down. Threw up more food than I put in my mouth. Eventually I got dehydrated, ended up in the hospital, and my boss fired me.
“Medical bills piled up—I was drowning. Sienna dropped out of school and got a job to try and help, but by the time Laurel came, I was broke, in debt, and living in Luca’s apartment building. After that monster peeled off his flesh mask, I got my baby and my sister away from him, but of course... there was nowhere to go.”
“So, you had to give Laurel up.”
“No. Never,” I said firmly. “I went to an old foster mom. She cared for us after our mom went away. Diana was good to us. I asked her to take care of Laurel until I got back on my feet, and she wanted to help me. She felt terrible for saying no, but she was already fostering three children under three, and a newborn in addition was too much for her.
“She recommended a friend of hers, Charlie.” I spat the name. “Said she was a licensed foster too, who wasn’t caring for any children at the time. She was free to devote all her time to Laurel. The three of us sat down and talked, agreeing to an arrangement where Laurel would sleep safely with a roof over her head, and I’d come to see, feed, and be with her every day. For the first few months, everything was fine. Then Charlie lost her fucking mind.”
“Ah. All that screaming and shouting for the police tonight wasn’t for show.”
I shook my head. “I think she got attached to Laurel. Just fell in love with my sweet baby girl. I could understand that. I could even understand she bonded and it was hard for her to think of letting go, but nothing excuses her stopping me on the doorstep and warning never to come back to her house again.
“She dug into my past—the accusations that got me booted from Caddell House and what happened between my parents. Charlie screamed in my face, banging on that I was criminal scum on a crash course to track marks and a pimp. She wouldn’t let Laurel go down with me.”
“Let her?” Sunny repeated, brows snapping together. “What does that mean?”
“She said...” I swallowed and tried again. “She said if I ever came back, she’d lie to the police and tell them she found Laurel abandoned in an alley and left to die. I was a dangerous, homeless, unstable thief and the courts would lock me up for child endangerment and award her, a foster mother with a spotless record, custody of Laurel.”
A low, vicious tone leaked into his voice. “Is that what she said.” Sunny typed something else in his phone. “Was it a setup from the beginning? Diana and Charlie taking advantage of you?”
“No, Diana had no idea. When I told her, she was horrified. She drove straight over to Charlie’s and they got in a screaming match right there on the porch. Diana promised her that if she tried making up those lies about me, she’d stand by my side and tell the truth.
