Chapter 15 - The Sister's Redemption
I wanted to run, but the girl who ran from her problems had died in that car crash a year ago.
I looked into Julian’s desperate eyes and saw the raw, unfiltered truth shining through the deception.
He had hidden his corporate motives, but his love for me was entirely, undeniably real.
"We will deal with your secrets later, Julian," I said, wiping the tear from my face and hardening my resolve.
"Right now, we have a rat to exterminate."
The next morning, I did something I never thought I would do again.
I put on a pair of dark sunglasses, hailed a cab, and drove to a rundown apartment building in Brooklyn.
I walked up three flights of stairs and knocked sharply on a peeling wooden door.
Sloane opened it, looking absolutely horrific.
Her designer clothes were gone, replaced by a stained sweatshirt, and her face was gaunt and completely exhausted.
She gasped when she saw me, stepping back as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Elena?" she whispered, her hands trembling violently.
"Hello, Sloane," I said coldly, stepping into the cramped, filthy apartment without waiting for an invitation.
"What do you want?" she asked, wrapping her arms defensively around her thin frame.
"I know Derek is working with Marcus Vance," I stated factually, cutting straight to the chase.
"And I know that Derek is stupid enough to brag about his plans to you when he gets drunk."
Sloane looked away, shame and profound regret completely washing over her tired features.
"He ruined my life, Elena," Sloane sobbed, the tears finally breaking through her tough facade.
"He used me, he took all the money I had left, and he threw me away like actual garbage."
I felt a small, microscopic ping of pity for my sister, but I quickly buried it beneath my strategic fury.
"I can give you a new life, Sloane," I offered, pulling a thick envelope of cash from my designer purse.
"I will set you up in a beautiful house in California, completely paid for, far away from all of this mess."
Sloane stared at the money, absolute desperation shining in her red-rimmed eyes.
"What do I have to do?" she asked weakly.
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"I need you to go back to Derek," I commanded, my voice devoid of any mercy.
"And I need you to lead him exactly into the trap I am going to build."
