“Think positive,” Belle said, bopping Lily’s nose with her finger. Again Lily flinched, and Belle tucked her hands into her lap. “I’ll need a little time to get hired as a filing assistant, and a little more to gain access to the restricted sections of the hospital.”

Lily nodded, gesturing to the space around her. The courtyard. The building. The wrought-iron gate tipped with sharp, twisting finials just waiting to impale anyone who tried to escape. “I’ve got all the time in the world.”

Three months later, Belle returned to the Rose Hollow Wellness Facility with a gleam in her eye and a birth certificate in her purse. “Well, I was wrong about one thing: Dr. Holloway wouldn’t give me a reference. He said I’m too young to be considered for a filing position, and ‘playing doctor’ with Raven doesn’t pass for hospital experience. I don’t think he likes me.” Belle pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Too bad for him, the hospital was looking for volunteers.”

“They were?” Hope in Lily’s voice. Hope on her face, too, as her cheeks flushed pink. “Did you find my dad’s name?”

“I sure did.”

Lily gasped, leaping from her bed. She threw her arms around Belle. When she pulled back, Belle could see that her pale blond hair hung down to her ears. She was wearing a dab of lip gloss, strawberry or cherry, and her limbs didn’t look quite so thin in her sweater and jeans.

“It took a bit of searching, but I tracked down your birth certificate. Looked up your dad online. And…” Here, Belle blushed, struggling to explain what she’d done next. Three months earlier, she’d wanted nothing more than to retrieve the Recipe for the Perfect Murder. But the closer she’d gotten to finding Lily’s father, the more dangerous the endeavor had felt. What if he was just like Lily’s mom? What if he was worse? “I might have called him and told him about you.”

“What?” Lily’s mouth dropped open, the blood draining from her face. “How could you—why would you?”

“I needed to find out what kind of person he was! If you called him up and he told you to get lost…” It would’ve broken your heart, Belle thought, brushing past Lily. She sat down on the edge of the bed. Her purse was clutched to her chest like a child, and she wondered if her parents had ever clung to her that way before giving her up. Had they thought of her once since abandoning her to the foster-care system? Her birth records were sealed, and it was unlikely she’d ever be able to track them down, but if she did… would her parents want to know her at all?