“I asked your dad if he wanted to see you,” Belle explained, her throat tightening with every breath. “I figured if he said no, I’d lie and tell you I couldn’t find your birth certificate.”

“But you did find my birth certificate. You’re sitting here telling me you did.”

“Yes,” Belle agreed.

“Which means…”

When Lily broke off, Belle nodded, a smile curving over her face. “He wants to see you. He told me he did leave when you were little, but only because he was a hardcore drug addict and he didn’t want you around that life. After he got clean, he reconnected with your mom, but she was wary of letting him near you.”

“Because she thought he might bail again?”

“Yeah, or he’d relapse and put you in danger.” Belle’s chest flashed with heat at the words. The entire time she’d known Lily, the smaller girl had always seemed to be in danger because of something her mother was doing. Something insidious. Something subtle. The idea that Evelyn had protected Lily from her father seemed more than uncharacteristic. It seemed like an outright lie. “According to your dad, your mom demanded that he become one of her clients and agree to random drug testing. He said yes, and for a while it seemed like they were getting along. Maybe even falling back in love. But out of the blue, she started dating Stefan Holloway, and she cut off your dad completely. He was really broken up about it on the phone. He almost started crying.”

“He did?” Lily’s voice cracked as she sat down next to Belle. “Why are you doing this for me?”

Belle shrugged, her chest warming again. What was wrong with her? She didn’t get attached to people, except for Raven. And since that had ended so terribly, she knew better than to feel anything for this strange, broken girl. She’d held up her end of the bargain. She needed to get the location of the Recipe for the Perfect Murder and get the hell out of there.

“I want to help you get away from your mom,” Belle said, touching Lily’s arm. “But I need you to help me get away from her too. If she finds that recipe stashed on her estate, she could have me arrested for plotting—”

“Oh, wow.” Lily jerked away from Belle’s touch, pushing off the bed. “I was actually starting to think you cared about me, but you only care about that stupid recipe.”

“What? No, I just want to move on.”

“You’re lying! I should’ve known. You’re a liar.” Lily shook her head, chuckling grimly. “The last time you agreed to get me away from my mother, you cut me out of the plan, rescuing Raven behind my back. You didn’t care that you’d left me with her. You’ve never cared—”