Whitney’s response seemed to throw Lauren off-kilter a bit. Her gaze faltered, and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. “It’s not what I think,” she finally said. “It’s what I know.”

But Whitney wasn’t backing down. This girl couldn’t know everything. It was impossible.

She cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah, what’s that?”

Amelia stepped forward, her gaze catching Whitney’s. “She says I’m her sister, and my real name’s Bethany.” Her lower lip quivered. “She says that you stole me, but that’s a lie, right? I mean, it can’t be true. It’s crazy. Isn’t it?” Her pitch got higher with each word, reminding Whitney of when she was small and begging to get her way.

“It is crazy. You’re right. Of course I didn’t steal you.”

Amelia’s head lifted, her lips twitching at the corners.

Lauren’s mouth hardened into a straight line. She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re lying. I know Amelia’s my sister. I have proof.”

Whitney thought about the torn-out journal page, the random picture on Amelia’s dresser and it hit her. Lauren must have planted them. And if she had to make an educated guess, she’d say that Lauren had gone through her dresser drawers too. “I never stole your sister. But you stole from me, didn’t you? Took money from my house. My bedroom.”

“Th-th-that’s not what this is about,” Lauren sputtered, thrown by the shift in conversation.

“What money?” Amelia asked.

Whitney was grateful to have gotten the conversation off of her for now. “I had an envelope of money in my underwear drawer. It’s gone now.”

“But Lauren didn’t take it.” Amelia shook her head, faced her sister. “Did you?”

“Not all of us are born with everything, Mills.” Lauren flung her arms upward with exasperation. “And that’s nothing compared to all you’ve taken from me. My sister. My mom.”

Whitney held up a hand. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re the reason my mom’s dead.”

Whitney felt her hackles rising. “I never hurt your mom. She was my best friend”

“But you’re the reason she’s dead,” Lauren said. “Do you have any idea how awful my life has been? What it was like being bounced around foster homes? Did you ever even think about me?”

Whitney’s stomach sank. The truth was, she hadn’t. Lauren was simply a child she’d met a couple of times. As ashamed as she was to admit it, she hadn’t factored her in at all.

“I’m so sorry, Lauren, for all that you’ve been through,” Whitney said. “I am, but it’s not because of me. You’re blaming the wrong person.”

“Stop lying. I know the truth,” Lauren said, but her tone lacked the conviction it had earlier. Even Amelia appeared to be wondering, leaning in closer.