Chapter24
“Your parents called through the university,” Professor Tyler said on the phone, his voice tight. “Your sister Maddie took out a bunch of payday loans and tried to jump from a building. Your parents are devastated. They’re asking you to come
home.”
“I’ve got things to handle here.,” he added. “You go back first. Take the undergrads with you, wrap up the trip, and head to
Westhaven as soon as you can.”
Sierra’s fingers curled tightly around her phone.
“Okay,” she said, voice low.
She hung up.
Immediately, she gathered the team and arranged their return.
Even though she’d sworn, the moment she left home, that she’d never go back…
Even though she’d told herself she’d cut ties for good…
She couldn’t ignore this.
Not when it actually happened.
On the drive back, Rowan sat beside her.
“Chill,” he said gently. “It might just be a scare tactic. Maybe they’re pulling this to guilt you into coming home.”
Sierra didn’t answer.
She leaned against the window and stayed silent.
After returning to campus, she rushed through the paperwork and caught the first bus home.
Back in Westhaven, she found her sister’s hospital room-and the sight that greeted her knocked the air from her lungs.
Her parents.
Their hair had turned completely gray.
“Dad… Mom…” Her voice cracked.
Her father looked up, eyes wide, lips trembling. “Sierra…”
Her mother rushed forward and wrapped her in a hug. “You came home. We’ve been looking for you for so long. I prayed every year that you’d walk through that door-and you finally did.”
“These past years, every birthday, I made your father buy you gifts-Barbie dolls, Winnie the Pooh stickers, even a letter to say sorry. We left them all in your old room. Sierra, please… forgive us.”
She even pulled a plane ticket from her coat pocket and shoved it into Sierra’s hands.
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“You remember how you always wanted to go on a family trip after the SATs? We bought tickets. We can go tomorrow. Just you, me, and your dad.”
Sierra looked at the plane ticket, and for a second-just a second-her heart cracked open.
She had always wanted love.
Always.
It was her incurable disease.
Barbie dolls. Stickers. Birthday presents.
Those were the things she’d dreamed of as a child.
Things that, without fail, had either been “accidentally” ruined by Maddie, or outright stolen by her.
Back then, she’d thought her parents just didn’t know. That they hadn’t noticed.
But clearly… they’d always known.
Her voice trembled. “If you knew how much those things meant to me… if you knew I wanted them so badly… then why
did you still take Maddie’s side every time?”
Late apologies meant nothing.
They were as cheap as dirt.
Her parents’ smiles faltered.
Her father’s expression turned dark, but her mother quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him from speaking.
“Sierra, we made mistakes,” her mother said, gently taking her hand. “It’s our first time being parents. We had two girls, and we didn’t know how to handle it. You and Maddie… you’re both our flesh and blood. We didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Sierra pulled her hand away and walked to Maddie’s hospital bed.
Her sister was unconscious, wrapped in thick gauze.
“What happened to her?” she asked quietly.
Tears streamed down her mother’s face.
“She got in deep with payday lenders at college. The interest kept piling up. She couldn’t pay, and they came knocking at our door-demanding we sell our retirement home.”
“When we refused, she tried to end it all. Jumped from a building. Now she’s in a coma.”
Sierra stood still as stone, letting the truth sink in.
This was the result of years of unchecked favoritism.
Maddie had been spoiled her whole life.
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When the money stopped, she turned to student loan scams.
And when the consequences caught up to her, she chose to jump.
Her mother sobbed harder. “Thank God you came back, Sierra. You and Maddie are all we have. If anything happens to
you both, what would we do?”
“She’s also been diagnosed with depression,” her father added. “She talks about ending her life every day. We’ve signed off on so many loans trying to keep her afloat… Please, Sierra. Help us.”
His voice softened. “Please. Help your sister.”
And just like that, whatever was left of Sierra’s heart… shattered.
She never should’ve let herself hope.
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