My Adopted Sister Plotted My Family's Demise? I'll Bring Her Total Ruin!

I woke up on the day my parents brought Lily Quinn home. They'd just pulled her out of a trafficking ring. Eighteen years old, and Lily was nothing but bones, bruises, and a beat-up backpack clutched against her chest. "That poor girl has been through enough." Mom's eyes were red as she turned to Dad. "David, I know the paperwork's not done yet. But as far as I'm concerned, she's family now." Dad gave a firm nod. Then Mom turned to me, her voice careful, coaxing. "Sweetheart, Lily just got out. She's been through hell. Your room gets the best light in the house. Could you let her have it for now? And those new dresses you just got, maybe Lily could wear them first?" My brother Noah, four years older than me, ran back to his room and grabbed the robot he'd saved up for. He pushed it into Lily's hands. "Here. You can have this. Anybody gives you a hard time, I'll deck 'em." Lily looked up and gave him a sweet, watery smile. Then she dropped her head again, tears rolling down her face. "Thank you, Mrs. Brooks. Mr. Brooks. Noah." She glanced at me through the tears. "But will Ava be upset?" It was playing out exactly like the first time. Back then, seeing her so timid, so fragile, I'd handed over my room, my clothes, my favorite things, and eventually even my own family's attention, without a word of complaint. And the second she made it back to her rich family, she wiped every last one of us out. "No." I stood and looked down at her. "That's my room. Those are my dresses. She's not getting a single thing of mine." Lily shot to her feet, crying even harder, snatched up her ratty bag, and bolted for the door. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I'll go." Even mid-sob, her eyes kept cutting over to my parents. Dad caught my face going dark and quickly shot Mom a look. Mom let go of Lily's arm and wrapped hers around my shoulders instead. "Okay, okay. You don't have to give up anything. Don't be upset. Your dad and I will buy Lily her own things later." Dad jumped in to smooth it over. "That's right. Your stuff is yours. I'll take Lily out and get her what she needs. Same thing." Lily froze mid-step, cornered. I walked over, hauled the front door open, and waved a hand at the outside. "Weren't you leaving? Go on." I stared at her white face. "Do it." Her sobbing cut off dead. Her knuckles went white around the strap of her bag. Panic flickered in her eyes. I'd caught it the first time around too. Any time anyone asked about the trafficking ring, her answers went vague. She'd never survive a real police interview. She shrank back, her voice shaking. "Mrs. Brooks, I'm scared. I don't want to go to the police station." Mom sighed and waved it off. "All right. Shut the door. She barely got out with her life. Of course she's scared." Dad rushed to cut the tension. "Right. Let's drop it for now. Come on, Lily. Let's go get you some things." "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks." Lily wiped her tears and pushed out a smile. Once they left, it was just Noah and me at home. I turned to him. "Noah. I need to talk to you." I told him everything that had happened before I died. Every last detail. Five minutes later, Noah reached out and pressed a hand to my forehead. "Did you binge some revenge show last night and lose your mind?" I pushed his hand away. "I know how it sounds. But wait till Mom and Dad get back. They'll come home with a pink dress, a blue denim jacket, and a pair of clearance-rack sneakers, last year's model." "And dinner's going to be red wine beef stew. Dad'll say the store was out of thyme, so he's using rosemary instead. Then he'll go, 'Nobody in Harbor City makes gravy like I do.'" Noah stared at me and let out a nervous laugh. "Fine. If you're wrong, I'm taking you to get your head checked tomorrow." An hour later, Mom and Dad came through the door with shopping bags in both hands, Lily trailing behind them. They'd bought exactly what I said they would. A pink dress. A blue denim jacket. A pair of clearance-rack sneakers, last year's model. Dad headed straight for the kitchen with a bag of groceries, calling over his shoulder, "Grabbed some beef for stew. Store was out of thyme, so we're going rosemary tonight. Nobody in Harbor City makes gravy like I do!" The living room went dead quiet. Noah stared at the shopping bags. Slow and stiff, he turned to look at me. Then he shot up, grabbed my wrist, dragged me into his room, and locked the door behind us. Noah put his back against the door, chest heaving. "You, you weren't kidding?" His voice dropped. "But she looks so innocent. What is she even after?" "Her rich-family happy ending," I said slowly. "And once she gets it, we turn into the embarrassing poor people who knew her back when." Noah's hand went still. Then it came down hard on my shoulder. "Okay." He set his jaw. "Don't be scared. I've got you. What's the plan?" From out in the hall, Lily's sweet little laugh drifted in. I dropped my voice. "Step one. Starting today, she doesn't get one single thing out of us. Step two. We tear up her ticket back to that rich family." "What ticket?" Noah asked. "There's a birthmark on the back of her neck. It's the only thing the Whitmores have left to identify their daughter by." I looked at him. "This time, I'm making sure it's gone."