Everyone but me

Chapter 8

The night had lasted far longer than any of them intended.

Documents covered the dining table.

Screens glowed in the darkness.

Names, dates, financial records, emails, security reports, old photographs, and company files had been pulled apart and examined until the words began to blur together.

No one had slept.

Not properly, anyway.

By the time the first hint of sunlight slipped through the mansion’s enormous windows, the family had reached the same conclusion.

Lily was not innocent.

They didn’t know how deep it went yet.

They didn’t know everything she had done.

But they knew enough.

Enough to make their stomachs turn.

Enough to remind them of a life they desperately wished they could forget.

And yet—

None of them regretted staying awake.

Not even for a second.

If anything, they wished they had started sooner.

The clock quietly passed six in the morning.

Adrian leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

His exhaustion was obvious.

His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his tie had long since been removed, and several strands of his usually neat hair had fallen across his forehead.

Across from him, Rosalina’s father stared down at a report.

“We continue today,” he said.

His voice was tired.

But firm.

“No one says anything to Lily until we know everything.”

Everyone nodded.

They were exhausted.

Their eyes burned.

Their bodies begged for sleep.

But their minds were awake in a way they hadn’t been in years.

Because for the first time, they weren’t blindly trusting Lily.

They were looking.

Actually looking.

And that difference could change everything.

“We should sleep for a few hours,” Rosalina’s mother murmured.

Adrian glanced toward the staircase.

His expression softened immediately.

“Rosalina will be waking soon.”

The room went silent.

That was all it took.

Rosalina.

Her name alone could still change the atmosphere.

“We can’t let her see us like this,” one of the siblings muttered.

“Why?”

“Because she’ll worry.”

Their mother sighed.

“She’s always worried about everyone except herself.”

The words struck them harder than they should have.

Because they remembered.

They remembered a different morning.

A different house.

A different Rosalina.

A Rosalina who had stopped asking them for anything.

A Rosalina who had learned not to expect affection.

A Rosalina who had eventually looked at them with eyes that contained no anger.

No hatred.

Nothing.

Just emptiness.

And then—

They remembered the day she died.

The memory came without permission.

Her body lying motionless.

Her face frighteningly peaceful.

The unbearable silence afterward.

Her hand had been cold.

Too cold.

And they remembered screaming her name.

Remembered wishing she would open her eyes.

Remembered promising things they could never take back.

Promises that had come too late.

Then came everything after.

The truth about Lily.

The evidence.

The lies.

The manipulation.

The realization that every accusation against Rosalina had been carefully constructed.

The realization that Lily had known exactly what she was doing.

And then came the downfall.

The company began collapsing.

Investors withdrew.

Business partners turned against them.

People they trusted disappeared.

Their reputation was destroyed.

Their family fractured.

Everything they had built began crumbling piece by piece.

And Lily—

Lily had been at the center of it.

The woman they had defended.

The woman they had trusted.

The woman they had once treated as though she were part of their family.

The same woman who had helped destroy them.

Their hands tightened.

No one spoke.

Then—

A soft chime echoed through the mansion.

The front door.

Everyone froze.

At this hour?

Father slowly turned toward the entrance.

Another chime.

Then a knock.

Three gentle knocks.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

“No.”

His voice was barely audible.

One of the siblings stared at him.

“What?”

Adrian stood.

His chair scraped softly against the floor.

He already knew.

He didn’t know how.

He simply did.

Their father walked toward the entrance.

The others followed.

Nobody spoke.

The closer they came to the front door, the heavier the silence became.

Their mother reached the foyer first.

She stopped.

Her fingers curled around the edge of her sleeve.

Because she knew.

Everyone knew.

The door opened.

And there she stood.

Lily.

A pleasant smile rested on her face.

She looked exactly as they remembered her.

Perfectly composed.

Beautiful.

Friendly.

Harmless.

The same face they had once trusted.

The same face they had once defended.

The same face that had watched Rosalina suffer without blinking.

“Good morning.”

Lily smiled warmly.

“I hope I’m not disturbing everyone.”

Silence.

For one horrifying second, nobody moved.

Because behind Lily’s smiling face—

They could see the past.

Rosalina.

Their Rosalina.

Her final moments.

Her lifeless body.

The funeral.

The empty bedroom.

The photographs they couldn’t bear to look at.

The years of regret.

The downfall.

Everything.

All of it flashed through their minds in an instant.

Their mother nearly stopped breathing.

She wanted to reach through the doorway and grab Lily.

Her nails dug into her palms.

But she smiled.

Barely.

“Good morning, Lily.”

Her voice sounded normal.

That was the only thing that mattered.

Normal.

They couldn’t let Lily see.

They couldn’t let her know.

Not yet.

Lily tilted her head.

“You all look exhausted.”

She laughed softly.

“Did something happen?”

Adrian’s eyes met hers.

For the briefest moment, something dangerous flickered behind them.

Then it disappeared.

He smiled.

“No.”

Lily smiled back.

“That’s good.”

She stepped inside.

The family watched her carefully.

Every movement.

Every expression.

Every word.

They remembered how easy it had once been to believe her.

That frightened them more than anything.

Because Lily didn’t look like a villain.

She never had.

She looked like someone who belonged in their home.

Someone who could sit beside them at dinner.

Someone who could laugh with them.

Someone they had once allowed close enough to destroy the person who should have mattered most.

Lily glanced around.

“Where’s Rosalina?”

The question nearly shattered their composure.

Their mother smiled.

“Still sleeping.”

“Still?”

Lily’s smile widened slightly.

“She sleeps quite late these days.”

One of the siblings clenched their jaw.

They remembered another sentence.

From another life.

Lily had said something similar once.

Rosalina isn’t feeling well.

Then later—

Rosalina probably did it.

Then—

I don’t want to accuse her, but…

Then—

I think you should check her room.

Small statements.

Small lies.

One after another.

Until the family had built an entire reality around them.

A reality where Rosalina was always guilty.

Always selfish.

Always troublesome.

Always the problem.

And Lily was always innocent.

Their father forced himself to smile.

“What brings you here so early?”

Lily clasped her hands together.

“I wanted to see everyone.”

Everyone.

The word sounded poisonous.

She continued.

“And I thought I’d check on Rosalina.”

Adrian’s smile remained.

But his eyes were cold.

“Why?”

Lily blinked.

“Why?”

“Yes.”

His tone was polite.

Almost gentle.

But Lily hesitated.

Only for a fraction of a second.

The family noticed.

Every single one of them noticed.

“I just thought…” Lily began carefully. “We’ve always been close.”

The family nearly laughed.

Always been close.

The irony was unbearable.

They remembered how close Lily had been.

How easily she had entered their lives.

How easily they had allowed her to stand beside Rosalina.

How easily they had believed Lily over their own daughter.

How easily they had destroyed the person who loved them most.

Their mother stepped forward.

“That’s very thoughtful.”

Her smile remained warm.

But her eyes were unreadable.

“However, Rosalina is sleeping.”

“Oh.”

Lily looked disappointed.

“I see.”

She glanced toward the staircase.

For just a moment, her eyes lingered there.

The family noticed.

Adrian noticed most of all.

His body shifted subtly.

Not enough to appear threatening.

Just enough to place himself between Lily and the stairs.

Lily looked back at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

Adrian smiled.

“Nothing at all.”

The lie came easily.

Perhaps too easily.

Because this time, they knew the truth.

And Lily didn’t.

That gave them something they had never possessed in their previous life.

Time.

Time to investigate.

Time to prepare.

Time to protect Rosalina.

Time to dismantle every lie before Lily could tell it.

A soft sound came from upstairs.

Footsteps.

Everyone froze.

Rosalina.

Lily turned toward the staircase.

And smiled.

“There she is.”

The family immediately looked toward the stairs.

Rosalina appeared at the top.

Her lavender hair was slightly messy from sleep.

She wore a simple robe and looked confused by the gathering downstairs.

Her eyes moved from Lily—

To her family—

Then back to Lily.

“Oh.”

She rubbed one eye.

“Lily?”

Lily’s smile brightened.

“Good morning, Rosalina.”

Rosalina smiled politely.

“Good morning.”

And that smile—

That tiny, innocent smile—

Nearly broke them.

Because they remembered another smile.

The last one.

The smile Rosalina had given them when they hadn’t believed her.

The smile she had given them despite everything.

The smile of someone who had loved them until the very end.

Their family had once taken that love for granted.

They wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Not this time.

Rosalina walked down the stairs.

Her mother immediately moved toward her.

“Good morning, darling.”

She wrapped an arm around Rosalina.

Rosalina blinked sleepily.

“Morning…”

Lily watched them.

Something unreadable passed through her eyes.

The family saw it.

And for the first time—

They weren’t afraid of Lily.

They were watching her.

Studying her.

Waiting.

Because Lily had walked into their mansion believing she was stepping into the same family she had manipulated before.

She was wrong.

This family remembered everything.

And they had already begun digging up the truth.

Lily had unknowingly walked straight into the one place where her lies could no longer survive.

Their father looked at her.

He smiled.

A perfectly ordinary smile.

“Why don’t you stay for breakfast?”

Lily’s expression brightened.

“I’d love to.”

The family exchanged the smallest glance.

A silent agreement passed between them.

Let her stay.

Let her talk.

Let her believe everything is exactly as it was.

Because sometimes—

the best way to catch a liar

was to let them keep talking.

And somewhere upstairs, Rosalina still had no idea that the woman who had once helped destroy her life had just walked through the front door.

Nor did she know that this time—

her family was ready.

They would not believe Lily.

They would not abandon Rosalina.

And they would never again allow the past to repeat itself.