Chapter 7
I promised to visit both schools before they finally let me go.
After calming the two teachers down, I turned to the reporters trailing behind.
“Here to interview me?”
They nodded hurriedly. “Is now a good time?”
Of course. No way I was passing up a golden opportunity like this.
Might as well stir things up a bit.
The reporter pulled out a recorder, held up a mic, and aimed a long camera lens at me.
“Your teachers said you were just average as a freshman, but you’ve really pushed yourself these past two years.
“What’s been your biggest motivation?”
I pretended to think for a second. “Probably two things, mainly.
“First, I was raised by my dad alone. I’m also an Omega. I just wanted to get into a good college and take control of my own future.”
The simple answer made the reporter smile.
“And I also wanted to show my mom, who’s no longer with me, that she can be proud of me.”
I paused and looked straight into the camera, eyes shiny with tears.
“Mom, I’ve done really well. Could you come to see me?
“I miss you so much.”
The reporter’s keen instincts kicked in.
He smelled a story and moved the mic closer. “Where is your mom now?”
I played along.
“She’s here in this pack. Lilian Garrett, board member of the New Mountain Group.”
Now that name rang a bell.
Everyone knew Lilian had a daughter she doted on like a princess.
She went to this very school. Her name was Sophia Garrett.
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Chapter 7
Not Emma Richards.
The reporter lit up, the camera flashing nonstop.
Sophia looked horrified, her face twisted.
“That’s impossible!
“What the hell are you talking about?
“I’m gonna have my mom sue you for spreading lies!”
I pulled out the DNA test–done with both our hair–and held it up for the camera,
“Sophia, I’m your half–sister–we have the same mom.”
With the reporter’s cue, I began my story.
“Mom left me and my dad when I was really young…”
How young?
Pretty much right after I was born.
She was the daughter of a wealthy family, head over heels in love, and determined to be with my dad.
They eloped to my dad’s pack and had me before getting married.
Love felt magical at first.
But in the end, she went back to her mate.
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The heiress quickly got bored of playing house–ditching designer clothes, scrubbing off her manicures, and cooking for love only lasted a while.
So right after I was born, she left us without looking back.
She went back, married her mate right away, and had Sophia.
My dad stayed behind and did everything to raise me on his own.
When I was five, he got injured in a battle, broke his leg, and ended up with a limp.
That disability hit our already struggling family hard.
We couldn’t afford tuition, so I started school a year late and was older than everyone in my grade.
Luckily, I was smart and always did well in school.
In my third year of junior high school, my dad went to the Blood Pack.
When he came back, he told me he’d found a relative who could get me into the top high school there.
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Chapter 7
But I knew he was lying.
We didn’t have any powerful relatives like that.
He went to see Lilian.
Never underestimate a kid’s instincts–I always knew my mom had abandoned me.
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And sometimes, when my dad stared at the TV a little too long, I figured that a successful businesswoman on the screen might be her.
Later, I found an old photo he had hidden away, and that confirmed my guess.
I used to wonder…
If my mom were so rich, why didn’t she help me and my dad?
We didn’t want her love; just a little money would’ve been nice.
If we’d had the money, maybe Dad’s leg could’ve been treated in time, and he wouldn’t be limping now.
After I transferred to this high school, I met Sophia.
And at a parent–teacher meeting, I finally saw Lilian.
What a dazzling mother–daughter duo, dressed in matching outfits worth thousands of dollars, taking a selfie with their faces close together.
When Lilian mentioned enrolling Sophia in an expensive summer camp, I suddenly felt it was unfair.
Why?
I was her daughter, too.
I deserve half of what Sophia had.
That was only fair.
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