You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 67

On the second knock, the door opened. A woman appeared, silver hair pulled into a no-nonsense bun, square glasses perched on her nose, and a cat lounged around her shoulders.

She didn't look elderly, not quite. More like the kind of woman who could still hike a mountain or give a teenage boy a run for his ego in a denim contest.

"Can I help you?" Her tone wasn't unkind. The cat narrowed its eyes at me as though it had a badge and I was under arrest.

I blinked, snapping out of my daze. "Are you... Elizabeth Cheng?"

She eyed me for some time. "I am. Do you need something, child?"

Thank God.

Fortunately, she led me into her house when I explained I wanted to speak to her.

The cat hopped down and followed us like a furry bodyguard.

He living room was cozy with a modest size, but the decor tastefully done.

I glanced around for frames. Perhaps, family pictures. Steven did say she's never been married and didn't have kids, but maybe she only did a good job keeping that but from the public.

She wouldn't be bad for a mother. She looked beautiful, strong, kind...

Geez, what was wrong with me?

"You're in luck; I just squeezed these," she said as she reappeared from the kitchen with a tall glass of orange juice, her cat tailing her.

She was offering me a drink. She was actually kind.

"Thank you, ma'am." I took a sip, letting the citrus bite distract me for a second before setting the glass down.

She settled into the couch opposite mine, legs crossed, her cat curling at her feet. Ugh, I hated how it stared at me with those frighteningly judgy eyes.

"So, what did you say you wanted to discuss, dear?"

I retrieved the Sarte bracelet from my bag. She gasped as soon as she saw it, recognition filling her eyes.

My hope spiked to a whole new level. She did know it!

"Where did you find this?" She took the bracelet from me, staring dearly at it.

Are you my mother?

I had to clear my throat before I could speak.

"It's mine."

She looked up at me with confusion. "I was found by the sea when I was a child. I had no memories. Nothing except this bracelet. I've been holding onto it, hoping it could lead me to...to something. To someone. When I traced the number engraved in it, it led me to you."

Her gaze softened, her body eased.

Please, tell me you know something. Give me hope.

"Oh, dear. That's quite sad." She stared down at the bracelet again. "This was gifted to me by my sister before her passing. I'd wanted to keep it forever. But unfortunately, it was taken from me."

My heart sank into a bottomless pit. Oh.

"His name was Creighton. An unfeeling son of a bitch. He had people under his thumb for years and thought he could do anything he pleased. He took the bracelet from me just because I owed him a small debt. And when I finally scraped the money together and went to his place, he said he'd already given it away at one of his damn auctions."

........

The scanner blinked green beneath my fingertip, granting me access into the house.

A shiver immediately traced the length of my spine, like cold fingers brushing my bones.

Veronica wasn't home. She'd texted me earlier, saying she was meeting up with someone and won't be home until tomorrow.

So, I should be home alone. 'Should.'

But I knew I wasn't. The air told me a different story.

I walked slowly up the stairs and yelped when I reached my room. Just as I feared, he was right there.

He stood close to the wall, his back to the door. Despite my start, he made no attempt to look at me.

There, dressed in black and in the dimness of my room, he looked like a shadow from my nightmare.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, reminding myself that he wasn't going to hurt me. But how could I be so sure?

"What're you doing here?" I snapped, lacing my voice with venom to hide the tremor crawling up my throat.

When he turned away, I finally saw what he'd been so fixated on at the wall. He'd been going through the list I made of him.

I froze. My pulse had the nerve to skip.

Was he going to get mad at me?