Chapter 30

Vivian's head snapped up. Her pulse quickened, her palms grew damp, and for a moment the room seemed to darken around her.

Beside her, Kayla looked utterly lost. First Adrian had said Vivian wasn't family. Now Julian wanted to change her enrollment records. What was happening?

Ms. Parker couldn't make sense of it, either.

“Please, have a seat,” she said, managing a smile. “Once we've finished dealing with this incident, we can go to my office and discuss it privately.”

“That won't be necessary,” Julian said. “The two matters are connected.”

Ms. Parker paused. “Which details do you need changed?”

“Her name, the person listed as responsible for her care, her home address, and the related information.”

Students updated their records all the time. But their names?

Was Vivian changing her name?

Vivian couldn't hold on to her smile. She could feel Kayla studying her, trying to fit the pieces together, and remembered every complaint she had made to her about Elise.

Once they knew she was adopted, what right would she have to complain about the brothers favoring their own sister?

She wasn't their biological sister. Elise was. Why should they spoil Vivian at Elise's expense?

“Julian,” she said quickly, “we haven't finished dealing with the backpack. Why don't you sit down and hear what the teachers have decided? We wouldn't want Elise to be treated unfairly. Whatever else you need to discuss, I can go with you to Ms. Parker's office afterward.”

He would say it. She knew him well enough to be certain of that.

But there were so many people here, and students listening right outside. If he said it in front of everyone, how was she supposed to show her face at school again?

Julian glanced at her. His cool, unhurried look seemed to take in every calculation, every frightened attempt to put him off.

A chill went through her.

Since he was determined to address it here, Ms. Parker took out her notebook.

“Tell me what needs updating. I'll need the supporting documents, of course. Identification, and the paperwork for any change of name or care arrangements.”

“Certainly.” Julian's manners remained impeccable. “Her name is to be changed to Hannah Lawson. Robert Lawson is to be listed as the person responsible for her care.”

Ms. Parker's pen stopped.

A different last name, too? And who was Robert Lawson? He wasn't a Whitmore. He certainly wasn't one of Vivian's brothers.

Julian looked around at the puzzled faces, his gaze passing over Vivian's increasingly pale face.

“You may not know the circumstances. Let me explain.”

Vivian stood very still.

“Her birth name is Hannah Lawson. My parents adopted her from a children's home seventeen years ago. She isn't their biological daughter. My parents are both dead, and I'm ending the arrangement under which she has continued to live in our household.”

With every sentence, a little more color drained from her face. By the time he finished, she was white.

Kayla turned sharply toward her, too astonished to speak. They had been friends since the previous school year. Vivian had never once said she was adopted.

She had complained that the brothers stopped liking her as soon as Elise came home.

But Elise was their biological sister. Vivian wasn't. To Kayla, that made their preference seem perfectly understandable.

Ms. Parker stared, her mouth open. Vivian was adopted? She had just stumbled into a wealthy family's closely guarded secret.

She had heard that Vivian's family was well off. Her clothes, her food, everything she used was beyond what most students could afford. And those brothers who doted on her were each wealthy in their own right.

Who would have guessed?

A stir of voices rose outside.

Mr. Dawson's brows drew together. This was a private family matter. What did those children think they were doing?

He pulled the door open and fixed the listeners with a formidable scowl.

“Go on! All of you! Back to your classrooms!”

Only when they had scattered did he shut the door.

Almost immediately, the students crept back, careful to keep quiet. After hearing something like that, who could possibly leave?

“Vivian's adopted! She isn't their biological sister. Elise is!”

“Oh, my God. This is the biggest news all year. I have to put it on the discussion board.”

“Who could have guessed? But look at Vivian. She obviously knew. How come she never mentioned it?”

“Are you stupid? If you were adopted, would you go around announcing it? Especially in a family like the Whitmores. Who wouldn't want everyone to think she was born into all that?”

“So was Grace right about Elise turning them against Vivian? I'm starting to wonder...”

“Maybe they spoil Elise because she's their biological sister. Who would choose an adopted daughter over their own?”

“You shouldn't have listened to Grace. Maybe Elise never did anything. Maybe Vivian's been making her look bad on purpose.”

Grace's face burned red. She had sounded so certain a minute ago. Now everyone had heard her proved wrong.

Inside the student affairs office, Elise watched Julian with growing curiosity. He had clearly come prepared. What had Vivian done to make him expose her in front of so many people?

Adrian stood to one side with his arms folded. Seeing Vivian's identity laid bare was immensely satisfying. Seeing Julian take all the credit in front of Ellie was considerably less so.

Adrian had just put Kayla in her place. He had finally done something to please his little sister. Then Julian had walked in and made his efforts look like child's play.

Ms. Parker, meanwhile, needed more than an explanation. A change this important couldn't rest on a few spoken words.

“May I see the documents you brought?”

Julian glanced behind him. His assistant took several documents from the briefcase he was carrying and handed them over.

“This is the DNA report confirming that Robert Lawson is Hannah Lawson's biological father,” Julian said. “The name-change and care documents are already in order. Her identity records have been updated for her return to her birth parents' household. The school records are the last thing that needs changing.”

He gave Ms. Parker time to look at the papers.

“With both girls listed as Whitmore, there's been enough confusion about her position in relation to Elise. Please update the records promptly. From now on, her name is Hannah Lawson.”

Hannah Lawson.

Vivian swayed. She couldn't absorb what was happening. Who was Hannah Lawson? What did that name have to do with her? Robert Lawson had nothing to do with her, either.

She was Vivian Whitmore. Whitmore.

Every look directed at her made it harder to breathe. Everything had been fine. How had it all come to this?

She straightened, tears filling her eyes.

“Julian, I didn't choose how I was born. But I've called you my brother for seventeen years. I've always thought of all of you as my real brothers. I know I'm not your biological sister. Does Elise coming home mean you have to throw me out? Do seventeen years together mean less than someone you've only just found again? Does blood really matter that much?”

Seventeen years, or blood?

Julian looked at her coldly. In his previous life, when he had been bankrupt and had nowhere left to turn, he could have asked her a similar question.

What mattered more, money or those seventeen years?

She had disappeared as soon as they lost everything, cutting off contact so their troubles couldn't touch her. When he became wealthy again, she had suddenly reappeared.

She could share their fortune. Hardship was another matter.

And now she wanted to talk about their bond?

Richard and Monica had recovered a little. They were now watching somebody else's family dispute, and Richard couldn't keep his opinion to himself.

“I know I'm an outsider,” he began, “but I really have to say something. You may not be related by blood, but you've been her brothers for all these years. Now you change her household arrangements just like that, and humiliate her in front of everyone? She's only a young girl. What if this leaves her with lasting problems?”

Vivian had just pleaded on their behalf. Such a sensible, considerate girl, especially compared with Elise and her relentless demands.

“Exactly,” Monica said. “A lovely girl like this, and you're cutting her off. Even making her change her whole name. Where's your compassion?”

As far as Monica was concerned, Vivian had been speaking up for them while Elise kept pushing. She found Vivian infinitely more agreeable.

Adrian gave the couple a look.

They still owed him money. And they had the nerve to offer opinions?

Their expressions stiffened. Both fell silent.

Julian surveyed the room, almost casually.

“Actually, there's something else you should know.”

He motioned to his assistant, who stepped forward at once.

“These documents record the IP addresses associated with Miss Whitmore's phone. Miss Lawson's, rather.” His voice was clear enough for everyone to hear. “She has been spreading malicious claims about Miss Elise Whitmore online. Last Monday, a prominent account also directed its followers to expose Miss Elise Whitmore's adoptive parents. Their phone numbers and home address were published, and they were subjected to harassment. The IP records in this investigation link that account to Miss Hannah Lawson.”

Julian looked at Vivian.

“So you smeared my sister online, and led people into exposing her adoptive parents. After the way you've treated our parents' biological daughter, it's difficult not to wonder whether you wanted her place for yourself. You asked whether blood matters. It does. But character matters more.”

The announcement left everyone in the room looking at Vivian differently.

Her face went gray.

He knew?

When had Julian found out she was the one behind the doxxing? She had used so many different accounts to spread those stories. How had he traced them back to her?

Richard and Monica exchanged a look and swallowed.

They really needed to stop speaking. Every time they opened their mouths, they were proved wrong. They had barely finished calling Vivian a good girl before the evidence appeared in front of them.

Failing to recognize a genuine backpack was bad enough. They hadn't recognized the girl with a sweet face and a vicious streak, either.

Perhaps they should stop at an eye doctor's on the way home.

At another look from Julian, the assistant went up to Vivian.

“Miss Lawson. Your luggage has been packed. Your parents have been notified and will collect you this evening. The valuables belong to the Whitmore household and will remain there. You won't be taking them with you.”

She had felt herself drifting away from the room, the blood slowly cooling in her body. Those words brought everything back at once.

Tonight? She was being made to leave tonight?

Her birth parents would be waiting for her. What about her jewelry? Her expensive clothes? She couldn't take any of them?

She couldn't accept it.

She shouldn't have birth parents. If only she didn't, there would be nobody to send her back to.

Kayla could scarcely take in one revelation before the next arrived. Vivian was adopted. Vivian had organized the doxxing of Elise's family.

But Vivian was so kind, so softhearted. She never even wanted to say anything bad about Elise.

Wait.

She had said it. She had let Kayla say the rest for her, let Kayla go after Elise on her behalf.

She had stirred up Kayla's hatred. Stirred her up until she threw away that backpack. Now Kayla's family owed four hundred and ninety thousand dollars.

Kayla shoved her hard.

“This is all because of you!” she screamed. “You told me Elise turned your brothers against you. You made me hate her! You made me throw away her backpack! You were the one stirring everything up!”

Monica rose. “Kayla? What are you talking about?”

Vivian landed sitting on the floor. Usually she would have made the most of it, looking helpless and hurt. But what did she have left to protect? They were throwing her out of the Whitmore family anyway.

She gave a small, contemptuous laugh.

“Did I tell you to do it? Think carefully.”

Kayla couldn't bear the look on her face. She rushed forward and slapped her.

In an instant, they were fighting.

Mr. Dawson and Ms. Parker hurried over to pull them apart, but the girls fought as if they had lost their minds. Neither would let go.

Adrian quickly pushed Elise behind him. She shouldn't be watching this. What if she picked it up? Girls brawling like that were hardly an attractive sight.

Elise nearly laughed at being bundled behind his back. Then she thought about what Julian had just revealed, and the amusement faded.

Vivian had sent those people after her adoptive parents.

Elise had always thought she was selfish. She hadn't known she could be this cruel. Of course she was angry. When she'd first learned what had happened to Mom and Dad, she had wanted to reach right through the screen and make the person responsible answer for it.

“Stop it! Both of you!” Ms. Parker shouted.

Neither listened. They pulled hair, yanked at each other's clothes, and kept swinging at faces already red from the blows.

Outside, the students were even more agitated than the people in the room.

“I couldn't have made this up if I wrote romance novels. And it's actually happening. I have no words.”

“Vivian doxxed Elise's adoptive parents? That's vile. Maybe her brothers found out, and that's why they stopped liking her.”

“Elise is the one I feel sorry for. She was missing for seventeen years, and the second she's found, the adopted daughter starts going after her. Vivian obviously didn't want her coming home.”

“It's frightening. She always acts so gentle. I feel sick.”

“And all that stuff about Elise turning the brothers against her? Vivian probably made it up. After this, I'd believe it.”

“I used to be a fan of hers. Oh, God. I'm going to throw up.”

“I voted for her to lead the procession at last year's sports day. How do you think I feel?”

Grace listened with her face burning.

Vivian had cried in class as if every word were true. She had been acting all along. Grace had vouched for her in front of everyone, and now some of the looks coming her way suggested they thought she was involved, too.

She drew a deep breath and wished she could find somewhere to disappear.

Owen gave her a brief look. He had spent most of this time wondering when the people inside would finish so he could speak to Ms. Parker. The wait was getting tedious.

He had never liked Vivian much. As for Elise, she hadn't struck him as somebody who would bully her.

By the time things had settled down, the bell marking the end of PE was ringing. Elise and Nora needed to get back to class.

Nora's face glowed. She had finally stood up for herself, and then watched the two girls who had tormented them turn on each other. Still holding Elise's hand, she was almost bouncing before they had even left the office.

“Elise, both your brothers are amazing! And they're so handsome!”

Elise gave her a helpless look. Thinking back over what had happened, she felt a warmth she hadn't expected.

In her previous life, she had been alone. If somebody bullied her, she stood up for herself. She was used to managing on her own.

She hadn't expected both Julian and Adrian to come. Hadn't expected them to defend her like that.

Nora glanced back at the two brothers still in the office and met Julian's eyes. Her face flushed. He inclined his head and beckoned her over.

She was about to call Elise when he gave a slight shake of his head.

Nora coughed.

“Elise, go on ahead. I need to use the restroom.”

Once Elise had gone downstairs, Julian came out of the office. He bent forward slightly in greeting.

“Hello. I'm Elise's oldest brother. Julian Whitmore.”

His gold-rimmed glasses, fine features, and quietly distinguished air would have been intimidating enough. Somehow the courteous attention he gave her made it harder to look at him.

“I know,” Nora said, lowering her eyes. “Did you need something?”

He took out a business card and offered it to her.

“My number's on here.”

“Oh.” Nora accepted it, not quite understanding.

“Ellie told me she'd made a friend,” he said with a smile. “That would be you?”

“Yes!” She nodded enthusiastically, her eyes brightening. Elise had talked about her at home.

“I'm very glad she has a friend like you. Could I ask you a favor?”

Nora looked up. “What is it?”

“Ellie keeps telling me everything's fine at school. I think she doesn't want us to worry. But when you're responsible for someone, it's difficult not to. If something happens to her here, or somebody bullies her, please let me know straightaway.”

Nora stared at him. He was perfectly serious, giving this request as much care as if they were negotiating an important business deal.

A man in his position, speaking so gently to someone like her, because of Elise.

How lucky could a girl be, to have a brother like that?

Nora couldn't help envying her.

But talking to Elise's family behind her back... wouldn't that be a betrayal? Would Elise be angry if she found out?

Julian seemed to notice her hesitation.

“You don't need to tell me every little thing. Just let me know if someone bullies Ellie. Use your own judgment about what to pass on. I trust that, as her friend, you wouldn't stand by and let her be hurt.”

“Of course I wouldn't!” Nora nodded. “You can count on me.”

She suddenly felt as though she had been entrusted with an enormous responsibility.

When Ms. Parker had finished updating Vivian's school records, Julian got to his feet and glanced at Adrian. Both were preparing to leave when she called after them.

“Wait, please. Elise's family?”

They stopped and turned at the same instant.

Ms. Parker hesitated.

“There are a few things about Elise I'd like to discuss. Perhaps one of you could stay? I know you're both busy. The other can get back to work.”

“I'll stay.”

“I'll stay.”

The replies came almost together.

Julian fixed Adrian with a cold look. Was he going to compete over everything? When would it end?

Adrian returned the look without a trace of warmth. He hadn't done nearly as well as he'd intended today. Julian had stolen the show in front of Ellie, and Adrian was still annoyed about it.

He wasn't losing this last round, too.

Ms. Parker remembered the parent group, and how neither brother had been willing to give way. Why had she asked? Hadn't she learned anything last time?

“All right. Both of you, then. Come to my office.”

She led them back to the teachers' office, where a stack of exercise books sat on her desk. No other teachers were there. Before they had even sat down, she began.