Chapter 4

"Open the door."

I repeated, my voice devoid of emotion.

The door cracked open slightly. Hailey peeked out, wearing my loungewear—the light-grey silk robe I bought last year. She angled her body, trying to block my view of the inside.

But I had already seen enough.

On my living room sofa, a guy in his early twenties was playing video games with his feet up, my TV blaring. He was drinking milk straight from my carton, his dirty socks propped right up on my coffee table.

Tyler.

The "hopeless" brother who was supposedly crushed under a $600,000 debt. He looked perfectly healthy, without a care in the world.

"Get out of my way." I pushed the door open.

Hailey was forced to take a step back. She immediately clutched her stomach, her face tight with mock pain. "Chloe, please, be careful..."

I ignored her and walked into my own home.

There were two pairs of men's sneakers and a pair of women's slippers in my entryway. Greasy, unwashed dishes piled high in the kitchen sink. Hailey and Tyler’s laundry hung on my balcony.

My bedroom door was half-open. My sheets had been replaced with some hideous pink floral set, and the nightstand was covered in Hailey's makeup.

In the corner, my cat tree was gone. The food bowls were gone too.

"Where is my cat?"

Hailey slinked in behind me, her voice soft and harmless. "Oh, that cat was just so noisy, and Tyler is allergic. I sent it to a shelter/boarding place."

"Which one?"

"I don't really remember... somewhere on the East Side, I think."

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. I had that cat for four years—one year longer than I had known Logan.

Without even looking up from his game, Tyler muttered, "This place is tiny anyway. I'm doing you a favor by squeezing in here."

I walked over to the TV and shut it off.

He finally looked up, glare intense. "Hey! Who the hell are you?"

"The owner of this apartment."

"Logan said this place is going to be his anyway."

I stared Tyler down for two seconds.

Behind me, Hailey’s timid voice piped up again.

"Chloe... there’s something... I didn't want to tell you like this."

She stood by the bathroom door, holding a plastic stick in her hand. A pregnancy test. Two clear pink lines.

"I’m pregnant with Logan's baby." She lowered her head, her fingers trembling slightly, playing the part of a guilty, fragile girl. "It’s been six weeks... Logan said he’d tell you after you moved out."

Footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Logan pushed the door open and walked in. The moment he saw the pregnancy test in Hailey's hand, he froze. He didn't look at Hailey. He looked straight at me.

His face didn't show shock or panic.

It showed guilt and avoidance.

"You already knew," I said.

He didn't deny it.

Hailey whispered, "Logan, I'm sorry... I couldn't keep hiding it."

Logan rubbed his temples, pulled an envelope from his bag, and placed it on the table.

"Chloe, you don't really live in this apartment anyway. Sign it over to me. Hailey is pregnant; she needs a stable place to settle down. I’ve already prepared the quitclaim deed. You just need to sign—"

"Are you insane?"

"It’s just a signature, Chloe. Do a good deed for once—"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Everyone froze.

I walked over and opened the door.

Two men in official uniforms stood there. One of them held a clipboard. "Are you Ms. Chloe? We are from the Municipal Urban Redevelopment Office. We need to confirm some information regarding the buyout evaluation of your property."

The air in the room instantly shifted.

Especially for Hailey.

The fragile, victimized look on her face vanished in an instant. It was replaced by a look of sheer, unmasked panic.

I turned around and looked at her.

Her eyes flickered away. It was incredibly fast, but I caught it.

That was not the look of an innocent, pregnant young woman.

That was the look of someone whose master plan had just been blown to pieces.

"Hailey. You worked at the City Planning and Development Department for three years before you were let go last year."

I said every word clearly.

"You've known all along that this entire block is slated for a massive developer buyout, haven't you?"