"No, don't. It's late. I just... needed to tell someone."
"Are you okay?"
I laughed, a hollow sound that echoed in the empty space. I glanced at the armchair with the quilt my mom had made, herusual spot to read or do her crafts at night while I read on the couch or watched a show. "Trent gave me photos of my half-siblings. They're living like royalty while my mom..." I couldn't finish.
"That fucking bastard," Ivy hissed. "Even in death, he's screwing you over."
"The new treatment the doctor wants to try costs twenty thousand dollars." I'd called the hospital after I'd left, wanting to find out how much it was. There was no way I could get another loan to cover it, I'd already maxed myself out, as had my mother.
"Jesus."
"Yeah." I leaned back against the couch cushion, my gaze falling to the burn stain on the wooden coffee table from the time we'd tried to do s'mores inside. Ivy and I had wound up burning the table, and my mother had scolded us but then helped us make them anyway. Her gentleness, her way of handling us both, especially how she took Ivy in like she was her own, made me smile even now.
"I don't know what to do, Ivy. Mom's getting worse, and I'm running out of options."
"What about those siblings? They're loaded, right? Maybe they'd help if they knew about their half-sister?"
I snorted. "Right. 'Hi, I'm the living proof your dad cheated on your mom. Mind sharing your inheritance?'"
"When you put it that way..." Ivy paused. "But seriously, they might not be assholes. Maybe they'd want to know they have a sister."
"Or maybe they'd slam the door in my face." I closed my eyes, the heaviness of all the revelations seeping into my bones. "Besides, they're in Ironstone. That's hours away."
"So? Take a few days off. Go up there and feel it out."
"And say what exactly?"
"I don't know." She yawned. "But twenty thousand isn't appearing out of thin air, and your mom needs that treatment."
The practical truth of her words sank in. What choice did I really have?
"Maybe," I conceded. "But even if I went there, I can't just walk up and announce myself. They'd think I was some con artist looking for a handout."
"So don't announce yourself right away," Ivy suggested. "Get to know them first. See what kind of people they are before dropping the family bomb."
I frowned. "That feels dishonest."
"More dishonest than your father hiding your existence from them for twenty-seven years?"
She had a point.
"Look," Ivy continued, her voice softening. "I'm not saying become a professional stalker. Just... find a way to cross paths naturally. Get a sense of who they are. Maybe there's a way to approach this that doesn't end with doors slammed in faces."
I thought about the photos, of Grayson's confident appearance, Meredith's carefree shopping. The third man, Leo Donati, with his dark eyes that made me uneasy even from a photo. They existed in a different world than mine.
"Trent mentioned Meredith works at some place called Donati Enterprises," I said slowly. "Maybe I could look into that."
"That's the spirit. Use that accounting brain of yours."
"It's not that simple. I can't just abandon Mom to go chasing after rich half-siblings who might hate me on sight. I don't know how long she…" I couldn't even finish the sentence.
"Elena." Ivy's voice turned serious. "Your mom needs that treatment, so the sooner you do this, the better. She's been hounding you to go back to the city for your work and leave her to deal with this. She won't be upset, besides, you can video callher or drive back. Sure, it's a long drive, but you're running low on options here. If I could sell a kidney to save her, I would."
The truth of her words hit deep. "I know you would. Thank you."
Ivy had been helping out with bills as well, having taken us on as her family when we were young, since her own parents were useless and she wanted nothing to do with them. Considering the one time I'd been to the drug den she'd called home as a kid, I didn't blame her. My mother had all but adopted her when we were kids, and she spent most of her life under my roof and being like a sister to me than with her own family.
"So what's the plan?"
