Chapter 2 Joining Syntrex Research Center

Lila continued reading the messages in Damian's group chat. "Please. A beggar who grew up picking through trash thinks she can be Mrs. Cross?" "Lila probably still thinks that Damian slept with her because he liked her. If she ever finds out that he only did it out of revenge, it'll crush her." "Honestly, Damian had it rough, too. He had only soothed her at first because she looked miserable, and he never thought she'd latch on. For Erin's sake, he had put up with it for years, stuck with someone he never liked." "Anyway, thank God it's almost over. I can't wait to see that trash rat's face when the videos go public. LOL." Every line that popped up in the chat stabbed at Lila's heart, again and again, until it felt raw and bleeding. She was the Harts' biological daughter, but she'd been switched at birth and grew up in an orphanage. If reporters hadn't caught her on camera while she was collecting recyclables to pay for school, the Harts might never have learned that they had brought home the wrong child. Raised in Lila's place, Erin Hart had lived like a princess, doted on by everyone from the time she was young. Even after Lila came home, her parents, Austin Hart and Serena Gibson, along with Aaron, couldn't stand the thought of Erin suffering, so they told everyone that the girls were twins. Lila still remembered their 16th birthday. The Harts had hosted a lavish banquet to celebrate them both and announce who Lila truly was, but Erin stole the show from start to finish. Back then, Erin's friends mocked Lila as a trash rat. She worked up the nerve and told Aaron how hurt she felt, but he just looked impatient. "They weren't wrong, were they? You were a trash rat to begin with. Family or not, you don't get to take Erin's place. I'm Erin's brother, and only hers! I'm warning you, keep your hands off her, or I'll slap you." Lila realized then that the Harts had never truly welcomed her. She was sneaking out with her luggage when she ran into Damian. He was 22 then, fresh out of college, with an easy swagger as he arched a brow and blocked the back door. "What's wrong? Running away from home at your age? What trouble did you get into? Tell me." Lila hadn't meant to say a single word, but the moment those hands stroked her hair and soothed her, everything she'd been holding in came pouring out. "No one in my family likes me, not even Aaron. I don't want to stay anymore. To them, I'm just in the way." That day, Damian skipped Erin's birthday banquet and took Lila to the mall instead, where he bought her a princess dress and a bracelet. "Come to me if anyone gives you a hard time. They might not like you, but I do." The memories returned with painful clarity. Lila ran her fingers over the pavé diamond star bracelet he'd given her as her tears salted her tongue, drop by drop. She believed that Damian truly liked her and that, after everything they'd shared, they were on the verge of making it official. It never occurred to her that he was only with her for revenge. It all traced back to what happened after Erin pushed Lila down the stairs and nearly killed her. Lila found the nerve to go to her grandfather, Vernon Hart, and tell him everything. He then sent Erin abroad, while Damian refused to believe that she could've done it. He decided that Lila had framed Erin. For years after, every time he took Lila to bed, it served as one more tool for his revenge. Lila slowly wiped her tears away and slipped out of the guest room to get dressed. The shower was still running. Perhaps Damian was chatting away, or maybe he was so disgusted after sleeping with her that he needed to scrub himself clean. Lila wiped the camera clean before leaving the Cross residence. She didn't let the butler, Gary Foster, take her home. Instead, she stepped into the rain alone, the cold seeping through her in an instant. She lingered by the curb in a daze until dawn, and only then did she finally dial a number. "Professor Manning, I'd like to apply for the pharmaceutical R&D program at Syntrex Research Center. Is it too late?"