Page 143 of Girl Betrayed

“Truth is subjective,” Claire replied. “I’d rather tell you a story.”

“I’m listening.”

“It starts with my sister.” Claire could see the instant confusion as her attorney began flipping through the file in front of her. “Oh, you won’t find her there. No one knows about her. My parents made sure of that. They gave her up. Let a new family adopt her. They wanted us to forget. But I never did.”

The woman stopped flipping pages and looked at Claire. “Who is your sister?”

“Her name was Annabelle.”

The woman blanched.

“She fell in love with the wrong man. But we made a plan to pay him back for all the wrong he’d done, me and Annabelle.” Claire closed her eyes wistfully for a moment. When she opened them, she could see the fear in her attorney’s eyes.

“Are you talking about Annabelle Sorkin?”

Claire nodded. “Do you want to meet her?”

“Your sister?” the woman asked cautiously.

Claire nodded. “She’s here right now. She can tell you everything we planned.”

“How?”

“It’s simple. She’s waiting just on the other side. All you have to do is let her in. Count with me.”

Claire met the woman’s gaze and began counting down, her voice a whisper, “Ten.”

“Nine.”

“Eight.”

“Seven.”