Chapter 18 – Side Story: Lily's Discovery

• My name is Lily Brooks, and I am Mia's younger sister. For years, I watched my sister sacrifice everything for me. When our parents passed away, she stopped buying clothes for herself so she could pay for my school books. She cried so much in high school because of Serena Hart, and I used to hate that rich girl with all my heart. When Mia told me she was marrying Serena for money, I was deleted from reality. But over the last few months, I saw the truth. Serena changed completely. She looked at my sister like Mia was the only person in the entire universe. She bought me books, paid my college tuition, and made Mia truly happy. I learned to forgive Serena because love had changed her.
• Since I was studying computer science at the university, I often helped Mia with the digital filing system for her new kindergarten. I had full access to the school's online network and email database. On Wednesday night, while Mia and Serena were dealing with their sudden legal troubles, I sat in my dorm room, scrolling through the backend security logs of the school website. I wanted to see who filed that fake complaint to the educational board.
• The IP address used to send the fraudulent report was masked, but I used a tracking program I built for class. I bypassed the digital firewall, tracking the source location. It didn't lead to Europe, and it didn't lead to Chloe's old apartment. It led to a massive estate owned by Serena's uncle, Richard Hart. Chloe wasn't working alone. She had teamed up with Serena's bitter uncle to destroy their marriage and take over Hart Enterprises.