Chapter 163

Matthew glanced over at Reese, noticing how Sebastian’s words didn’t even make her flinch. The corner of his mouth ticked up, almost before he realized it.
But then he remembered everything she’d been through that night, and his voice turned cold. “Earlier, when I was downstairs with the agents, we looked into Lyla’s whereabouts. We found out Sofia really did meet with her.”
He brought up the security footage. “If you look at the timeline, it’s obvious. After Sofia and Lyla crossed paths, Lyla suddenly sped up her hacking into the research lab’s servers. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on.net
“The officers are already downstairs. They’ll be taking you in for questioning soon.”
All the color drained from Sofia’s face. She staggered back, crashing into her desk with a thud, barely managing to stay upright.
For a long moment, she just stood there, frozen. Then she lunged forward, grabbing onto the sleeve of Hank’s suit like it was the only thing keeping her afloat. Her nails dug into the fabric, and her voice broke, thick with tears and panic.
“Hank, please, help me! I can’t go with them, I just can’t! I didn’t leak anything, I swear, Lyla forced me! She threatened me with stuff from my past, I didn’t have a choice—I only helped her because I was scared!”
Hank looked down at her, watching tears stream down her cheeks. His chest tightened painfully.
This was his little sister. He’d spent his whole life looking out for her. Even when she screwed up, it was almost impossible not to want to protect her.
But then he remembered the video of Reese gasping for breath. The recording of Sofia telling Robbie to hurt Reese. The fact that Sofia had tried to get Reese killed. Any softness he felt was completely drowned by disappointment so sharp it almost hurt.
He started to lift his hand, like he might comfort her the way he used to. But his fingers just hovered in the air, unable to make contact.
Finally, he let out a heavy breath and gently pried Sofia’s hands off him. The gesture was distant, colder than ever. His voice was exhausted, icy. “Sofia you’re still lying. Everything’s right here in front of us. Do you really think anyone’s going to believe you anymore?”
“I’m not lying! Hank, how can you not believe me?” Sofia’s voice shot up, shrill and desperate. She pointed straight at Reese, her words coming out in an angry, shaky rush it’s her! This is all her fault! She set me up. She’s just trying to make me look like the bad guy!
“Hank, you can’t just trust her. Have you forgotten how your mom died?”
Hank froze at that. Something flickered in his eyes-pain, then guilt. He turned to look at Reese, taking in her straight back. She looked so tired, but somehow still stood tall. His heart ached.
What had he been doing all these years?
He remembered when Reese first moved in with the Meyer family, how she trailed behind him, shyly calling his name. He remembered the time she was so excited to show him her first report card when she got top marks.
He also remembered slapping her across the face at their mother’s funeral.
“Enough.” Hank’s voice was rough and raw. He looked at Sofia, and all the old affection was gone. There was just disappointment left. “Sofia, stop it. There’s no use trying to talk your way out now.
“I love you, but I can’t keep covering for you. I won’t help you hide what you’ve done. Whatever happens next, you have to deal with it yourself.”
“No! Hank, you can’t just leave me like this!
“If you don’t help me, I’ll be screwed! They’ll put me behind bars! Please, Hank,
just this once. Please, help me, just one last time!”