Outside the room, Damien stared at his phone, puzzled by the unexpected word on the screen.
"L? What's that supposed to mean? Did you send this to the wrong person? Why would you call me 'brother'?"
He blinked a few times, totally thrown off. After a moment's thought, he typed back, "Excuse me, are you almost here?"
Inside the main house, Lilah frowned slightly at the message.
Seriously? For a guy as smart as Damien, he sure was being slow today.
She shot back a quick reply: "Brother, it's me—Lilah."
Not even a second after she hit send, she heard hurried footsteps approaching fast.
Damien—always the calm, bookish type—actually ran in, clearly shaken. He came straight over, eyes scanning Lilah up and down like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, teary-eyed with d
