chapter1224

Mona shook her head quickly, her voice earnest. "This is just too crazy. I haven't told a single person besides you guys."

Lydia looked at her, curiosity in her eyes. "So why did you tell us?"

Mona hesitated, then said, "Because I figured you must have noticed something weird about my family too, right? Maybe you still don't trust me, but I swear everything I've said is true. I actually thought about telling my dad, but what if he didn't believe me? He and my mom are so close. If I suddenly blurted out that my mom is a clone, he'd think I was joking or just losing it completely."

Lydia nodded. "So what did you do next?"

Mona let out a shaky breath. "After that, my mom got fixated on marrying me to someone from the Jefferson family. I thought, if I could really become part of their family, maybe I could use their power to get to the bottom of this. But now that you all know, I don't have to go through with it anymore. I just want you to help me find my real mom." Her voice broke a little as she added, "I don't even know what's happened to her. I'm so scared for her."

Lydia paused, thinking, then met Mona's eyes. Did your clone ever tell you where she came from?"

Mona shook her head again, frustration plain on her face. "No. Everything was happening so fast. We were still in the elevator. I didn't even think to ask, and she didn't have a chance to say much before someone took her away."

Suddenly, Lydia reached into her bag and pulled out a syringe. "This is poison. If you're willing to let me inject it, then I'll believe you."

Mona stared at her, completely calm. "If you can save my mom and get rid of this fake, I'll do it." She rolled up her sleeve and held out her arm without hesitation.

Mikey looked startled, but Lydia's face stayed the same, cool and collected. She pressed the syringe to Mona's arm and pushed the plunger. "This stuff is strong. Are you scared?"

Mona held Lydia's gaze. "So you still don't trust me?"

Lydia gave a soft laugh. "Help us out and you'll get the antidote." Then she added, more gently, "I do believe you."

The words hit Mona hard. Her eyes filled with tears. She never expected Lydia would be the first one to actually believe her.

"Thank you, Miss Norwood."

No one could know how alone she'd felt, carrying this massive secret and never daring to say a word. At home, she had to act completely normal around the clone, making sure she didn't ship up. It was exhausting pretending like everything was fine when it wasn't. Now, finally, she'd told someone, and that person actually believed her. The relief and gratitude were overwhelming.

Mikey was stunned, realizing Mona had been telling the truth all along. For a

moment, he didn't even know how to feel.

Mona wiped her eyes and looked at Lydia, voice steady. "Miss Norwood, what do we do next?"

Lydia gave a one-word answer. "Wait."

It was close to midnight, and the servants in the Brown family's villa

serva one to bed. Lydia, Mikey,

had all

Mona, and Reed slipped quietly out of their rooms.

Reed spotted Mona walking out with Lydia and Mikey and stared in shock.

was supposed to be out cold What was happening?

g to the plan, Mona

Lydia caught the look on Reed's face and just said, Your daughter isn't a clone.

Relief flooded Reed's face as he looked at Mona, but there was no time for a heart- to-heart. They had work to do.

Lydia turned to Reed. "Are you sure she drank the sedative?"