Mary POV
Here we are again, trying to figure out where my sister was yesterday. We have to find out today by all means. If we don't, we'll have to wait until Monday, and that would make everything much harder.
We've already asked almost half the school. By now, Maya has probably heard that we've been asking about her whereabouts.
"This is so tiring. How can everyone keep saying the same thing?" I complained as Lee and I sat down in the cafeteria.
"Ruby might be right. There could be someone else backing Maya," Peter said thoughtfully.
"Can we talk about this later? I have to get to chemistry class," I said, packing up my things and standing to leave.
"You're Mary, right?"
I turned around and saw a pretty blonde girl with striking eyes smiling nervously at me.
"Yeah, that's me. And you are?"
Her eyes widened.
"Shit... I'm sorry. Pardon my manners. I'm Brenda."
"Oh, Brenda. Nice to meet you," I said with a tight smile, stretching out my hand for a handshake. She quickly shook it.
"I overheard you asking about Maya's whereabouts yesterday, so I thought I should tell you about—"
I cut her off immediately.
"You saw my sister yesterday?"
"Yeah... well, I think I did. I saw her with Philip," she replied, sounding almost certain.
"Philip?"
"Yeah, Philip. I have to go now. See you."
Before she could say another word, she hurried away.
I immediately pulled out my phone and texted Peter.
Who the hell is Philip?
His reply came almost instantly.
Which Philip? Let's meet after school.
I hadn't seen Maya since morning, and the only chance I usually had to speak to her without causing a scene was during the ride home.
"And now you want me to ditch that?" I practically yelled at Lee.
"You're shouting like you two don't live together," Lee said with an eye roll.
I took a deep breath.
"Living together doesn't mean we actually talk, pretty boy. We barely have one normal sibling conversation without ending up in an argument."
I folded my arms.
"By the way... who is Philip?"
"Why do you want to know who he is?" Lee asked cautiously.
"Maya was with Philip yesterday, so he's a suspect, right?" I asked, hope creeping into my voice.
"Philip is Lee's brother-in-law," Peter answered.
Lee shot Peter an irritated glare.
"He is not my brother-in-law, asshole."
I sighed in frustration.
"Can someone just answer my question already? And while we're at it... what's your relationship with Ruby?"
"We're practically family," Lee explained. "My cousin is betrothed to her. Philip is Ruby's stepbrother."
"Then what does any of this have to do with him?" I asked, completely confused.
Peter rubbed the back of his neck before speaking.
"Once Ruby and my cousin, Xavier, get married, Ruby's father plans to hand over his company to her. She also intends to merge it with Lee's company."
I frowned.
"So Philip wants the company for himself?"
No one answered.
"What does that have to do with Maya?" I continued. "And what does any of this have to do with Lana? I'm not seeing the connection."
"Philip is sick in the head," I muttered. "Fine, I get that. But we still need to understand why he's teaming up with Maya... and why Maya is helping him."
Silence settled over us.
Finally, I broke it.
"We'll meet tomorrow at the hospital. Lana is getting discharged, so we'll have a proper conversation there."
"Yeah," Peter agreed with a nod. "Let's meet tomorrow. We all need time to process everything."
He glanced at his watch.
"We're already thirty minutes late for practice."
Without another word, he grabbed Lee by the arm and dragged him away.
When I walked toward the car, Maya was already sitting inside.
That was unusual.
"Maya," I called softly. "Where have you been?"
She simply rolled her eyes.
The ride home was painfully quiet.
As soon as we stepped inside, Maya finally broke the silence.
"Care to explain why you've been looking for me everywhere today?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
"I wasn't," I lied, rolling my eyes back at her. "Who told you that?"
She scoffed before walking toward her room.
"Oh, Mom texted me. She said she'll be traveling, so don't expect bedtime stories tonight."
I frowned.
"And she didn't text me too? Are you the only child she has now or what?"
"I don't know." Maya smirked. "Maybe she loves me more."
She disappeared into her room before I could respond.
"Mom..." I muttered under my breath.
I let out a long sigh.
"It doesn't even matter."
Since it was the weekend, I suddenly wasn't sure what to do. When I lived with Dad, weekends usually meant spending the entire day watching movies.
A small smile appeared on my face.
"I'll just finish the series I started before coming here."
Siren Kiss.
The moment Park Mi-young appeared on the screen, my irritation slowly melted away. For a while, I completely forgot about my impossible sister in the next room.
By the time the episode ended, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
A dangerous, but exciting idea.
The corners of my lips slowly curled into a smile.