CHAPTER 63 – CASPIAN
This time it’s not coffee I bring—it’s a mirror.
I hope my sister doesn’t like what I show her.
Penelope looks up from her desk when I knock. For a split second her face softens into surprise before it hardens into sharper, more familiar lines.
“I’m getting deja vu of you visiting me without prior notice.”
I close the door behind me.
I don’t sit, and she doesn’t ask me to.
“When you moved away from home and never replied to my letters,” I say, my voice matching the family name for once, “I told myself it was your schedule. That was easier than the truth—that you just didn’t care.”
She stiffens, her fingers hovering over her keyboard.
“When we won the high school state championship, I searched the stands for you even though I knew you wouldn’t be there.”
Her mouth tightens.
“Where is this coming from?”
“My graduation day was the last time I waited for you to show up.”
Exhaling sharply, she leans back in her chair.
“So I’m not the greatest sister. What else is new? Why are we having this pity party? I have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
“Because I’m done,” I say. “I thought I was only done with our parents, but I’m done with you too.”
I meet her gaze. She flinches, I don’t. The dynamic between us has shifted, and she knows it.
“Unless you fix what you did to Sophia Bennett.”
She looks away, her gaze locking onto the diplomas on the wall.
“I know I handled it badly.”
“Handled it badly?” I repeat. My voice stays calm, which I know infuriates her more than shouting ever could.
“You threw a resident under the bus to protect your illusion of perfection.”
“What’s it to you, anyway?” She turns back to me, her eyes narrowing. “How do you even know her? She’s a resident, and four years older than you. You’re a law student living in an idealistic bubble.”
“It doesn’t matter how I know her,” I point out.
I weigh my words carefully, then decide to let her see exactly what I’m protecting.
“She’s someone my boyfriend cares deeply about. Which makes her someone I care about, too.”
This time, the surprise is so strong it takes her a second longer to hide it.
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
The words slip before I can stop them.
“Do you care?”
Instead of replying, she rubs her forehead, looking every bit the exhausted surgeon she must be.
“I admit it was a poor judgment call,” she says, like that should be enough. “Anyway. The report’s been filed. It’s done.”
“Then undo it.”
She gives a bitter laugh.
“It could ruin my career.”
“True. But if you don’t fix it, you’re definitely ruining hers. She’s worked hard for her future.”
Her shoulders sag, showing a crack in the armor.
“I know.”
“She called you a legend,” I say quietly. “She looked up to you. Is this the legacy you want to leave behind?”
Penelope presses her lips together. When she speaks again, her voice is less certain. Less Dr. Stone, more human.
“Don’t you care about my reputation? About the family name being dragged through mud?”
I laugh.
“There’s nothing in this world I care less about than the family name.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to tell the truth,” I say. “Everywhere it needs to be told. I want you to correct the record publicly. And apologize to Sophia.”
“If I don’t?”
I look at her then—not the brilliant surgeon, not the legend.
My sister.
My hands are steady, though I can feel my pulse thumping in my throat.
“Then I won’t shield you anymore,” I say quietly. “Not from the consequences of your choices. Not from yourself.”
She goes very still.
“You told me that everything you have, you earned,” I say, my voice softening as I reach for the door handle. “So go earn your legacy, Penelope.”