[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-four-of-a-kind":3,"chapter-four-of-a-kind-four-of-a-kind-chapter-223":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Four Of A Kind",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1529917,1985,"Chapter 223: [4.41] Family, Incorporated","four-of-a-kind-chapter-223",223,"\u003Cp>After finishing breakfast, I changed into jeans and a clean t-shirt. My phone buzzed with another text.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:ISAIAH WAKE UP!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:are you coming to the festival prep today???\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:i need my butler!!!! 🧛♀️🧛♂️\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shit. I’d forgotten about the Halloween festival. I’d promised to help Harlow with her vampire maid cafe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me:What time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:setup at 11!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me:I’ll try to make it by 12.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:PROMISE???\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me:Promise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:YAY!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:bringing your costume to you!!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me:Wait what\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harlow:too late already in the car!!!! see you at 12!!!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great. So Diana was coming at 10, and Harlow would be here at 12 with a vampire butler costume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My Saturday was getting complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard a knock at 9:58. Diana was punctual, at least.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I opened the door, she stood there with coffee and a bakery box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I brought breakfast,\" she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We already ate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her smile faltered. \"Oh. Well, these are from that French place you liked as a kid. The one on 5th.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Impressive. She remembered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come in.\" I stepped aside. \"Iris is getting ready.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana walked into our apartment like she was entering a museum—careful, curious, trying not to touch anything. She wore jeans and a simple blouse, her hair pulled back. She looked younger than thirty-six.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The place looks good,\" she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s the same as it was two years ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She flinched. \"Right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iris emerged from her bedroom in jeans and a T-shirt with some anime character on it. Her hair was wet from the shower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hi, Mom.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana’s face lit up. \"Iris! Look at you. You’re so big!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I grew three inches since you left.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana’s smile dimmed slightly. \"I brought pastries. From that place Isaiah used to like.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Le Petit,\" I said. \"I remember.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We sat awkwardly at the kitchen counter. Diana opened the box to reveal chocolate croissants and fruit tarts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So,\" Diana said. \"How’s school going, Iris?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine. I’m in the art club. And I help at the library.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s wonderful! Are you still drawing manga?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iris looked surprised. \"You remember that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course I do. You were always so talented.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iris glanced at me, then back to Diana. \"Yeah, I still draw. I’m working on a series about a girl with monster-fighting powers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’d love to see it sometime.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conversation continued like that—stilted but not hostile. Diana asked about friends, teachers, hobbies. Iris answered cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watched them. Listened. Said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana had missed two years of Iris’s life. She’d missed first period, first crush, first heartbreak. She’d missed Iris learning to cook eggs because I worked late. She’d missed the time Iris got lost on the subway and called me in tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was trying now. That counted for something, even if it wasn’t enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isaiah said you’re living in California?\" Iris asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana nodded. \"Yes. Near San Diego.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With some guy named Jack,\" I added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana shot me a look. \"Yes, with Jack. He’s a software engineer. He has his own company.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it serious?\" Iris asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think so. He’s a good man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s what you said about the last three,\" I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana ignored me. \"He has a beautiful house near the beach. Three bedrooms. A yard. It’s peaceful there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could see where this was going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That sounds nice,\" Iris said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is. And there’s a great art program at the high school. One of the best in the state.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iris tensed. \"Are you still trying to get us to move there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana paused. \"I want you both to consider it. A fresh start could be good for all of us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I already have a fresh start,\" Iris said. \"Isaiah got me an application for Hartwell Academy. I’m going to apply for the scholarship program next year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana’s eyebrows rose. \"Hartwell? The private school?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" I couldn’t keep the pride from my voice. \"Iris has the grades for it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s... impressive. But California has excellent schools too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to go to Hartwell,\" Iris said firmly. \"It’s where Isaiah goes. And I have friends applying there too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana looked surprised. \"What friends?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Valentine sisters,\" Iris said. \"Well, one of them. Harlow. She’s helping me prepare for the interview.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana’s gaze snapped to me. \"Those girls from last night? The ones who kept texting you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How do you know them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I work for their family,\" I said. \"I tutor one of them in math.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And they just happened to be at our apartment last night?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They were worried about Isaiah,\" Iris said. \"Because he missed dinner with them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana looked between us. \"And you’re friends with them? All of them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way she emphasized \"friends\" made it clear she suspected more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re my employers,\" I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They seemed very... attached to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re nice people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana didn’t look convinced. \"And one of them is helping Iris with Hartwell?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Harlow,\" Iris said. \"She’s showing me how to dress for the interview and stuff.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s...\" Diana seemed at a loss. \"That’s very nice of her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She thinks I can get in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sure you can,\" Diana said quickly. \"You’re brilliant, sweetheart. But California—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not moving to California,\" Iris interrupted. \"I have a life here. Plans. Friends.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But we could be a family again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We already are a family,\" Iris said. \"Me and Isaiah. That’s our family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana’s expression crumpled. \"I’m your mother, Iris.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Biology doesn’t make you a parent,\" I said. \"Being there does.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m trying to be there now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two years too late,\" I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isaiah,\" Iris warned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diana looked down at her hands. \"I know I made mistakes. Terrible ones. I know I hurt you both. But I want to make it right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By taking us to California to live with some guy we’ve never met?\" I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By giving you a better life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our life is fine,\" Iris said. \"We have an apartment and food and Isaiah has scholarships and I have art club and—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You deserve more than ’fine,’\" Diana interrupted. \"You deserve a yard and a dog and a real house. And Isaiah deserves to be a normal teenager instead of working three jobs and raising his sister.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1019,"2026-06-06T06:03:59.990Z",1,"novelbin.me","cc57d7a141862a173e295258b7fe69c5ba1b7d96f26067a066b91d79a10baa17","four-of-a-kind-chapter-224","four-of-a-kind-chapter-222",251,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffour-of-a-kind-cover.jpg"]