"Mom, are you really going to listen to Dad and make my sister do... that?" Chloe Thompson's voice was laced with a complex mix of emotions. She wasn't a child anymore, so she understood the unspoken implications of her parents' words.
'She just never imagined her parents would sink this low!'
"Alright, Chloe, stay out of this. Listen to me and give me your sister."
"If we solve this now, your dad won't turn his attention to you." Catherine Miller's voice was edged with urgency. She reached her hand out further, her attitude hardening. "Give me your sister. I have two children. I have to protect at least one of them."
'Just like Marcus Thompson said, the younger one wasn't hers, after all.'
'Exchanging her for my older daughter's safety... It's worth it!'
Chloe Thompson understood what her mother was implying and quickly spoke up. "She *is* your child! Look at her, she looks so much like us!"
