You weren't snooping

That’s the thing—this wasn’t curiosity or ambition or some Gossip Girl stunt. It was an accident. A wrong envelope. A misfiled document. A name that didn’t belong where it was.

You’re in Lily’s study, helping Serena look for an old photo album, when you find it tucked behind a row of legal folders.

A trust document. Dates that don’t line up. A sealed agreement tied to a name you’ve never heard—but marked Van der Woodsen.

Your stomach drops.

“Did you find it?” Serena calls from the hallway.

You hesitate. “Serena… I think you should come here.”

She knows something’s wrong the second she sees your face.

You hand her the paper. She scans it once. Twice. Then she goes very still.

“That’s not supposed to exist,” she says quietly.

The room feels colder.

“What is it?” you ask.

Serena swallows. “It’s… proof. Of something my family buried a long time ago.” She lets out a shaky breath. “A sibling. Not mine. My father’s. Someone who was paid to disappear so the name stayed clean.”

You stare at her. “You didn’t know?”

“No,” she whispers. “And that’s the worst part.”

From that moment on, you’re pulled into the secret whether you want to be or not.

Late-night conversations where Serena sits on the edge of your bed, unraveling everything she thought she knew. Quiet rage when Lily avoids the subject. Fear that if the truth comes out, it won’t just ruin reputations—it’ll destroy whatever family Serena still believes in.

“You can walk away,” Serena tells you one night. “Pretend you never saw anything.”

You shake your head. “I won’t. Not if this hurts you.”

She looks at you then—really looks at you—like you’re the only solid thing left in her world.

“Everyone thinks my life is perfect,” she says softly. “But perfection is just… really expensive silence.”