3. Double Dibs

Complete story — includes the ending

After the Mercers find out that Sutton is dating Ethan, Emma (as Sutton) suggests that he come for dinner so that they could get to know him better. Ethan reluctantly agrees and they both decide to keep the relationship private. Laurel meets a new guy in town, Justin and quickly falls for him. Later at school, Char also meets Justin in the hallway and 'calls dibs' on him, a term Sutton coined that is used to reserve boys. It is obvious that Justin has feelings for Laurel, but because of Char, Laurel is forced to stepped back and she seeks advice from Sutton, who wouldn't normally be helpful in this type of situation. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Sutton and Thayer find Ruth Peterson, who was listed as Sutton and Emma's birth mother on their birth certificate and find out that she was paid to sign the papers, telling them that she isn't their real mother. Ruth also lets them know that both Sutton and Emma were adopted into wealthy families before she lost contact with them. They go on to find the Websters, Emma's former adoptive parents. They are then informed that while the Websters did in fact adopt Emma, a woman claiming to be Ruth came back for her and they had to legally hand her over. Sutton and Thayer begin to suspect that the Mercers knew something was going on all along. At the Mercer family dinner, Dan unexpectedly drops by to take Ethan home, saying that it was a family emergency. It turns out that Madeline's father's accomplice had framed Ethan for stealing Sutton's laptop. Because of this, Emma no longer knows who she can trust and begins to doubt her bond with Ethan. When they return to Thayer's place, Sutton and Thayer find out that the house had been broken into and that the laptop had been used. When the screen zooms out, it is revealed that Thayer's father is in L.A. and is spying on them from the yard, indicting that he was the one who had broken in. At Char's party, Justin tells Sutton that he likes Laurel, and Sutton gives him her address since Laurel planned on staying home that night. He later shows up at her door and Laurel agrees to go on a date. Emma goes to apologize to Ethan and they share a romantic moment, although they pull back because Ethan was supposed to be in love with the real Sutton, not Emma. Back at the Mercer house, Sutton video-chats with Emma and shows Emma a picture of her as a baby, with her birth mother, a photo which was given to Sutton by Mr. Webster.