Chapter 4

The memories came back sharp and whole.

Before, my mother had only ever favored Cora. But today, when she looked at me, her eyes were full of hatred.

Seeing that I wouldn't say anything,

she spoke without any expression at all. "If it weren't for you, your brother's years of hard work wouldn't have been ruined at the last step. Tonight you think hard about how you're going to explain yourself to Great-Uncle Gerald. And if you don't explain it well—"

"I'll cut off every cent I give you! If you're so capable, then feed yourself."

My father snapped that this was nonsense, but before he could lay into anyone, a call came through. His face went grave, and in the end he hurried off to the old house.

The room went quiet.

"Stephanie, you're pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

Stewart stared at me, his eyes cold enough to frighten.

I looked steadily back at him, calm inside.

What he didn't know was that watching our father give up on him, step by step, was far from all I wanted.

The next day, sure enough, my mother summoned the whole crowd of family elders.

She did it behind my father's back. Just before we went downstairs, she pinched the small of my back, hard, as a warning.

"When it's time, you tell the elders nicely. Say it was you who went too far and provoked your brother, and that's the only reason he did what he did."

Then she settled Great-Uncle Gerald into his seat, all smiles. "Please, Great-Uncle, sit. The truth is, I asked you all here today to clear up the misunderstanding from last time."

Great-Uncle Gerald frowned. "What misunderstanding? You had to bring this many of us over for it? And where's Will?"

A flicker of fear crossed my mother's face, but she forced the smile back. "It's about our girl. That day, at the coming-of-age celebration, her brother meant to teach her a little lesson. He didn't expect his good intentions to backfire—"

A boy standing beside Great-Uncle Gerald muttered under his breath.

"What do you mean, good intentions gone wrong? That was her coming-of-age. You only get one, your whole life. There were that many people filming, and what she got served was a beheaded rooster—"

My mother's smile stiffened. "Children don't understand these things."

"Great-Uncle, you know as well as anyone, Stephanie was abducted when she was little, and she lived with her kidnappers all that time after."

"In an environment like that, of course she'd pick up all sorts of bad habits."

"Ever since we brought her back to the Simmons family, she's never once behaved. She's always stirring up trouble on purpose to compete with Cora for our love, or quietly going after her, setting her up."

"This time she even cheated on purpose, to snatch first place away from Cora."

"When it comes down to it, her brother only did what he did because he was afraid she'd go down the wrong road."

"If no one keeps a hand on her now, I'm afraid she'll end up on the crooked path someday, into crime and worse. What a person goes through as a child sets who they are. You can't straighten some people out without hitting them!"

She rattled on and on, not caring in the slightest that there was no way I could have cheated my way to first place in a citywide exam that size.

In the end, she was just throwing all the filth she could onto me.

Her eyes settled on me, full of disgust, as if I'd committed one unforgivable thing after another.

The Simmons relatives she'd summoned glanced at one another, and one of them spoke up almost without thinking.

"But being abducted wasn't Stephanie's fault. She seems just fine to me—"

"Fine? Where is she fine! A worthless girl. If it were possible, I honestly wish she'd never been found at all!"

My mother's voice came out harsh.

Then she shoved me hard and snapped,

"Everyone's here today. You explain yourself to them!"

Every gaze landed on me. Some weighing, some pitying, some scornful and glad to watch me squirm.

But the ones I couldn't ignore were Stewart and Cora, standing off to the side.

As if he'd noticed my eyes on them, Stewart lurched a step forward. "Stephanie, hurry up and tell them everything that day was your fault. Your brother only did it for your own good, isn't that right!"

I looked at them, my expression calm.

These people I'd once hoped to call family had, step by step, severed every last hope I had in them.

"Great-Uncle Gerald."

My voice was quiet, but there was nothing careless in it. "Since everyone happens to be here, I'd like to ask you all to witness something. Today, I intend to cut ties with my parents completely."