Chapter 4

The old memories were still sharp, every one of them.

Before, Mother had only ever favored Marina, but today her eyes were full of hatred when she looked at me.

Seeing that I stayed silent,

she spoke with a flat, empty face. "If it weren't for you, how could your brother's years of hard work be ruined in one stroke? Tonight you'd better think hard about how you're going to explain yourself to the family elder. And if you don't explain it well—"

"—I'll cut off every cent of your living expenses. If you've got the nerve, go feed yourself."

Father barked that this was nonsense, but before he could lay into anyone his phone rang, and after the call his face went grim and he hurried off to the old family house.

The room went quiet.

"Lucille, you're pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

Henry was glaring at me, his eyes cold enough to frighten.

I looked steadily back at him, calm inside.

What he didn't know was that watching Father give up on him, step by step, was nowhere near everything I wanted.

The next day, as expected, Mother summoned a whole group of family elders.

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

"When they ask, you tell the elders it's your own fault. You went too far and made your brother angry, and that's why he did what he did."

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

Great-Uncle Abbott frowned. "What misunderstanding needs this many of us dragged over? And where's Michael?"

A flicker of fear crossed Mother's face, but she forced the smile to hold. "It's about my girl. At her coming-of-age celebration the other day, her brother wanted to teach her a lesson, and he meant well, but it went wrong—"

A boy who'd come along with Great-Uncle Abbott muttered under his breath.

"What do you mean, meant well? That was her coming-of-age celebration. You only get one your whole life, and with everyone filming, what she got served was a beheaded rooster—"

Mother's smile froze. "What would a child understand."

"Great-Uncle, you know how it is. Lucille was abducted when she was little, and she lived with the kidnappers all that time after."

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

"After we brought her back to the Pruitt family, she was never once honest with us. Either she's deliberately stirring up trouble to compete with Marina for our affection, or she's quietly going after Marina, setting her up."

"This time she even cheated on purpose, to steal Marina's first-place spot."

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

"If we don't keep her in line now, I'm afraid she'll end up on a crooked path someday, breaking the law. What a person goes through in childhood pretty much sets who they are. If you don't beat it out of them, you'll never straighten them out!"

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

When it came down to it, she was simply dumping every bit of filth on me.

Mother's gaze settled on me, full of disgust, as if I'd done a thousand unforgivable things.

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

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

"How is she fine! A worthless girl, a drain on us. If it were up to me, I honestly wish she'd never been found at all!"

Mother's voice came out sharp.

Then she shoved me hard and snapped,

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

Every eye landed on me. Some were weighing me up, some pitying, and some full of contempt and quiet satisfaction at the show.

But the two I couldn't ignore were Henry and Marina, standing off to the side.

As if he'd caught my glance, Henry stepped forward, worked up. "Lucille, hurry up and tell them the whole thing that day was your fault, that everything your brother did was for your own good. Right?"

I looked at them, my face calm.

These were the family I had once let myself hope in, and one step at a time they had cut down every last bit of that hope.

"Great-Uncle Pruitt."

My voice was soft, but utterly serious. "Since everyone happens to be here, I'd like you all to witness something. Today I intend to sever ties with my parents, completely."