Chapter 08

Estelle's POV

"Stop lying!"

Cassius's voice cracked across the hall like a whip. He stepped between me and our mother before she could answer Dad's question.

"I know you're angry because we ignored you," he said, pointing his finger in my face. "But if you had a problem, it was your job to tell us. Not to keep quiet for years and then explode in front of the whole city!"

"Cassius..." my mother whispered.

"No, Mom. Somebody has to say it." He turned back to me. "You're jealous. That's all this is. You're jealous that Delilah had a better life than you. That's why you bullied her before, and that's why you're trying to throw all the blame on her now."

I didn't say anything. I just watched him.

"Did you ever stop for one second and think about doing the right thing?" he shouted. "No! You just keep punishing us for your own bad luck. You are the worst person I have ever met."

"Cassius, don't talk about your sister like that," my mother said, reaching for his arm.

He shook her off.

"Mom, stop protecting her. She needs to grow up. The only reason she's like this is because we always gave in to her drama." He laughed bitterly. "Do you know how hard we fought to keep her out of prison? We begged. We paid people. We got her sent to a convent instead of a jail cell. And how does she thank us? She comes back and ruins the party and makes us look like monsters!"

"Enough!"

My father's voice boomed through the room. Even Cassius went silent.

Benedict Silverthorn rubbed his forehead like he had a terrible headache. Then he looked at me. For the first time all night, he didn't look angry. He looked confused.

"Estelle," he said slowly. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming home today? Your mother and I would have bought you a proper dress. We would have prepared something."

I frowned.

"Wait," I said. "You didn't know I was coming home?"

"Of course not, sweetheart," my mother said quickly. "If I knew, I would have sent the driver to bring you. How did you even get here?"

I turned my head slowly and looked at Cassius.

"Cassius picked me up," I said. "He said Mom and Dad were waiting for me. He said this was a welcome home party."

Cassius's face went stiff.

Before anyone could speak, the woman in the green gown laughed out loud.

"A welcome home party?" she said. "For her? I thought this was Delilah's twenty-first birthday party."

She pulled a gold card out of her purse and held it up for everyone to see.

"It says so right here on the invitation. *Join us to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of Miss Delilah Silverthorn.*"

All around the hall, people began pulling out the same gold cards.

"Mine says the same thing."

"So does mine."

"Delilah's birthday. Nothing about the other girl."

My heart went cold.

So that was it. There was never a welcome home party. Nobody was waiting for me. Cassius brought me here on Delilah's birthday, in front of all these people, so everyone could see the poisoner come crawling back.

So everyone could laugh at me. Again.

"When did this become a party for her?" a fat man in a black suit asked loudly. He grabbed his wife's hand. "If she's staying, then we're leaving. That girl tried to kill the Moore girl three years ago. Lilith Moore is still lying in a hospital bed! I won't stand in the same room as a murderer."

"Neither will we," someone else said.

"Come on, darling, let's go."

One couple walked out. Then another. Then three more. The violin music stopped completely. Waiters stood frozen with their trays.

My mother looked around in panic as the hall started to empty.

And me? I just felt tired.

From the day I stepped into this house, it was one disappointment after another. One lie after another. One betrayal after another.

They didn't believe me when I told the truth. They didn't visit me when I was bleeding. And even today, the day I walked out of hell, my own brother used me like a clown at Delilah's party.

I was done.

I turned and walked toward the big front doors.

"No! Estelle, please!" My mother ran after me, her heels clicking on the marble floor. She grabbed my wrist with both hands. "You can't leave us like this! Please, sweetheart. Please don't abandon us!"

Abandon them?

I almost laughed. They abandoned me three years ago. They abandoned me every single day before that.

I opened my mouth to answer her.

But before I could say a word, a loud scream filled the hall.

Everyone turned toward the grand staircase.

Delilah stood at the very top in a long pink gown, a diamond tiara in her hair. Her face was white as paper. She swayed on her feet, one hand pressed to her chest.

Then her eyes rolled back, and she fell.

Her body tumbled down the marble stairs, step after step, until she landed in a heap at the bottom.

"Delilah!" my mother screamed, letting go of my hand. "Oh my God! Delilah!"