Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 80

Mia’s POVI sat on the edge of the couch with my elbows on my knees and my face buried in my hands, but sitting still was impossible. Within seconds I was up again, pacing the length of the living room like a caged animal. Every possible outcome spun through my mind in ugly, rapid circles.What if Lily told Lucian everything?What if she told him about the freezer?My stomach twisted. I dragged both hands through my hair and pulled until my scalp stung. I needed a plan. I needed something anything that would keep the focus off me and off what I had done.Then I heard it.My mother’s voice floated down from upstairs, sharp with concern.“Lily… what happened to you?”Panic slammed into me so hard I almost staggered. Sweat broke out across my back and under my arms. Mom must never find out. If she learned even a fraction of the truth, everything I had carefully built would collapse. Lucian would look at me with disgust. Mom would look at me like I was a monster. And Lily perfect, survivi

Lily’s POV I smiled at her. It wasn’t the soft, careful smile I had worn for years whenever I needed to keep the peace. This one felt different on my face sharper around the edges, almost unfamiliar. For once I didn’t try to hide it. I let it settle there while I looked straight at my sister. Then I laughed. The sound burst out of me louder than I expected, echoing off the hard hospital walls and the pale curtains. It kept coming until my shoulders shook with it. Mia’s expression tightened into something cold and serious, her eyes narrowing like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You really make me laugh, Mia,” I said once I could speak again, still smiling. “What do you mean we’re going down together? You’re so silly. You always think you’re going to be the champion anytime, anywhere, no matter what you do or who you hurt.” I shook my head slowly. “Not anymore. That ended a long time ago.” I lifted Lucian’s phone a little higher between us so the screen caught the

Lily’s POVThe fluorescent lights above the hospital bed hummed like they were mocking me.I stood a few steps away from Mia’s bedside, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, trying to keep the leftover tremor in my hands from showing. Lucian was already at my side before I even realized I had started to sway. His palm settled against the small of my back warm, steady, grounding. The simple contact made my throat tighten all over again.“Come on,” he murmured, voice low enough that only I could hear. “Let’s get you out of here for a bit.”I nodded. I didn’t trust my voice yet. He guided me toward the door, his hand never leaving my waist, and for one fragile second I thought I might actually make it into the hallway without everything inside me cracking open.Mom’s voice stopped us cold.“Won’t you stay with your sister? Where are you going?”I froze. The words landed like a slap. Lucian’s fingers flexed once against my side, a silent question, but I couldn’t look at him. All I could

Lily’s POVThe second message from Mia hit my screen almost immediately after the first.HOW DARE YOUMy fingers tightened around the phone. Before I could even process the all-caps rage, her name lit up again this time with an incoming call. The screen pulsed. I stared at it, heart slamming against my ribs. Every instinct told me to ignore it, to let it ring out, to pretend I hadn’t seen. But my thumb moved on its own. I hesitated one last second, then answered.I expected screaming. I expected the full force of her fury pouring through the speaker the second the call connected. Instead, her voice came through low, almost measured, far too calm for the storm she had just texted.“You actually did it.”A pause. Then a soft, bitter laugh that didn’t sound like laughter at all.“I knew you were faking it. All that sweet talk. Pretending you were protecting me. I knew it was all fake. You snake. You were never trying to protect me.”I closed my eyes for a second, forcing my voice to stay

Lily’s POVThe car ride home was silent.Not the heavy, expectant kind of silence that usually filled the space between arguments. This one was colder. Emptier. Mom’s hands stayed tight on the steering wheel the entire way. She didn’t glance at either of us in the rearview mirror. She didn’t speak. The only sound was the low hum of the engine and the occasional soft click of the turn signal.I sat by the window, watching the familiar streets blur past. Beside me, Mia had stopped crying the moment the school gates disappeared behind us. The tears were gone as if they had never existed. Her cheek still carried the faint red mark from Mom’s slap, but her expression had settled into something unreadable. Calm. Almost bored.That scared me more than the crying ever had.When we finally pulled into the driveway, Mom killed the engine and sat still for a second longer than necessary. Then she opened her door.“Inside. Both of you. Sit down.”We followed her into the living room without a wor