ut eventually, the frantic knocking stopped. The house qui

s lips on Chloe' s, my father' s angry face,

, and looked in the mirror. A faint red handprint w

to g

fe. My mother' s offer of a plane ticket wasn

mple black t-shirt. I grabbed my purse, my phone, and my passpo

The silence was eerie. The florists, the caterers, the guests-all g

my mind a blank slate of shock. The beautiful home we had bought together, the on

or. The house was still and silent.

ft giggle from upstai

od ran

g a frantic, painful rhythm against my ribs. The

ere th

oe. On my be

wearing only his tuxedo pants. They were laughing, tangled i

head shot up. His eyes widened in shock when he saw me. H

ed whisper. "What are you doing here?

re fixed on the scene, on the apathetic s

It had a feature I rarely used: a security app that connected to the small, discreet cameras I' d installed in the house after a brea

embled as I r

Liam said, takin

my fingers clumsy. I opened the security app and navigated to th

rted to s

hour. Da

kitchen while I was at work. Them tangled on the sofa late at night after I' d go

Chloe were in the living room, a bottle of expensiv

ing," Chloe said, her voice slurring sl

oice flat. "It' s what the board wants. The 'st

... convenient?"

you at the worst time of my life, Chloe. I was broke, just out of college, m

this. He had always told me his first startu

with no money. But Olivia... she was perfect. Daughter of David Reed. An up-and

d from my hands. A ticke

with her by your side," Chloe

hand. "Everything I' ve done, it' s always been about getting to a place where I could be with you. W

er voice soft. "You marry he

u, Chloe. My heart... it' s always been

ever seen before. He opened it. Even on the small screen, I coul

stepsister over his heart

planned a future with m

he whispered to

rom the device and stared at the two people in front of me. The man I was supposed

arefully chosen stepping stone in his long, man

upport were a sham. A business transact