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The door swings open, and Dru stumbles in with wide eyes and frantic movements. “Why are you yelling? Lisa’s here. Is she supposed to be here for a mee–”
The words die out as she scans the room, moving fully into the thickness of it.
“What’s going on?” she asks, glancing over her shoulder.
“You tell us, Dru.” Dad crosses his arms.
Both my parents level her with a look, but she’s only focused on me, her fear morphing into something that’s never touched her features like this—pure rage.
“Did you tell them?” she hisses.
“She told us that you might be blackmailing her.” Mom stands, and Dru begins to shake. She won’t look at anything or anyone.
“No,” she mumbles. “No, no, no.”
“Dru,” I plead with her. “Just tell the truth. You took that photo.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to…” she trails out and takes a big breath. “You have no fucking clue what you’ve done. Goddammit, Nova, why now? Why did you have to grow a fucking spine now?”
She slams the door behind her, locking it, and my heart spikes. I take a step back into the wall, feeling trapped. Zeke moves closer, reaching out for me, and I take his hand.
“So, it is you, then.” My lip trembles.
“Yes.” Dru paces and Mom presses her hand to her chest. “It was, but you don’t understand. I had to.”
My sister’s voice is pure pain, her posture saturated in desperation. I’ve never seen her like this.
“You had to?” I scream at her. “You had to torture and torment me for almost a year? For what? What did I ever do to you?”
“Listen to me.” Dru steps closer, and Zeke puts his body between us. “I was protecting you!”
I open my mouth to demand to know what she means, but there’s a knock at the door.
“Hello?” Lisa calls through the thick wood. Mom moves forward to let Lisa in, and Dru begins sobbing, grabbing Mom’s hand to keep her from the door.
“Zeke?” I ask, and he looks at me for a moment. He nods. He feels it, too. Something is off. Something is wrong.
“Don’t open it,” Dru hisses. She grabs her head like she’s fighting something inside. Like she’s completely lost control of her mind and body. “Please, Mama. Don’t open it.”
“For the love of God, Dru. It’s Lisa.”
Mom snaps the deadbolt and pulls open the door. Her shoulders tense up, and she stumbles backward, grabbing onto Dru’s wrist for support.
My mother’s assistant stands in the doorway with a smug look on her thin lips.
“Oh look, a family reunion,” she says in her usual chipper voice.
Zeke yanks my hand, and I stumble behind him, but before his body blocks my view, something shiny glimmers in the light.
She’s holding a gun.
