"Mallory, I did what I needed to do to protect my baby." She shakes her head, speaking to me as if I'm being insolent and she's delivering reason. "And then I helped you up off the ground when you found her. I didn't know that child was you, of course. I went back when I saw a crowd gathering. Had to make sure there was a reason for my DNA being there if they came across it."
I sway. From shock, I think.
"Learned my lesson from Simon. I cut my hand on that stupid road, and it was simply dumb luck that David Boylan turned out to be my twin brother." She laughs, butthe sound is empty. "That's how I knew it was meant to be."
Through the front window, behind Liane's back, rises the faintest trail of dust.
"You're sick," I say, anything to keep her talking.
"I've never been more sane. But you? It's very sad. You went a little"—her head tilts furiously side to side, her eyes widening manically—"cuckoo." She warbles the word.
Outside is the roar of an engine.
Liane hears it, knows it's Hugo. "Time to die." She lunges for me, wraps her hands around my neck. A homicidal maniac stares into my eyes, using a singsong voice. "No sprinkle for you."
My pulse pounds, my blood boils.
Air. I need it.
I claw at her hands, dig into her skin.
How can this be? How did I not see this coming?
My baby, my baby. My perfect little Peanut. She needs oxygen. I'm her mother. My only job was to protect her, and I failed.
Somewhere in the house, there's a door coming off its hinges. A bang. The sound of something metallic.
My hands fly out, punching at Liane. This cannot be it. I punch everywhere I reach. Her head. Her stomach.
A blade pierces Liane's arm. I watch it come through her skin, slide out, the sound unforgettable.
Liane screams and lets me go. I drop to my knees, crawl away. My throat burns.
"Call the police," Hugo commands, nudging hisphone to me with his foot. I scramble for it, my hands shaking so badly it takes me two attempts to pick it up.
"Don't bother," Liane laughs, her back against the fridge. Blood pours from the wound on her arm, darkening her tweed. "My husband is the mayor, remember? And your dad wouldn't let him run his money through Summerhill. So it was buh-bye to Simon." Hugo presses his sword tip against her throat, and blood trickles, blossoming through her silk blouse. "I had to protect my family," she cries, as if it's a perfectly reasonable excuse. "Couldn't let him live with what he knew about the mayor. Or the man who worked for us. Can't leave any strings untied!" Her voice rises higher, more crazed. Like she's been waiting all these years to brag about her magnificent plan.
I look down at the phone to dial for help, and see it's recording.
Hugo. So damn smart.
Suddenly there are shouts. People bursting through the open front door. Sonya, then Carmen. Penn.
For the first time, Liane looks afraid.
"Hugo, what's going on?" Sonya demands, coming closer. With wide eyes she glances from Hugo to Liane.
"She killed him," Hugo says, voice vibrating with rage. "Dad. She killed Dad."
Sonya gasps. Her face twists in horror, hand covering a single sob that escapes her mouth. Carmen comes up behind Sonya, wraps her arms around her.
Penn rounds the far side of the island, offers his arm and helps me stand. Swallowing my own saliva feels likea thousand thorns in my throat, but the adrenaline carries me through, keeps me upright. That, and Penn's steadying arm.
"Killed…Maggie," I croak, chest heaving. The truth sharpens the pain anew, makes it burn in my chest.
A sound tears from Hugo's throat, a roar and a growl and a snarl all at once. He wants blood. He wants retribution. He wantsrevenge.
"Hugo," Sonya says softly, shrugging off Carmen. She lays a gentle hand on the arm Hugo's using to keep his sword trained on Liane. "Don't do it. Think of your father. What would he do in this moment?"
