Morgan always was a vindictive bitch, and her cruelty knew no bounds. It’s why we were so happy to be sent to boarding school, out of her clutches, away from her demonic mind.
I will not allow that woman any space in my head because what she did to us was nothing short of depraved. It must be her; it can be nobody else, and I have until this car reaches its destination to figure out a plan of escape.
Sleep is impossible under the circumstances, but my mind wouldn’t allow that, anyway. The trouble with minds and time is that it reopens old wounds and allows the demons in. Despite how hard I try to bat them away, they refuse to back down, and I stifle the sob catching at the back of my throat as the biggest demon of all rears her crazed head.
They’ll never findme in here. I giggle as I press to the back of the cupboard, hoping my sisters didn’t notice me come in here. Hide and seek is always a fun game, and I pride myself on remaining undetected.
I hear footsteps and freeze, pressing my hand to my mouth, containing any sound from my lips as I shrink as far away into the darkness as possible,
I listen, my ears trained and acutely alert to every footstep, every breath drawn, and every opening of a cupboard or drawer. However, these footsteps are sharper, the distinct click of heels against the marble floor.
I freeze as I sense this person is not one of my beloved sisters but the most hated one of all. Her. The woman who pretends to be a loving mother in front of our father but is a cruel, evil stepmother when he isn’t looking.
I still as her breathing filters through the cracks in the wood and then her sinister voice wafts through the keyhole.
‘You are always playing your stupid games, aren’t you, Alice?’
I say nothing, hoping she doesn’t open the door because knowing her, she will inflict some form of undetectable pain on me.
‘Perhaps you should choose more wisely next time.’
The sound of the key turning in the cupboard causes my heart to jump, and her evil voice filters through the cracks as she whispers, ‘I wonder how long you will last before your oxygen runs out? Such a foolish game that could bring about a horrific demise. So sad when your father discovers that his daughter killed herself, just like her mom.’
I don’t register the threat on me, only the way she referred to my mother. My mom didn’t kill herself. It was an accident. My father told me.
‘Yes, such a tragedy when her car ran into the wall on the mountain road. Nobody would suspect that she did it intentionally to get away from you. Your father told me she hated you and wished you had never been born. That she regretted the pain of labor because you got to cause her agony. She detested the sight of you and death was preferable rather than raising the brat who ruined her life. So, I’m doing what she should have done all those years ago and putting you out of your misery.’
I hold my hands over my ears because even at eight years old I know she is lying. It’s something deep inside me, a memory of a loving smile and warm kisses. Murmurings of love from a woman who couldn’t be the person Morgan is referring to.
‘She tried to smother you as a baby and only stopped when your father came in. You were a difficult child, and never stopped screaming by all accounts. I wonder how it feels to be you, Alice. Knowing how unloved you are and always will be. That your own mother wanted you dead and wished you had never been born. It’s such a shame that she took the easy wayout and left me to deal with the problem. Not anymore. Not after your stupid little game turns deadly.’
Her footsteps blend into the background, and I resist screaming out loud because her words have overtaken my mind and rendered me devastated.
My mom didn’t want me.
She killed herself to escape me, and as much as I try to push away her words as the cruel ranting of a psychopath, I can’t.
My sister’s voices are outside, and I jump up to bang on the door, only to hear Morgan cry out, ‘Girls, stop running around the house and report to the nursery where your tutor is waiting.’
Their voices fade into the distance, and as I open my mouth to scream, it’s with a sinking heart that I realize I chose the music room and, due to the soundproofing on the walls, nobody will ever hear me.
An angry sobreminds me how hurtful the memory is. I passed out after the air grew shallow and woke to find my father staring at me with concerned rage, Morgan beside him on the other side of my bed.
‘Oh, thank God.’ She was openly crying and sobbed, ‘Thank God, I found her. I have told the girls so many times not to play tricks on one another.’
My father’s face was like thunder as he snapped, ‘Tiffany will be punished for the cruel trick she played on you, Alice; mark my words, she will never do anything like this again.’
‘But it wasn’t her.’
I pointed to Morgan, who merely shook her head sadly. ‘I told you they lie to protect one another, Enrico. You don’t know how difficult it has been for me trying to get them to love me.’
‘Enough, Alice.’
My father’s frown was angry as he hissed, ‘You will apologize to your stepmother and make her a promise to be kinder and behave. It’s not easy for a woman to care for three children who aren’t her own, and Morgan has worn herself out trying to make your lives happier.’
They say you grow up when you realize that your parents make mistakes like everyone else, and in that moment, I aged several generations. Nothing I said would have made a difference, and the gleam in Morgan’s eyes told me she was fully aware of that. She had won and she always will because I’d stake my life on the fact that I’m locked in this trunk at her request and this time I may never see the light of day again.
CHAPTER 10
