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Charlotte snickered, drawing Ali’s hand out from under the table and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

“Dead Relatives Club!” Ali and Imani cried in unison, doubling over and clutching their stomachs, laughing so hard they struggled for breath.

Charlotte looked back and forth between them, eyes wide. “What have I created?”

The game room became a warzone. Full of nothing but suspicion, betrayal, and false accusations.

Ali enjoyed every second of the bloodbath she caused.

“She looked at me suspiciously!” Lilah cried, pointing an accusatory finger at Elizabeth.

“I’m merely sitting here,” Lizzie replied, quirking an eyebrow and grabbing an Oreo from the pack she and Charlotte seemed to be working through.

“For all I know, you two are in cahoots!” Lilah’s eyes were narrowed, darting back and forth between the twins. “You’re always in cahoots!”

Charlotte wore a mask of amusement, dipping an Oreo into a small cup of milk. “You seem determined to keep the attention off of yourself. Perhaps you are the werewolf.”

Ali hid her face behind her glass, sniggering into it.

“You know what? Charlotte’s right; you’ve been quick to cast blame every single round,” Natasha added, playing with a Rubik’s cube, working her way through a box of fidget toys.

“Just throwing accusations around,” Imani mused.

“No! It isn’t me! I promise!” Lilah implored, eyes growing wide. “I’m only trying to keep the village safe.”

“Are you now?” Sasha asked, fingers kneading into the tense muscles between Lizzie’s shoulder blades. “What motivation do you have for such suppositions?”

“I would never lie,” Lilah assured, looking affronted. “I love the village. I grew up here. You’re all my friends.”

“Are friends always so quick to cast blame?” Diana mused.

“I promise!” Lilah vowed, crossing her fingers over her heart.

“Oop, there’s the eyebrow quirk,” James added, pointing at Lilah’s brow, raised just so.

“The dead aren’t supposed to speak, Father!” Lilah raged before turning a pleading gaze to the group, clasping her hands in front of her. “I swear, I’m but a humble villager. I’d never kill my own father!”

“That’s just what you want us to think,” Lizzie suggested.

Ali couldn’t have picked a better game.

“You’re reveling in the chaos you’ve brought upon this family,” Charlotte commented in a low whisper, breath brushing Ali’s ear, sending a little shiver down her spine.

“You have to admit. This is very entertaining,” Ali whispered, basking in the mirth fizzing inside her. Turning back to the table and calling out over the din. “Alright, time’s up! Final vote, who is getting voted off the island?”

Everyone agreed Lilah was the most suspicious and the obvious choice for elimination.

“I was a fucking villager! Treachery!” Lilah screeched, folding her arms across her chest and sticking her nose in the air.

“Alright werewolf, reveal yourself.” Ali called out, shocking everyone with the maniacal laugh that rattled out of her.

But the true shock came to them all when Diana rose to her feet and bowed theatrically. Everyone’s mouths fell open. No one suspected her. Not even once.

“My darling, you killed me?” James asked in mock distress.

Diana took his hand, patting it sympathetically. “I’m sorry, my love. I knew they would never suspect me if you were the first to die.”

Ali felt lighter as humor buzzed beneath her skin. On a slow inhale, she marveled at the buoyant energy in the room as they all laughed and chattered back and forth. She worried she would feel out of place. But it didn’t feel like her first game night. It felt like she’d been coming for years, like she belonged.