gh wooden planks of the wall, right beside Coretta's ear. She leaned

Coretta's, stripping away every layer of fake poise, digging

eaten. She spoke in a whisper so soft it barely

pir

ng between them li

lood drained from her face, leaving her skin a sickly, waxen gray. Her fingers went ne

. Her teeth chattered. She stared at Ginny as though she were s

red, her voice trembling-and instantly froze, pressing her spine hard against the

r voice a pathetic, reedy squea

e brutal seconds, letting the terr

ering the suffocating tension in an instant. The cold, predatory mask vanis

a little pale, sister. Like you have a headac

reasy sheen of cold sweat glazed her forehead. Her heart

pi

into Anjanette's daily vitamin capsules for months. A severe, life-threatening trigger fo

is so brutally that the maid crashed against the doorframe with a yelp. Coretta bolted for the door, her designer heels clattering wildly

ng to the frantic, ungraceful footsteps fade i

, picked the dress up with two fingers as though it were contaminated, a

hed it shut, and slid the rusty iron dead

y double doors and hit the electronic lock with a shaking, frantic finger. She ran across the plu

n the four-digit code. The bottom drawer clicked open. She shoved past v

ir, stumbled into her en-suite marble bathroom, and slammed the toilet lid u

cold marble sink, watching the water churn and swirl. She didn't

ed mirror. Her hair was a wreck. Her mascara had smeared into dark h

nails bit into her palms. The terror curdling in her chest beg

a didn't understan

bliterated. Tomorrow night, at the banquet, Coretta would make