nd cold. Their words echoed in my head, but it was the next part of

tant," my mother said. "It's for Kevin. Y

voice, low and rough. "He's my son, Susan. My

ke sense. Kevin was my aunt

known for years about you and his mother. I've raised him like he was my own, even when sh

sin. He was my half-brother. The product of an af

ball with Kevin for hours. I remembered my mother saving the best piece of chicken for Kevin, while I got the dry, overcooked wing. Their favoritism wasn't j

fair. I was so proud. I came home with a big blue ribbon, expecti

on the television. "Kevin needs hel

school acceptance letter from the ad

nging her hands. "It's a lot of work. Maybe you should just

their control. My intelligence wasn't a source of pride for them; it was a threat. They had tried to

and their emotional manipulations-it was all a waste. It was a lie built on a foundation of betrayal. The love I felt for

t to cry, but to think. The girl who wanted her parents' love was gone. She had died on the kitche

my own. They wanted to sell me to save their family. I was going to burn their family to t