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