Ethel scoffed. "Oh, please. Stop deluding yourself. You worked right under Logan's nose for how long? If he were actually interested in you, something would've happened ages ago. But with me? One meeting, and the sparks were flying."
That little speech was all it took. The hesitation vanished, replaced by contempt as they turned their glares on me.
"You've always been scheming," my father spat. "Always had to one-up your sister. You knew she struggled in school, and you deliberately took first place every single time just to rub it in. You knew she didn't make much money, that all she could bring home for the holidays was a bag of bananas, and you had to show her up with a gold bracelet!"
"Now you're trying to lie your way into stealing your sister's spotlight. No wonder you ended up crippled. You got exactly what you deserved!"
I froze.
Ethel was only a year younger than me. I'd felt my parents' favoritism since childhood. That was precisely why I'd pushed myself so hard to be better, to be good to them, desperately hoping to earn even a scrap of their love.
I never imagined this was how they saw it. Years of longing for their affection, years of trying, and all I got in return was you deserved it.
An iron fist clenched around my heart, twisting without mercy. The words tore out of me before I could stop them. "If Ethel is all you need, then let's cut ties. For good."
My parents stared for a moment, then let out dismissive laughs.
"A cripple making threats now? Fine. Cut ties. Just don't come crawling back to us in tears."
"That's right. We'll be living the good life with Ethel. Don't you dare come sniffing around for handouts!"
But Ethel was studying me, something calculating behind her eyes. A slow, chilling smile crept across her lips. "If we're cutting ties, let's make it permanent. I don't want this cripple clinging to me like a stray dog begging for scraps after I marry Logan and become Mrs. Stephens."
She raised her hand and drew a finger across her throat.
My parents went rigid. "No!" they said, almost in unison.
I blinked, and despite everything, something complicated stirred in my chest. Even with all their favoritism, when it came down to life and death, they still cared about me...
"Murder carries a death sentence!"
"If Abigail dies, so be it, but killing her would land us in prison too!"
The faint warmth that had kindled inside me went cold in an instant.