The thought barely formed before Mom locked her arms around my waist. Dad and Ethel each seized a limb, dragging me toward the window.
Half my body hung over the ledge of the sixteenth floor. Freezing wind howled up and tore through my collar.
I was seconds from being shoved over when Mom let out a sharp gasp.
"Wait! There's a patrol car right below us!"
"The officers are already out of the car. If we drop her now, it'll look suspicious!"
They hauled me back inside in a panic.
Ethel glanced down at the street, her expression dark, but she refused to give up.
"Then we move her. The bathroom faces north. Nobody will see her fall from that side. What are you standing around for? You want to wait until the police come upstairs and let Abigail tell them we tried to kill her?"
Our parents caved again.
My heart, still hammering from the near-death seconds before, seized all over again.
Too many disappointments had piled up over the years. I'd long since stopped hoping for anything from this family. If I wanted to survive, I had to prove I was worth more alive.
"Stop! Mr. Stephens is in love with me. He said he wants to marry me! If you kill me, someone with his resources will uncover the truth. And when he does, none of you will escape."
Mom and Dad froze mid-step, their grip loosening instinctively.
Ethel slapped me across the face. "Shut your lying mouth! Logan is in love with me!"
"Who could love a gambling addict?" I shot back without flinching. Seeing the doubt creep across our parents' faces, I forced a conciliatory tone. "Mom, Dad, I know you weren't thinking clearly. If you stop now, I'm willing to share the good fortune with all of you. We're family, after all."
"If you don't believe me, I'll call Mr. Stephens right now and prove it."
That broke them. They wavered completely.
"Ethel," Dad said, uncertain. "Maybe we should let her make the call."
Mom had already retrieved my phone, holding it out. "Go ahead, then..."
Crack.
Ethel snatched the phone and hurled it at the floor. It shattered into pieces.
"So what if I gamble?" she snarled. "Once I have that ten million, I'll pay off every debt. I'll be a clean slate. Logan loves me. Abigail is just stalling for time! Hurry up and finish this before the police knock on the door!"
While our parents stood frozen with indecision, I inched toward the door. Ethel spotted me and drove her foot into my lower abdomen.