“After everything this family gave you!”
“Please, Mom—”
She grabbed my hair and dragged me across the marble floor.
I screamed for my father.
He didn’t move.
I begged Emma to call someone.
Instead, she raised her phone.
“Look at you, Tessa,” she laughed.
“Your misery makes me happy.”
That laughter followed me into unconsciousness.
Now, lying in the alley, I understood that they hadn’t simply wanted to punish me.
They had wanted me to disappear.
I tried to crawl toward the distant streetlights, but my arms collapsed beneath me.
My lips barely moved when I called for help.
The last thing I remembered was a flashlight sweeping across my face.
“Oh, my God.”
A man dropped to his knees.
“Miss?
Can you hear me?”
I felt a heavy coat settling over my shoulders.
