Every single fear from my childhood crashed down on my shoulders.
I stared straight at her, unable to speak, knowing completely that her threat was real, and certain that if anyone could make it happen, it was this woman.
“I mean it.” She stepped closer, her voice dropping. “Your dad is going to walk through that door any second. Put those things down, sit at the table, finish your quiche, and we will never speak of this again. This is the absolute last chance I am giving you, Stella.”
The front door unlocked with a click right at that moment.
Amber exhaled. “It appears your time is up.”
I completely panicked.
“Dad! Please come here, you have to see—”
I stopped mid-sentence because Amber’s hand shot forward and clamped onto my arm. Hard.
“Stella?” Dad called, his shoes hurrying across the floorboards.
“Final warning,” Amber growled. “Smile, Stella, or I swear to God I will throw you out of this house before the sun sets.”
I looked down at her grip, then lifted my eyes to hers, and I saw a clear truth: Amber was terrified.
Dad walked up right past Amber and stared at the two of us.
“Stella, what is going on here? Those belong to Amber’s private things,” he said.
“Thank God you are here!” Amber spun around and clung to my dad. “Stella has gone crazy! She started tearing through all my belongings, making wild accusations—”
“I have not gone crazy!” I held up a large stack of envelopes. “Dad. Look at this handwriting. These are letters from Mom. Amber has been hiding them all this time.”
His face drained of color. “That is Rose’s handwriting.”
“There are piles of them, Dad. Completely sealed. Completely addressed to Lucy and me.”
“I can explain—”
Dad turned to Amber. “She vanished without a single word, without a goodbye… and you have been stashing mail from her this whole time?”
“This envelope arrived just last week.” I held up the newest letter. “Amber manipulated Mom. She convinced Mom that you wanted a divorce and were planning to destroy her life and lock her in a hospital because of her depression. I overheard her on the phone, Dad. Bragging about the whole thing.”
Dad’s expression turned to stone.
