They never really knew me. Otherwise, how could they have forgotten I could read lips?
Miriam, wearing someone else's body, turned back before she left.
She walked up to me, leaned down, and curled her lips into a smile.
"Then let me thank you in advance for your body, Lorna Harding."
The next day I was discharged. My three brothers, dazed and distracted, brought me home, deposited me in my room, and left without another word.
They hurried into Cole's study.
I put on my earpiece. Their voices came through, urgent and agitated.
"This attempt failed because we didn't push hard enough! If this keeps up, Miri's going to die!"
Malcolm kicked a chair over.
He noticed the water stains on the keyboard and frowned, but the thought passed as quickly as it came.
Cole drew a long breath.
"Tomorrow is Lorna's birthday. Get a few vagrants in here, have them waiting in her room. I refuse to believe this won't work."
My hands went limp. My phone hit the floor hard, and a high-pitched ringing filled my ears.
My legs gave out. I sank to the ground, laughing. The sound was hollow and desolate.
The next day. The birthday banquet.
Perhaps to maximize the shock, to grind my dignity into dust so completely that Miriam could take over for good.
They had invited half of D.C.'s elite and nearly every major media outlet.
"Here. You're nineteen today. Old enough to drink."
I took the wine glass Finn offered and spotted the faint residue of powder at the bottom, almost invisible.
"Thanks, Finn."
I lifted my face and smiled, bright and trusting, exactly the way I used to when I was little and would throw myself into his arms.
Maybe he remembered that too.
Finn's expression froze. Something flickered behind his eyes, a moment of struggle.
Then it was gone.
I drank it down. My head began to swim almost immediately. At the same time, my tongue grazed the capsule of lethal snake venom hidden inside my mouth.
One bite, and I'd be dead within ten seconds.
Finn steadied me. "Dizzy? Let me take you back to your room."
I nodded.
I caught the look the three of them exchanged.
The moment we stepped inside, I was placed on the bed. Then a wave of rancid stench hit me.
"The Harding heiress herself! We can die happy!"
"Get her!"
I smiled faintly and didn't resist. My gaze stayed fixed on the photograph hanging on the wall. The four of us, together, happy.
Then I bit down hard. The venom flooded my throat.
