Thomas James stood before Ursula Abbott, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"Give the wedding to Teresa Abbott."
Ursula froze, certain she'd misheard. "What did you say?"
"Teresa got lost as a child. You know that." Thomas lowered his gaze. "She's terminally ill now. She doesn't have much time left, and I want to grant her final wish."
Ursula stared at the man in front of her, suddenly feeling like she was looking at a stranger.
She'd known him for twenty-two years, from their awkward teenage years until now. Never once had she imagined hearing something like this from him.
"So the wedding we've spent six months planning—you're just handing it over to someone else?"
"She's your sister."
"And because she's my sister, I'm supposed to step aside?"
Thomas frowned, clearly unwilling to argue the point. "Teresa is dying. You can't even grant her this one thing?"
Ursula drew a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. "Thomas, is this some kind of joke?"
She searched his eyes for any trace of humor. "Do my parents know about this? Do yours?"
Thomas reached into his suit jacket and withdrew several gold-embossed invitations, spreading them across the coffee table.
"These are the wedding invitations. Both sets of parents' names are right there."
Ursula looked down.
The invitations did bear her parents' names alongside his. But in the space reserved for the bride, her name had been replaced with Teresa's.
"This is what both families agreed on." Thomas gathered up the invitations.
Ursula's fingers trembled slightly.
She wanted to laugh but found she couldn't.
Her whole life, Teresa had gotten everything she wanted. When Teresa wanted a doll, Ursula's would mysteriously vanish. When Teresa wanted a new dress, Ursula's would suddenly be stained with ink that wouldn't wash out.
Now Teresa was taking her fiancé too.
"Thomas, Teresa isn't sick." Ursula spoke each word with deliberate precision.
Thomas's expression darkened immediately. "Ursula, I know you're jealous of Teresa, but you shouldn't curse her."
"I'm not cursing her. I'm stating facts."
"Facts?" Thomas let out a cold laugh. "Last week I personally took her to the hospital. Terminal cancer—the doctors say six months at most. And you're telling me it's fake?"
Ursula went still.
Terminal cancer? Two days ago Teresa had been bouncing around the house. Yesterday she'd gone to play tennis with friends. Would a terminal cancer patient have that kind of energy?
"You've been deceived."
"Enough!" Thomas cut her off. "This isn't the first time you've slandered Teresa. Can't you stop being so vicious?"
His eyes were full of disgust as he looked at her. "Teresa went missing as a child, and you happened to be there. Now that I think about it, that disappearance probably wasn't an accident, was it?"
Ursula's eyes widened.
"What are you implying?"
"Nothing." Thomas rose to leave. "Think it over. I hope you still have a conscience."
At the door, he added without looking back: "Don't let Teresa leave this world with regrets."
The door slammed shut.
Ursula stood alone in the living room, her mind blank.
She couldn't understand why everyone always sided with Teresa.
...
Back at the Abbott residence, the failed fingerprint scan hit her like another blow.
She stared numbly at the door until Ann Finch hurried to open it.
"Ms. Abbott, what brings you back?"
"Who deleted my fingerprint?"
"Ms. Abbott, things are rather busy here right now. Perhaps... you should come back another time?" Ann couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. Mr. and Mrs. Abbott had given strict orders: during the eldest daughter's wedding preparations, the second daughter wasn't to come home—lest she upset Teresa.
But Ursula had already heard the laughter echoing from inside the villa.
She didn't understand. They were both daughters of the Abbott family, yet their treatment couldn't be more different.
"What are you doing here?"
The moment Ursula stepped into the living room, her mother Odette Matthews greeted her with a scowl.
But Ursula's gaze moved past her, taking in the red double-happiness characters covering every wall.
The blazing red seared her eyes.
"Why?"
