Sandy''s face twisted with something dark and unreadable.


    It wasn''t like she''d nned for any of this. But Ashley just wouldn''t stop-always yelling, always using her of lying, of stealing Sean''s bone marrow. Like Sandy had ever had a choice.


    She was dying, for crying out loud. And even then, her mom only worried about her brother''s health. She didn''t want to donate the bone marrow; she''d rather let Sandy slip away quietly.


    If that''s what her mom wanted, then fine-none of this was Sandy''s fault


    anymore.


    The night before Ashley''s ident, Sandy had wandered into her room a little buzzed, the wine loosening her tongue. She finally let it all out-all those years of hurt and resentment she''d kept bottled up.


    How many times had she hovered at the edge of death in some cold hospital room, while her parents, knowing her brother could save her, just watched her suffer? Most of the time, it was just her and the nurse. Her parents hardly ever visited.


    All that bitterness had been simmering for years.


    And the so-called suicide note? Ashley wrote that herself, just to scare Tavon intoing home. Ashley probably never expected Sandy would use it as a weapon against Anastasia and Salma.


    A sudden knock on the car window snapped Sandy back to reality.


    "Hey, you can''t park here. Move along," said the traffic cop.


    Startled, Sandy rolled down the window and shed him a bright, easy smile. "Sorry, officer. I''ll go right now."


    Her smile was ssic-warm, approachable, the kind that made people want to trust her.


    The cop looked a little flustered. "Just take it slow, alright? Stay safe out there."


    "Will do," Sandy said, pulling away. The house felt emptier than ever when she got back.


    The housekeeper shuffled over, twisting her hands. "Miss Sandy, I... I need to talk to you. My dad fell down—he''s almost sixty. I need to go home to take care of him. So, I''d like to quit."


    Sandy nced at her, and the housekeeper immediately looked away.


    "Why so nervous?" Sandy''s smile was soft, almost innocent. "I''m not going to bite."


    The housekeeper''s hands shook. "No, Miss Sandy, it''s not that. It''s just, I need to go home. I don''t need this month''s pay, really."


    Sandy''s smile went cold. "What, you think the Mortons are so broke we can''t pay our help anymore?"


    The housekeeper grew even more anxious. "No, no, Miss Sandy! It''s just-my dad''s old. He needs someone at home."


    Sandy''s expression turned steely. "If you want to leave, then go. Take what''s yours, don''t take what''s not. I''ll give you three extra months'' pay. Just remember what you should and shouldn''t talk about."


    "Thank you, Miss Sandy. Thank you." The housekeeper looked ready to cry with relief. "I''m just going home to look after my dad. I don''t know anything about anything else."


    Sandy gave a satisfied little wave. "Alright, off you go."


    "Thank you, Miss Sandy."


    "It''ste-why don''t you wait till morning? I''ll call a car for you."


    The housekeeper had already packed, clearly hoping to leave that night, but with


    Sandy''s insistence, she had no choice but to stay one more night.


    "Thank you, Miss Sandy." She fumbled for words, not sure what else to say.


    Later, as Sandy headed upstairs, the housekeeper stole a nervous nce out the window-eyesnding on the spot in the yard where Ashley had fallen. She shuddered and quickly looked away, squeezing her eyes shut.


    Ashley hadn''t died, but she might as well have. She was just a body now, and it made the housekeeper''s skin crawl.


    The next morning, as soon as the sun was up, the housekeeper was ready to leave. Sandy called a driver for her.


    Sandy didn''t buy her story about her dad for a second. The housekeeper was obviously scared and in a hurry-she''d probably seen


    something she shouldn''t have


    Sandy wasn''t about to let a loose end like that linger.


    So she arranged for a driver to lure the housekeeper away with a promise of a high-paying job overseas. Once she got there, she''d be trapped, just another cog in some scammy operation. People never came back from those jobs-if you were lucky, you just worked yourself to exhaustion; if not, you might wake up missing a kidney.


    Letting someone else handle the dirty work kept Sandy''s own hands clean.


    Not long after the housekeeper left, Tavon came home. Sandy was just about to head out, but stopped when she saw him. She put on her best dutiful daughter smile. "Dad, I was just on my way to the hospital to take over for Mom. Did you have breakfast yet?"


    "Not yet," Tavon said. "I''ll have McKenzie cook something."


    The housekeeper-her name was McKenzie.


    "Dad, McKenzie quit. Said her father had a bad fall and needed her at home. I gave her three months'' pay and let her go."


    “She left?” Tavon sounded surprised. He''de home hoping to ask McKenzie about Ashley''s fall. Besides Sandy, she was the only one home that day.