“Where do you think you’re going, you little bitch?” Her drunken snarl was enough to send me into panic mode.
The following events leading to me shattering a vase over her head play through my mind like a scratched record. I can still feel the sharp tug of my hair as she yanked me backward and the burn of my throat from my screams, not that there was a chance of anyone hearing me. Our house is set up like a fortress on hundreds of acres of woods. We no longer have the staff who took up space in our guest quarters. Lucinda could no longer afford the extravagant expenses.
She blamed me for all of it.
I scramble for my phone and tap on the last missed call. I don’t recognize the number, but I know who it belongs to.
“Where are you?” Harvey snaps in a hushed voice.
“She’s dead.” My voice shakes as the words spill out and another sob bursts from my throat. “I tried to leave, b-but she knew. Somehow she knew. And s-she tried to stop me—”
“Jesus.” The curse is a whisper, but it confirms just how badly I fucked up. “Are you sure?”
I look at Lucinda’s body again and swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Sylvia,” he demands. “Are you sure Lucinda is dead?”
“I-I think so. She’s not moving.” A shaky breath rocks my entire body. “I hit her so hard, Harvey. T-There’s blood. So much blood.”
“You’ll be okay,” he reasons quickly. “I’ll take care of it.”
Tears flood my eyes now as I realize just how much this changes things. “How do you know I’ll be okay? What if they don’t believe it’s self-defense? With all the lies she’s already spread about me, and the money involved, they’ll think I wanted her—” I can’t even say the word, but it rings loudly in my ears.
Dead. Dead. Dead.
“I should check her pulse.”
I start to lurch forward, but Harvey screams, “No!”
“Don’t touch her,” he says. “The plan stays the same. Meet me at the underpass as soon as you can. I’m already here. Let me deal with Lucinda.”
“But—”
“Hurry.” That’s the last thing he says before the line goes dead.
I’m frozen in place, staring at her lifeless body as suffocating silence fills the room. An onslaught of emotions hits me next—doubt, grief, regret, anger… The list goes on. Staying. Going. Nothing feels right.
Then I hear her moan.
My eyes stop on the woman I would have sworn was lifeless moments ago. Sure enough, she’s still alive. Her eyes are still closed, but she’s struggling to get up, barely raising her shoulders off the floor. The slight movement lights a fire in me that was damn close to extinguishing. My heartbeat jolts to life, and I’m once again in fight-or-flight mode. I take off running toward her.
Adrenaline charges through me, fueling my journey across the floor, including the long leap I take to clear her body to reach my exit. The plan is back on, and I’m more than determined to see it out—until I’m pulled back by my ankle by a force strong enough to send me crashing forward. My chin collides with the marble floor, my head swirls with fog, and the pain that’s already shooting through my arm screams out yet again.
The grip on my foot releases, and I start to crawl forward toward my bag, toward the door. I dare a glance over my shoulder to find Lucinda still struggling to get off the floor as she moans through her pain.
“Don’t you dare walk out that door,” she says with an evil glare. “Not until you give me what’s mine.”
“If my father wanted you to have anything, then he would have left it for you. You heard the judge. My trust is untouchable.”
“Not if you’re dead. You’re forgetting your father named a contingent beneficiary. You die, and the money goes to me.”
Lucinda’s threat sounds sinister enough to make my entire body shake with chills. I’ve never liked her, but I also never believed she would become so vindictive over money. I launch forward, trying to drown out her voice with my focus on leaving.
“If you even think about running, I will find you.” Her threat rings through the empty house. “And then I’ll fucking kill you. You hear me, Sylvia?” Her brown eyes blacken with her glare. “Mark my words.”
I scramble to my feet again. Ignoring every ounce of pain coursing through me, I grab my duffel bag, forcing it over my shoulder. When I’m finally at the door, I stop with my hand on the knob and look over my shoulder to where Lucinda is still glaring after me. “You’ll have to find me first.”
Silver
“Harvey?” While I’m certain I recognize the voice on the other end of the line, I have to be sure.
“Yes, kid, it’s me. How ya holding up?”
I swallow, my eyes darting around the room to verify I’m totally alone. A chill sweeps over me, and I press my lids together while I suck in a slow breath. All these years, and I never even imagined how this moment would go.
“Y-you’re actually calling me.”
A light chuckle filters through the line. “It’s your twenty-fifth birthday. I think a congratulations are in order.”
I bow my head. “No one has wished me happy birthday on my actual birthday in a very long time. It feels strange.”
“Ah yes, I imagine that would be strange. I’m so sorry, Sylvia.”
“It’s Silver now,” I say in a hushed whisper. “And you really shouldn’t be calling me during work hours.”
A light breath floats across the line, the initial humor in his tone fading away. “I know. I know. But I think it’s time to get the ball rolling before…”
His hesitation breeds the festering fear in my chest. “Before what?”
“Before your stepmom—”
“Don’t,” I snap. “Don’t call her that.” It’s amazing how fast the mere mention of her fills me with the rage. Lucinda is the opposite of anything a mother should ever represent. She may have scored the ring from my father, but the moment he passed away, her true colors showed she was nothing but evil.
“I’m sorry,” Harvey says, his tone sincere. “Lucinda has petitioned the court once again to claim your trust money.”
I roll my eyes. “So what? You know she won’t win. She tried that same thing eight and a half years ago, remember? It’s what initiated her craziness. She can’t claim a cent of my trust money. It’s untouchable.”
“But you haven’t claimed a cent. You just disappeared, which I know I helped you do, but the plan was always for you to claim your money when you were of age.”
“Yeah, but that was before we knew Lucinda was capable of murder.”
“She won’t lay a finger on you, but she might end up getting what she wants if you don’t claim your trust as soon as possible.”
I snort through my disdain at his optimism. “You think she’ll get over it once the money’s in my bank account? No, Harvey. That woman tried to kill me. She was almost successful. She will only try harder once that money’s mine. Besides, you said she went to the cops that night. Won’t they arrest me the moment I make my whereabouts known?”