She crossed her arms, unfazed by my reaction. "It was all a setup. The whole thing—the kidnapping, the threats—it was planned. We planned it."
The blood drained from my face. "What are you talking about?"
She met my gaze with zero remorse, her next words slicing through me like a knife. "Bryant and I worked together. The original deal was for them to take me, but in the end…" She shrugged. "You were the better prize."
The room spun.
A deep, crushing silence settled between us before I finally spoke, my voice barely a whisper.
"You… let them take me?"
Mae didn’t even flinch. "You don’t get it, do you?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Do you know what it’s like to be compared to you all my life? You, the perfect daughter. You, the one with a bright future. And me? The disappointment. The girl who got pregnant at eighteen and had to—"
She stopped herself.
But I knew.
My breath hitched. "Mae… what did you do?"
Her lips pressed together, her chin trembling slightly. Then she whispered, almost too quietly, "I got rid of it."
My whole body went cold.
A sickening, twisting pain coiled in my chest as the reality settled in.
She… she had an abortion.
"You were pregnant, and you—" My voice broke.