“Erica has been feeling guilty and trying to make up for everything, since you came. But look at you—scheming, tricking her, playing the victim when it was your lies that got exposed! You’re really have the nerve playing with fire!”
I stood frozen, my face burning with the weight of their accusations. The pieces of my medical report, torn and crushed, felt like a silent mockery. Erica’s feigned guilt, her insecure little act, had turned into a symbol of her victory.
“Mom, I didn’t—” I tried to explain, but my voice was so weak it was barely a whisper.
“Get out! I don’t have a daughter like you!”
My mother’s roar shattered the air. Dad and Everett stared at me with disappointed eyes, as if I were nothing but a criminal in their eyes. I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. I couldn’t understand it—why didn’t they believe me?
Erica knelt beside me, her voice soft but laced with venom. “See? You’ll never be better than me. No matter what you do, they'll only hate you more.”
“Erica, stay away from her,” Everett snapped. “From now on, I don’t ever want to see her set foot in this house again!”