Her Cold Mother, His Bloody Betrayal

The first gunshot in the library deafened me to everything but my brother Ethan' s jolt and the dark red staining his white t-shirt. He looked at me, mouth open, no sound. He slumped.

My body moved before my brain could. I turned and ran. I didn' t help him, didn' t scream his name. I just ran, leaving him there. Because I had done this before.

In my last life, I' d called our neurosurgeon mother, Olivia. "Mom, Ethan's been shot!" I' d sobbed. Her reply, cold: "Stop being so dramatic, Chloe. I' m busy getting my nails done with Ashley." Ashley, our adopted sister, was her perfect princess.