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My stomach dropped. \u201cIt\u2019s six o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says I need to lose weight,\u201d Sophie murmured softly. \u201cThat I\u2019m getting chubby like Mommy was. She says Mommy died because she was weak\u2026 and if I want to live, I have to learn control.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word echoed in my head.<\/p>\n
Control.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says we\u2019re burdens,\u201d Sophie continued flatly. \u201cAnchors. Mistakes. She says once you change your will, she\u2019ll figure out \u2018permanent solutions.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Something inside me snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going home,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd no one is ever going to hurt you again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The drive back was silent. I cranked the heat, but my hands still shook.<\/p>\n
At a stoplight, I opened the security app on my phone. I\u2019d installed cameras throughout the house two years earlier\u2014cameras Isabelle knew about. I had trusted her. Trusted that a woman who claimed to love us wouldn\u2019t need watching.<\/p>\n
I pulled up the footage from earlier that afternoon.<\/p>\n