Chapter 1 - The Bowl of Meat
The first thing Megan heard was Helen crying.
The second was Brianna laughing.
By the time Megan reached the kitchen of the villa, the scene had already turned monstrous. A large metal bowl full of rotting meat sat on the counter, blackened edges curling under a cloud of flies. Helen, pale and trembling in her faded floral dress, was bent forward over it while Brianna held a fistful of her thinning gray hair.
“Useless parasite,” Brianna hissed, shoving Helen’s face hard into the foul pile. “Even trash has its place.”
Helen made a weak choking sound.
Then Brianna yanked her back upright.
For one second, Megan froze.
Then she moved.
But Harper—no, in this house there was no Harper, only Megan—was still two steps away when Brianna shoved Helen hard. Helen hit the floor with a sickening thud.
Brianna kicked her once in the side.
Then she grabbed the bowl and dumped the entire mass of rotten meat over Helen’s head. Greasy scraps slid through Helen’s gray hair and down her shoulders.
Brianna laughed.
“Now you look exactly like what you’re worth.”
That was when Megan lunged.
She snatched up a chunk of the rotten meat from the floor and hurled it straight into Brianna’s face.
Splat.
Brianna recoiled in disgust, and Megan used the opening to shove her with both hands. Brianna stumbled backward and crashed down across Helen’s frail body.
Helen cried out.
Megan immediately dragged Brianna off her and shoved her aside with all the strength in her body. Then she dropped to her knees and lifted Helen enough to shield her.
“Touch my mother again—and I’ll bury you alive along with your secret.”
For the first time all afternoon, Brianna stopped smiling.
She stared at Megan.
Then at Helen.
Then her eyes flicked toward the side hallway as if she were calculating escape.
Megan wrapped one arm around Helen and reached for a dish towel with the other.
That was when she saw the ruined freezer bags near the trash can.
The unplugged chest-freezer cord.
And, half-hidden beneath the counter ledge, a folder Megan recognized from the night before.
The same folder that had made her come to the villa in the first place.
Brianna’s face went still.
May you like
Because she knew exactly what Megan meant.
And for the first time, Helen understood there was something far uglier in that house than a bowl of rotten meat.
