The humid air of the Lancaster estate clung to my skin like a second layer, thick with the perfume of expensive jasmine and the manicured cut of freshly trimmed grass, but beneath it all, it reeked of decay

My hands scraped desperately against the cool granite of the countertop as I tried to retreat, but Amanda, my sister-in-law—the one I had once thought my only ally in this gilded cage of a family—was suddenly there, her grip locking around my arms with a strength I hadn’t realized she possessed. Jealousy had twisted her into a stranger, one who obeyed her mother-in-law with a devotion that chilled me to my core.

“Hold her still, Amanda,” Patricia commanded, her voice smooth, composed, almost regal, as though she were preparing to perform a ritual rather than commit an atrocity. “Let’s see if this ‘cursed blood’ survives a little heat.”

The iron hovered, radiant waves of molten air distorting the space between us. My scream erupted—raw, primal, a mother’s cry for the life she carried—but it did nothing to sway Amanda, who leaned into my ear. “You were never one of us, Kaylee. You’re just a parasite.”