"Sweetheart, it's a bit chilly tonight—let's skip your bath, okay? Mommy will tuck you in right now."

Melissa took Lily's hand and led her toward the bedroom.

Just then, something tumbled from Lily's coat pocket—a flower-shaped hair clip.

Melissa frowned, bending to pick it up.

"Where did this come from? I've never seen it before. Does it belong to one of your classmates?"

Lily shrugged, unconcerned. "I bought it today when I went to get steamed buns with that jinx. I thought it was pretty."

"It cost two dollars."

Melissa froze.

For a long moment, she didn't move. Then, slowly, her gaze lifted to meet her husband's.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he shot her a sharp look—not in front of the child—and she swallowed the words.

Perhaps worn out from the day's outing, Lily fell asleep quickly. Melissa eased the bedroom door shut with painstaking care, then returned to the living room.

"What do we do now?" Her voice was a strained whisper. "If your sister finds out we not only blamed that wretched girl for something she didn't do but beat her—this won't end well for us."

Her husband exhaled a thick ring of smoke. The haze in his eyes slowly sharpened into something calculating.

"I'll figure it out. First, we deal with the body in that room."

Melissa nodded. They had just turned toward the storage room when his phone rang.

"Hey, I'll be at your place in about half an hour." Claudia Sparks's voice came through the speaker. "Is Blanche asleep yet?"

The color drained from his face. His hands began to tremble.

When he didn't respond, Claudia's tone shifted to concern. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

He forced himself to steady. When he spoke, his voice was almost normal—almost.

"Why are you coming now? It's so late." He cleared his throat. "Blanche is already asleep. Why don't you find a hotel for tonight and come by tomorrow instead?"

"It's the weekend—you'll have plenty of time to spend with her then."

On the other end, Claudia sounded relieved. "Oh, she's asleep? That's fine, I'll just come over and sleep next to her. It's too late to bother checking into a hotel anyway."

"I've been on the train all afternoon. I'm exhausted."

Melissa's eyes went wide. She gestured frantically at her husband.

He coughed. "Actually—we're not home. Since the kids don't have school tomorrow, we decided to take them out for a little trip today."

"There's no one at the house right now. Just come tomorrow."

"Don't worry, we'll be back first thing in the morning."

Claudia started to protest, but he cut her off, his voice tight with barely concealed urgency.

"Look, I don't want to wake the kids. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

He hung up before she could respond.

A long breath escaped him.

Melissa's face twisted with resentment. She glared toward the storage room. "Your sister has the worst timing. Why did she have to come back today of all days?"

Her expression crumbled into panic. "What are we going to do? We're going to prison. Our daughter is so young—what's going to happen to her?"

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I must have been cursed in a past life to marry you. You're going to be the death of me!"

"You're a grown man—how could you not control yourself? How could you hit her hard enough to kill her?"

Her husband's jaw clenched so tight the muscles twitched. His eyes were dark, bloodshot.

"We never should have agreed to keep that jinx here. Not for a measly three thousand a month."

Melissa's voice turned bitter. "Wasn't it your idea? You wanted a free maid."

"Goddammit, now she's gone and died in my house. What rotten luck."

Aunt Melissa wiped away a tear.

"Your house? We're about to lose our freedom—maybe our lives—and you're worried about your house?"

Uncle Derek shot her a withering look.

But when he saw her tears, his tone softened.

"Fine, enough. Crying won't help. Her mother's back in town. We need to figure this out, now."

"First, we get the body out. It's the middle of the night—I'll dump her somewhere outside the city."

Melissa knew this wasn't the time for tears. She scrubbed her face dry and nodded frantically.

They yanked open the storage room door and scrambled to lift me out.

I watched my small body twisted into unnatural angles in their grip, and felt a dull, wooden ache where my heart used to be.

Even now, I still remember everything.

After Dad died, Mom spent every day holding me, her face perpetually wet with tears.

The seventh day after his death—his spirit barely departed—Grandpa Harold Fletcher and Grandma Margaret Fletcher showed up at our door with Uncle Victor Fletcher in tow.

"You jinx! You cursed my son to death!" Grandma Margaret shrieked.

"Take your money-losing daughter and get out of my son's house! You killed him—what right do you have to stay here?"

Mom clutched little me to her chest and knelt before them, kowtowing over and over until her forehead was raw.

"Please, Mom, I'm begging you—Blanche is so young. If you throw us out, how are we supposed to survive?"

"Please, have mercy on Blanche. She's your flesh and blood too—a Fletcher, through and through."

They wouldn't even look at me.

"Get out! Fletcher blood? A girl who can't carry on the family name? We don't want her!"

Mom had no education. She couldn't find decent work locally.

Before long, an old friend told her there were jobs in Eastford State. Hard labor, yes—but if you were willing to work overtime, the pay wasn't bad.

Mom was torn. She couldn't bear to leave me, but without money, she couldn't keep me alive.

She gritted her teeth and made a deal: three thousand dollars a month to my uncle and aunt, and they'd take me in.

The day she left, I cried until my voice gave out, begging her not to abandon me.

She just stroked my hair, eyes red-rimmed.

"Be good, Blanche. Listen to your uncle. When Mommy earns enough money, I'll come back for you."

"And then we'll never be apart again."

But Mom... will I still be here when you come back?

Just then, the electronic lock beeped.

And then—Mom's voice.

"Huh, they still haven't changed the code after all this time."

"Wait—why are the lights on? Derek? Melissa? You're home?"

"What are you two moving around in the middle of the night?"