"Don't worry, though. It's not life-threatening. Otherwise, how would Miri take over the body?"

My lashes trembled. Inside, I was screaming, clawing, sobbing.

Why are you doing this to me? Why?

They hadn't mentioned me once. Not a single time, from start to finish.

No one cared how I felt.

Whether I might actually die.

A moment later, I opened my eyes slowly. The conversation between the three of them cut off at once.

"Miri!"

My eyes were hollow as I fell into Malcolm's warm, trembling arms. Above my head, his voice cracked with joy.

"You're finally back. I missed you so much."

"The System can block your pain, right? Use it now. We'll get rid of Lorna and—"

"Malcolm!"

Cole's voice sliced through the air, sharp enough to stop Malcolm mid-sentence.

Malcolm turned, confused, and met Cole's wide, stricken eyes.

"It's Lorna."

Malcolm's body went rigid. He jerked back three inches, pulling away from me.

I tugged at the corners of my mouth, playing dumb.

"Malcolm? Who's this 'Miri' you were talking about?"

The air in the room solidified.

So quiet I could hear all three of their heartbeats, uneven and panicked.

"You misheard."

Finn was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"Lorna, the car accident scared Malcolm half to death. He was rambling. He's just worried about you."

Malcolm nodded frantically in agreement.

His face was stiff, the color all wrong.

"...Yeah, that's right. I'm sorry, Lori. I was just so worried about you."

I pulled up the corners of my lips and didn't ask again.

But under the blanket, my fingers curled tighter and tighter until my nails bit into my palms. The pain was blinding, and I didn't so much as flinch.

My mind kept circling back to what Malcolm had just said. The System blocks her pain.

So that was it.

I'd never been able to figure it out before. They tortured my body so brutally. Wouldn't Miriam feel the pain too, once she took over?

But no.

Everything was rigged in her favor. In theirs.

What a joke.

"Cole. Finn. Malcolm."

I lifted my head suddenly, my gaze bleak. "It hurts so much. My whole body. It hurts so much I want to die."

Their expressions froze. "What?"

I didn't answer. Just looked at them, eyes full of mockery.

Then I bolted, limping and lurching, and threw myself into the oncoming traffic.

The second attempt failed too.

Finn yanked me back from the edge of death, his face white with shock.

The driver leaned on his horn and screamed out the window. "Are you insane? You wanna die, do it somewhere else!"

All I felt was disappointment that I'd failed again.

Next time, I'd have to use the simplest method. The most final one.

Cole and Malcolm caught up, doubled over and gasping for air.

Cole kicked me hard enough to send me stumbling. "You don't get to die, Lorna Harding!"

"I'm telling you, I—"

"Cole! Finn! Malcolm!"

A sweet, urgent voice rang out from down the street, cutting him off.

All three of them whipped around. A figure fluttered toward them like a butterfly and threw herself into their arms, clinging.

"I missed you all so much!"

Cole's cold eyes erupted with pure, unguarded joy. "Miri?!"

He shot a wary glance at me, then turned his back and lowered his voice. "How did you—"

Miriam bit her lip, her face crumpling with rehearsed hurt.

"I missed you too much. I begged the System to give me five minutes to see you."

"Cole..." Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You have to hurry. If you can't take the body back soon, the System will declare my mission a failure."

Three men who commanded boardrooms and crushed rivals were suddenly helpless, tripping over themselves.

"Don't worry, Miri. We've got you."

I stood off to the side, forgotten, watching them cling to each other like a family being reunited. Like I wasn't even there.

They never really knew me. Otherwise, how could they have forgotten I could read lips?

Miriam, wearing someone else's body, turned back before she left.

She walked up to me, leaned down, and curled her lips into a smile.

"Then let me thank you in advance for your body, Lorna Harding."

The next day I was discharged. My three brothers, dazed and distracted, brought me home, deposited me in my room, and left without another word.

They hurried into Cole's study.

I put on my earpiece. Their voices came through, urgent and agitated.

"This attempt failed because we didn't push hard enough! If this keeps up, Miri's going to die!"

Malcolm kicked a chair over.

He noticed the water stains on the keyboard and frowned, but the thought passed as quickly as it came.

Cole drew a long breath.

"Tomorrow is Lorna's birthday. Get a few vagrants in here, have them waiting in her room. I refuse to believe this won't work."

My hands went limp. My phone hit the floor hard, and a high-pitched ringing filled my ears.

My legs gave out. I sank to the ground, laughing. The sound was hollow and desolate.

The next day. The birthday banquet.

Perhaps to maximize the shock, to grind my dignity into dust so completely that Miriam could take over for good.

They had invited half of D.C.'s elite and nearly every major media outlet.

"Here. You're nineteen today. Old enough to drink."

I took the wine glass Finn offered and spotted the faint residue of powder at the bottom, almost invisible.

"Thanks, Finn."

I lifted my face and smiled, bright and trusting, exactly the way I used to when I was little and would throw myself into his arms.

Maybe he remembered that too.

Finn's expression froze. Something flickered behind his eyes, a moment of struggle.

Then it was gone.

I drank it down. My head began to swim almost immediately. At the same time, my tongue grazed the capsule of lethal snake venom hidden inside my mouth.

One bite, and I'd be dead within ten seconds.

Finn steadied me. "Dizzy? Let me take you back to your room."

I nodded.

I caught the look the three of them exchanged.

The moment we stepped inside, I was placed on the bed. Then a wave of rancid stench hit me.

"The Harding heiress herself! We can die happy!"

"Get her!"

I smiled faintly and didn't resist. My gaze stayed fixed on the photograph hanging on the wall. The four of us, together, happy.

Then I bit down hard. The venom flooded my throat.