Chapter 6

"Simone, let's play a game." That one sentence had once been the nightmare of Simone's childhood. She was the middle child in the family. When her brother was born, their parents shifted all their attention to him and left young Simone in the care of Sylvia. But Sylvia was only a teenager herself, and she was still going through her rebellious phase. She should have been enjoying her youth, not getting locked up at home to babysit. She couldn't fight back against their parents, so she turned all her resentment onto Simone. She yelled at her and hit her whenever she got frustrated. "Stop it, Sylvia! If you hit me again, I'll tell Mom and Dad!" little Simone would cry helplessly, trying to defend herself by threatening to tell on her. But Sylvia would just flash that strange, twisted smile. "Simone, let's play a game," she whispered. Then, smiling like she was possessed, she picked up one of Simone's toys and slammed it against her own forehead. "This game's called 'Let's see who Mom and Dad believe.'" Even as blood streamed down her face, Sylvia kept grinning. "Let's go tattle together and find out who they'll side with!" Then, she dropped the toy, clutched her forehead, and burst into tears. "Simone, why would you do that? You hit me with your toy! It hurts so bad!" Simone had been so young. She couldn't process what was happening. The blood on Sylvia's face and that twisted smile had terrified her so badly that she couldn't even speak. Of course, their parents believed Sylvia. Simone got locked in her room, and she was beaten senseless for something she hadn't done. After that, Sylvia knew just how far she could go. She would hit and torment Simone in secret, then injure herself and go crying to their parents, claiming Simone was the one who hurt her. It became Sylvia's favorite game. As adults, Sylvia stopped pulling stunts like that. Or so Simone thought. She never imagined Sylvia would go back to her old tricks after all these years, especially while pregnant. A scream shattered the silence. Sylvia tumbled down the stairs, crashing to the bottom in a mess of blood. Cameron was the first to reach her. The moment he saw her lying motionless in a pool of red, his face twisted with fury. He turned to Simone, and the look he gave her was like a knife to the chest. It was full of hatred, as if he wanted nothing more than to see her torn apart. But he didn't say a word. He simply scooped Sylvia into his arms and rushed her to the hospital. The priority was saving her life. A little while later, Simone arrived at the hospital too, but not of her own free will. Hazel and Madeline had dragged her there, beating her the whole way like she was some kind of criminal. "Cameron, I heard you say on the phone that Sylvia's losing too much blood," Hazel said as she yanked Simone forward by the ear. "If she needs a transfusion, take it from Simone! Their blood types match! She pushed Sylvia down the stairs. The least she can do is bleed for her! However much Sylvia needs, draw it from her!" The blood bank had plenty of supply, but that didn't matter to Hazel. She shoved Simone into the doctor's hands and insisted they use her blood for Sylvia's transfusion.