Chapter 3

Kasie woke up shivering. The storage room at the back of the house was freezing, the single blanket on the cot doing nothing to block the draft from the window. Her head pounded, a thick, throbbing ache that made the room spin. Her skin was hot and dry, her throat raw.

She needed water. She pushed herself up, her muscles screaming in protest, and shuffled out into the hallway. The smell of bacon and coffee drifted up the stairs, a cruel reminder of the world still turning without her.

Down in the kitchen, Brandan and Calista were seated at the table. The breakfast spread was impressive: scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, a stack of pancakes. No one had set a plate for her.

Brandan looked up as she entered the doorway. His eyes narrowed at her flushed face, but his expression held no concern, only annoyance.

"Don't even think about playing sick," he said, pointing a fork at her. "We're going to the clinic."

Kasie leaned against the doorframe, trying to keep the room from tilting. "Where?"

Calista set her coffee cup down. She folded her hands in her lap, her voice dripping with manufactured sorrow. "Kasie, I'm so sorry. It's my fault. Ever since the accident, my blood counts have been off. The doctor said my aplastic anemia might be acting up again."

She paused, biting her lower lip. It was a perfectly rehearsed gesture. "He suggested we do a bone marrow compatibility test. Just in case."

Kasie stared at her. The pieces clicked into place with a sickening thud. They wanted her to be a donor. They wanted to carve into her bones to fix the sister who had stolen her life.

"This is your chance to make things right," Brandan said, his voice hard. "The clinic has an opening for a preliminary compatibility screening this morning. If you're a potential match, we'll schedule the full biopsy. We're going."

A wave of nausea rolled through Kasie's stomach. It wasn't the fever; it was the sheer audacity of the demand. They were treating her like a spare parts repository.

"I'm sick, Brandan," Kasie said, her voice hoarse. "I need to rest. And you can't force me to undergo a medical procedure."

Brandan slammed his hand on the table. The dishes rattled. "You don't have a choice! You nearly killed her. You owe her this!"

He stood up, his chair scraping violently against the floor. He crossed the kitchen in two strides and grabbed Kasie's arm. His grip was bruising, his fingers digging into her bicep. He dragged her toward the back door.

"Let's go."

The drive to the clinic was a blur of gray skies and pain. Brandan drove, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. Calista sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window with a tragic expression. Kasie was relegated to the back, her head resting against the cold glass.

Halfway there, Brandan pulled into a gas station. "I need coffee. Don't move."

He got out, leaving the engine running. The silence in the car was suffocating.

Kasie kept her eyes closed, trying to breathe through the fever.

"Are you feeling sorry for yourself?"

Kasie opened her eyes. Calista had turned around in her seat. The soft, vulnerable mask was gone. In its place was a cold, sharp smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"You really think this is unfair, don't you?" Calista whispered, her tone mocking. "Wake up, Kasie. From the day the Foremans took me in and sent me back here, you were always going to lose."

Kasie stared at her, stunned by the sudden shift. "What are you talking about?"

"Your Ivy League degree. Your research. Your husband." Calista ticked them off on her fingers. "Everything you had, I wanted. And now I have it."

She leaned closer, her eyes glittering. "Look at them. Brandan, Jefferson, Jaime. They love me. They think you came back to steal from me. They hate you."

"Why?" Kasie asked, the word barely a whisper. "Why are you doing this?"

Calista laughed, a soft, cruel sound. "Because I can't stand your face. You act like you deserve the world. Why you? Why did Clemence propose to you first? Why did you get the scholarship? You're nothing."

The gas station door chimed. Brandan stepped out, holding a steaming cup.

Calista's face transformed in an instant. The malice vanished, replaced by trembling lips and shining eyes. She turned back around, just as Brandan opened the driver's door.

"Brandan," she whimpered, her voice cracking. "Kasie is so angry. She... she said she hopes I die."

Brandan's eyes flashed in the rearview mirror, meeting Kasie's shocked gaze. He slammed his foot on the gas pedal, the car lurching forward. "You selfish bitch."

At the clinic, the humiliation was complete. Calista played her role to perfection, wincing as the needle went in for a simple blood draw, her frail body trembling. When it was over, she swayed dramatically, collapsing into Brandan's arms in a dead faint.

"Calista!" Brandan caught her, holding her tight. He looked up at Kasie, who was sitting pale and sweating in the waiting chair. "Look what you did! If she dies, I swear to God, I'll kill you myself!"

The nurses stared at Kasie with open disgust. The other patients looked away. Kasie sat there, the fever burning through her veins, realizing that in this world, Calista was the saint, and she was the demon. And there was no escape.