Chapter 1

Emily Carter, everyone called her Em, was ten when Brittany Evans, who lived three houses down on Maple Street, cornered her by the rusty swingset in Oakhaven' s tired park.

Brittany, Britt, had a strange look in her eyes, too old for a ten-year-old.

"Em," Britt said, her voice low and serious, "I need to tell you something."

Em waited, kicking at a loose stone.

"Everything good that's supposed to happen to you? All the good things, the successes, the happiness?"

Britt leaned closer, her breath smelling like the cheap lollipops her mother, Sharon, always bought in bulk.

"It's mine now. I'm taking it all."

Em frowned. "What are you talking about, Britt? That's a weird thing to say."

Britt just smiled, a small, knowing smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You'll see."

And Em did see.

The very next week, Em' s dad, Tom Carter, was up for the foreman position at the steel plant, the one he' d worked towards for fifteen years. He was the clear favorite.

Then, out of nowhere, Mark Evans, Britt' s dad, got the job. Mark, who' d only been at the plant for five years and wasn't known for much besides brown-nosing.

Tom came home that night, his face gray. He didn't say much, just sat at the kitchen table, staring at his hands. Susan, Em' s mom, put a hand on his shoulder, her own smile a little tighter than usual.

A month later, the annual Oakhaven Church Bake-Off was announced. Susan Carter' s apple pie was legendary. She' d headed the bake sale committee for a decade.

This year, Sharon Evans, Britt' s mom, launched a full campaign. She passed out glossy flyers with her picture on them – for a church bake sale.

Sharon won by three votes. Susan found out when she saw Sharon preening at the next PTA meeting, already talking about "elevating the bake sale's profile."

Susan baked her apple pie anyway, for home. It tasted just as good, but something felt off.

Little things, big things. They started to pile up.

Em was a straight-A student, quiet and hardworking. She loved to read and had a knack for science. Britt, on the other hand, struggled. She' d stare out the window in class, a little smirk on her face, like she knew a secret no one else did.

Yet, when the fifth-grade science fair prize was announced, a brand-new encyclopedia set donated by a "local business," Britt' s name was called. Her project, a messy volcano that barely erupted, was suddenly praised for its "conceptual ambition."

Mark Evans' s new hardware store was listed as the donor.

Em' s project, a detailed model of the solar system she' d spent weeks on, got an honorable mention.

Britt would catch Em' s eye across the classroom or the street and give that same small, knowing smile.

It wasn't a friendly smile. It was the smile of someone who knew the answers to a test everyone else was still taking.

Oakhaven was a declining town, factories closing, young people leaving. The Carters, honest and hardworking, felt the squeeze like everyone else. But for the Evanses, things always seemed to be looking up, often right after something went wrong for the Carters.

Em started to dread seeing Britt, dread that smile. It felt like a promise of more bad things to come.