Chapter 4

A year later, the facility gates opened.

I walked out into the sunlight, my body a roadmap of their cruelty. I had a permanent limp from a badly healed leg fracture. My left ear was mostly deaf from a "disciplinary" blow from an orderly.

Andrew was there to pick me up, leaning against his polished black Mercedes. He looked me up and down, a sneer on his face.

"Look at you," he said, his voice dripping with disgust. "Like something the cat dragged in. I guess a year in the loony bin didn' t do you any favors."

I said nothing. I let him see the broken, pathetic Molly he expected to see. I kept my eyes downcast, my shoulders slumped.

Inside, I was a coiled spring. Inside, I was Stella. And I was finally free.

He tossed my single, shabby bag into the trunk. "Get in. Mom and Dad want to see what their investment produced."

The drive to the Napa estate was silent. He played loud, obnoxious music, occasionally glancing over at me with that same look of contempt. He thought he had won. He thought I was broken.

Good.

When we arrived, the grand estate looked the same. Manicured lawns, sprawling vineyards, a house that looked more like a museum than a home.

Nicole was waiting on the porch, a picture of angelic concern.

"Molly! You' re back!" she chirped, rushing forward to hug me.

Her arms wrapped around me, and she whispered in my good ear, "I hope you learned your lesson, you little bitch. One word out of line, and you' re going right back."

She pulled away, her smile bright and fake for the family watching from the doorway. As she stepped back, she "accidentally" stomped down hard on my injured foot.

Pain shot up my leg, sharp and white-hot. I gasped, stumbling.

"Oh, clumsy me!" she cried.

I looked up at her, and for a second, I let the mask slip. I let her see the cold, flat emptiness in my eyes. I saw a flicker of fear in her own before she turned away.

My parents watched from the doorway, their faces impassive.

"Welcome home, Gabrielle," my father said, using my full name like a curse. "Your room is in the cellar. We had to clear out some storage."

They weren't just punishing me. They were erasing me. And I was going to let them think they were succeeding.