Chapter 8 - The Sister’s Confession
I walked out into the precinct lobby.
Felicity was sitting on a wooden bench in the corner. She looked exhausted. Her wedding dress was gone, replaced by plain jeans and a gray sweater. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying for two days straight.
When she saw me, she stood up slowly, clutching her handbag against her stomach.
"Claire..." she whispered.
I stood five feet away, folding my arms across my chest. "If you came here to tell me I ruined your wedding, Felicity, save your breath."
"No," Felicity said quickly, fresh tears brimming in her eyes. "No... I didn't come to say that."
She took a shaky step closer. "Grant filed for an annulment yesterday morning. His family's assets have been frozen by the court. The wedding... it's completely destroyed."
"Felicity, she murdered our mother," I said, my voice hardening.
"I know!" Felicity sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "I know, Claire! I'm not mad about the wedding! I'm... I'm disgusted with myself!"
She lowered her hands, looking at me with pure guilt. "When you fell during the ceremony... when you were slurring your words... I thought you were just trying to take the spotlight off me. I thought you were being selfish. Diane told me months ago that you were jealous of my relationship with Grant's family, and I... I believed her."
I looked at my sister. All our lives, Diane had subtly driven a wedge between us—praising Felicity for being obedient and sweet, while labeling me as difficult, moody, and rebellious. It had been a deliberate strategy to keep us from talking to each other about our mother's past.
"She manipulated both of us, Felicity," I said softly, the anger in my chest softening just a little. "She wanted us divided so we wouldn't look at the paperwork together."
"I saw the photos on the screen, Claire," Felicity whispered, her voice cracking. "Mom... she looked so much like you. How could Dad let Diane stay in our lives for so long?"
"Dad was terrified of conflict," I said. "He let Diane take control because it was easier than fighting her. But we don't have to live like that anymore."
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Felicity stepped forward and threw her arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Claire. I'm so sorry I didn't help you when you were falling."
I held my sister tight in the middle of that cold police station lobby, feeling the rift between us finally begin to heal.
