Chapter 10 - The Sisterhood of Secrets
I knew where she would be.
Every Thursday,
Rachel went to a high-end yoga studio in Back Bay.
She liked the way the mirrors reflected her ‘perfect’ life.
She liked the way the instructor treated her like royalty.
I waited until the class was over.
I waited until she was in the locker room,
alone.
She was standing at the vanity,
applying expensive moisturizer to her face.
She looked tired.
The stress of the last few days was starting to show.
The cracks in the porcelain were appearing.
I walked in and sat on the bench behind her.
She saw me in the mirror.
She didn't scream this time.
She just froze,
the bottle of moisturizer slipping from her hand and shattering on the floor.
The scent of lavender and sandalwood filled the small room.
“Evelyn,”
she whispered.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“I’m everywhere, Rachel,”
I said.
“I’m the air you breathe.”
“I’m the shadow in your peripheral vision.”
“Did you like the baseball?”
Rachel turned around,
her face a mask of fury and fear.
“What do you want?”
“Do you want money?”
“Is that what this is?”
“Michael can get you a settlement.”
“A few million to just…
go away.”
I laughed,
and the sound was like dry leaves skittering across a grave.
“Money?”
“I had money, Rachel.”
“I had a company.”
“I had a husband.”
“And I had a best friend.”
“You took all of those things from me.”
“And you think a ‘settlement’ is going to fix it?”
Rachel stepped toward me,
her eyes flashing.
“You took it from yourself!”
“You’re the one who came home with a bat!”
“You’re the one who went to prison!”
“We were going to tell you,
Evelyn.”
“We were going to do it the right way.”
“But you’ve always been so…
dramatic.”
“So controlling.”
“Michael didn't love you anymore.”
“He was suffocating.”
“I just gave him room to breathe.”
I stood up,
and even though I was wearing flat shoes and she was in her expensive workout gear,
I felt ten feet tall.
“You gave him room to steal, Rachel.”
“You gave him room to lie.”
“And don't tell me you were ‘going to tell me’.”
“I saw the dates on the bank transfers.”
“You’d been taking my money for eighteen months before I caught you.”
“You weren't a sister.”
“You were a parasite.”
Rachel’s face twisted.
“At least I’m the parasite with the husband.”
“At least I’m the one who goes home to the penthouse.”
“While you go home to…
whatever hole you’re hiding in.”
I leaned in,
my voice a whisper that carried more weight than a scream.
“Enjoy the penthouse, Rachel.”
“Enjoy the husband.”
“Because Michael is already looking for the next ‘saving grace’.”
“He’s already moving money into accounts you don't know about.”
“He’s already preparing for the day the ship sinks.”
“And when it does,
he won't be holding your hand.”
“He’ll be using you as a life raft.”
Rachel’s eyes flickered with doubt.
Just for a second.
But a second was all I needed.
“He wouldn't,”
she said,
but her voice lacked conviction.
“He would,”
I said.
“Because that’s what Michael does.”
“He survives.”
“And right now,
you’re the only thing standing between him and the abyss.”
“How long do you think he’ll keep you?”
I turned and walked toward the door.
“Wait!”
Rachel called out.
“What are you going to do?”
I paused,
my hand on the handle.
“I’m not going to do anything, Rachel.”
“I’m just going to watch.”
“I’m going to watch you realize that you didn't win a prize.”
“You won a poison.”
“And it’s already in your veins.”
I walked out of the studio and into the bright,
blinding afternoon.
The first phase was complete.
I had planted the seed of doubt.
Now,
the two of them would do the rest of the work for me.
They would tear each other apart.
And I would be there to collect the pieces.
I found Julian waiting in his car at the curb.
“How did it go?”
he asked.
I looked at the mirror,
straightening my hair.
“The sisterhood is officially over,”
May you like
I said.
“Let’s go home.”
