Chapter 7

Gabrielle

"Mom, have you noticed how strange it is that Ella hasn't returned home or even bothered to call?" I inquire, my mother suddenly fixing her gaze on me as though I had sprouted an extra head.

"Why are you giving me that peculiar look?" I retort sharply, attempting to pull her out of her trance.

"Well, dear, your question caught me off guard. It's as if it's the first time you've ever inquired about your sister," she remarks, prompting an immediate chuckle from me at her reaction.

"Don't misunderstand me, Mom. I'm not asking out of concern. You and I both know that if it were up to me, she would never have been born in the first place, sparing me the burden of having an identical, utterly useless sibling out there, engaging in who-knows-what!" I sneer with annoyance, recalling the incident in the cafe parking lot.

"Why would you say that?" She inquires.

"W