Illicit Obsession. Part 1

Chrissy's POV

The house is dead quiet. Of course, this is technically more than a house. It’s a huge, six-bedroom, full-fledged mansion in Montclair, New Jersey. It’s a fancy family home, in a fancy family neighborhood …but without the family.

When my mom, Janice, still lived here, there was a lot of life, but the kind I can do without. She was always having friends over and hosting parties, with strange people coming and going.

Even when it was just her, she’d have the music blaring away while she cooked some obscure vegan meal, or did one of her intense aerobics classes in the middle of the living room, with the streamed video on the widescreen TV.

What was even weirder is that Janice would talk back to the TV instructor sometimes. When Richard, Chrissy, or Jazz shrieked, “You got it, girl!” Janice would howl back, “I know, I got it! I’m torching these calories, yee-haw!”

But eventually, the party lifestyle Janice was leading directly