Chapter 3
Vivian's next move came even sooner than I expected.
The winter charity gala was held at the Weir family's country estate.
I was upstairs changing into my gown when Vivian suddenly knocked and came in.
For once she wasn't being snide. She even smiled and told me there was a wrap in the basement storage room that would go better with my dress.
"Mom asked me to get it for you."
I looked at her.
"Since when are you this nice?"
"Believe me or don't." She rolled her eyes. "I'm sick of watching everyone fight over you every day too."
I only half believed her, but I followed her downstairs.
The basement hallway was long, and the farther in we went, the colder it got.
Vivian pushed open the door at the very end.
"It's in there."
The second I stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind me.
The lock clicked.
I spun around.
On the other side of the door, Vivian laughed.
"Relax. No pins this time.
"And no phone."
I reached into my pocket and only then realized she'd slipped my phone out at some point.
She waved it outside the door.
"And definitely no witnesses.
"When you get out tomorrow morning, everyone will just think you wandered into the wrong room."
I looked around. The air was freezing.
"Vivian, open the door."
"Beg me."
"If I get cold, they get cold too."
It was quiet outside the door for half a second.
Then she laughed even harder.
"You actually believe that crap from last time?
"Then go ahead. Let them freeze with you."
Her heels clicked away into the distance.
About 15 minutes later, in the ballroom, my mother was the first to shiver.
She was talking with guests from the foundation when the hand holding her wineglass suddenly began to shake violently.
My father froze in place too.
Nathan went pale. "Where is she?"
Alex had already taken off his suit jacket and was heading upstairs.
"Find her first."
Dr. Graham felt my mother's ice-cold hands, then looked at my father and my two brothers, who were all shivering too. Alarm flashed across his face.
"Elena is losing body heat. Right now."
The gala was called off on the spot.
My mother was wrapped in two coats, still asking the staff if anyone had seen me. Vivian sat on the couch watching her and couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"She's only been gone 15 minutes or so.
"Is this really necessary?"
Nobody paid any attention to her.
That made her even more upset.
"I competed with a 104-degree fever, and you never acted like this."
My mother finally turned around.
"Vivian."
Her voice was cold. "Nobody has time to listen to this right now."
Vivian's face went white.
She sat there and watched everyone scatter to look for me.
What she didn't know was that by then, my fingers had already gone numb from the cold.
I didn't throw myself at the door.
If I really hurt myself, the people outside would only hurt more.
All I could do was curl up in a corner to conserve my body heat. I kept telling myself they already knew something was wrong.
They'd find me.
The first person to reach the basement was Julian Reeves.
He'd come to the estate to drop off an identification document. He happened to hear a staff member say I'd last been seen heading down to the basement.
A few of them started opening doors one by one.
By the time the door to the cold storage room opened, I could barely stand.
Julian took off his coat and wrapped it around me. Then he bent down, picked me up, and carried me out.
Upstairs, at that same moment, my mother's violent shaking suddenly stopped.
My father's stiff fingers slowly came back to life too.
All Vivian saw was me being carried upstairs with a crowd around me.
She stood outside the circle, her expression souring by the second.
As I passed her, she said under her breath, "You're such a faker."
I turned my head to look at her.
She gritted her teeth.
"Locked up for 15 minutes or so, and they all come running.
"So what if I made you disappear for a little longer?"
With that, she turned and walked away.
Watching her go, I realized for the first time that this girl didn't just want to embarrass me.
She really wanted me gone from this family.