’d worked toward a future my stepmother insisted I’d never have. Just when my dream was within reach, something happened that nearly destroyed my chance. I thought losing my father’s support had been the hardest part of growing up. Then an unexpected delivery revealed a secret he’d left behind.
“Where are they, Vanessa?”
My stepmother looked up from her coffee.
“Where are what?”
“My hearing aids. They were beside my alarm clock.”
She glanced at the empty case in my hand.
“Where are they, Vanessa?”
“Maybe you misplaced them, Zoe.”
“I checked before bed. Both were there.”
Vanessa shrugged.
“Then keep looking.”
My scholarship interview started in forty minutes.
“Maybe you misplaced them, Zoe.”
Without my hearing aids, I could hear sounds, but understanding speech was much harder.
I’d miss words and struggle to follow questions.
Vanessa knew that.
At eleven the previous night, Vanessa had entered my bedroom.
