Jasper's POV:
I heard my sister say the words, and the world went quiet.
Illness. Accident. Nobody cares about the death of a nobody. She said them in the garden, sweetly—the way she said everything—and I stood at the edge of the roses, listening to her plan to kill Annie. I understood that I had been standing at the edge of too many things for too long.
Elena looked at me. "Don't make that face, Jasper. You know it has to be done. She was never going to keep her mouth shut."
"Leave her alone." I heard my own voice. "She's done nothing to you."
"She's a loose thread." My sister smiled at me—the smile she had worn my whole life, the one that meant I was hers and she would take care of everything. "You'll thank me when it's over. Now go. Walk her out. Make sure she gets home safe, and d
