Page 68 of Ruthless Riches

“Like making art?” I said, shaking my head with shock and disgust. “Holy shit.”

“Stop looking at me like that!” she said, eyes narrowing. “You’d understand if you did it yourself!”

“No, I wouldn’t.” I swallowed the thick lump in my throat and clasped my hands together. “God, how the hell did this happen, Sascha? This isn’t you.”

“It is,” she insisted.

I shook my head, guts roiling with horror. “No. The Sascha I know would never hurt anyone,” I said. “She’d never enjoy killing innocent people.”

How did this happen?

How did my sister go from being a sweet young woman to a psychopathic murderer?

It didn’t make sense. Unless…

I raised my eyes to meet hers again. “Sascha… did you get a gift delivered to you at some point in the last few months?”

She looked taken aback by the random question. “Huh?”

“Did you get a gift delivered to you?” I repeated. “One with a note that said it was from Mom.”

“Oh. Yeah. Why?”

I ignored her question for the time being. “When did you get it?” I asked.

She lifted a shoulder in a vague shrug. “A few days before you left for Blackthorne, I think. I thought I showed it to you, but I guess I forgot.”

“Was it a giant box of chocolates?”

“Yes. Why?”

Tears welled up in my eyes again, and I buried my face in my hands. “Oh, fuck,” I muttered as guilt stabbed at my insides. “It’s my fault.”

Confusion flickered in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“I should’ve told you,” I said between sobs. “I… I totally forgot.”

“Told me what?”

I lifted my face again and drew a deep, shaky breath. “Edward sent you those chocolates. Not Mom.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“He sent me the same thing, but it was delivered to my dorm at Blackthorne instead of the apartment,” I said. “When he had me trapped in the hospital, he told me all of the fillings were laced with something. I can’t remember the name, but it’s basically a drug that’s designed to drive people insane. He did it because he was trying to scare me off the island.” I sniffed and wiped my cheeks. “I should’ve realized he wanted both of us gone. I should’ve realized he sent you the same thing. I should’ve…”

My voice cracked. I couldn’t say anything else. Not until I managed to take control of my emotions again.

Sascha stared at me through narrowed eyes. “What are you saying, Lexie?”

I took another deep breath, trying my best to stem the flood of tears. “I’m saying you’ve been drugged,” I finally choked out. “Every time you had one of those chocolates, they messed you up. Made you unstable. They did the same to me. Just not…” I took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Not this bad.”

“But I don’t…” Sascha trailed off, unable to complete whatever sentence she’d wanted to say.

“How many did you eat?” I asked.

“The whole box.”

“When?”