Page 51 of Stolen Voices

Silla stands from the couch with a wobble, and it’s not from the four-inch red soles she’s wearing. She’s been drinking. With slow, deadly steps, she approaches me. “Answer me, Callie. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

Don’t let her see you squirm.

My heart pumps faster, making it harder for me to keep my voice as even as possible. “About what? I didn’t do anything, Silla. I’ve been doing everything you said.”

“Liar,” she hisses into my face. Her eyes are wild and glassy, and I can smell the liquor on her breath.

My stomach plummets. Silla is erratic at best on a good day. When she’s drunk, she’s downright volatile.

“You’ve been fucking Eli, haven’t you, you little whore?”

“That none of your business,” I snap in irritation.

How dare she? If anyone is a whore, it’s her. She pimps herself out to anyone willing to give her something in return. She’s the one who throws herself at men to feel wanted and powerful. I refuse to play this game with her. It’s not my fault Eli has turned down her advances and it pisses her off.

“Everything you do is my business, little girl,” she sneers, making me scoff.

“How I make you money is your business. Nothing more.”

“Wrong. I know everything. Like, tonight, I know you finished the album and left the studio early with him.”

My stomach plummets. She has someone watching me? Who? My skin crawls, wondering who’s in her pocket this time. Mike? Someone on the crew? Eli?

Never.He would never betray me.

An evil smile spreads across Silla’s surgically tight features. She gets off on knowing she has one on me. “That’s right. I have people watching you, even when I’m not there. Now, tell me. Where did you go? Or did you even bother making it out of the parking lot before you spread your legs for him? I always knew you were a slut, just like your mother.”

Hearing Silla talk about my mom with such disdain makes anger soar through me like wildfire. “Do not talk about my mom like that,” I grind out, clenching my fists.

Silla throws her head back and laughs like an evil villain. “I can talk about the sad sack of shit any way I want. She wasn’t even strong enough to take care of you after Andrew died. Pathetic.”

Her cruel words about my parents are deep stab wounds with a serrated knife to my bruised heart as she continues to spew hate. Her cruelty knows no bounds.

“Enough!” I shout.

In a flash, Silla’s palm strikes my cheek like a whip. My face burns, but I don’t dare move or wipe the warm trickle of blood slowly sliding down my cheek where her nail scratched me.

“Remember who’s in charge, Callie.” Her voice falls deathly low, and the unspoken threat is supposed to remind me of my place.

Once upon a time, that slap might have worked, but I refuse to keep letting her win. I have been what she has wanted me to be for too long. I am fucking done being her personal ATM.

All the anger I have suppressed over the years bubbles up and finds its way out. “Fuck you, Silla. You don’t own me.”

She raises her hand again, but I’m faster, expecting the blow. I catch her wrist and squeeze. Her blue eyes widen at the extraordinarystrength in my grip.

That’s right, bitch. I’m stronger than you think.

“You will not lay your hands on me again. Do you understand?” She wants to play with me. I’ll show her just how cut from the same cloth we really are. “I maypretendto be your little puppet, but make no mistake, Silla, I am not. So don’t do something you’ll regret. And this?” I wave between us with my finger. “This little power dynamic with you on top will not last forever. The time will come when I walk away from you, and there will be no more money for you to live the life you are used to. Now, get the fuck out of my apartment.”

I twist her wrist, pushing it—and her—away with as much force as I can, and step back, putting space between us before either of us takes this fight further.

If that’s what she wants, I’m ready. But I know Silla. She prefers manipulation and mind games.

Silla rubs her wrist as hatred burns her eyes. “I’m going to make you pay, Callie. Your mother too.”

“Go near her, and you’ll be the one paying.”

Silla laughs. “Silly girl. Do you really think you could keep me away from her? I’ll be sure to say hi for you when I visit her again soon.” She pauses, waiting for her words to sink in.