at the head table knew.
Except me.
My mother stretched out her hand.
“Come on, Emily.”
Her smile hardened.
“Give your sister the keys.”
The room waited.
Two hundred pairs of eyes fixed on me.
My heart pounded.
Years of being overlooked.
Years of being used.
Years of being treated like my achievements belonged to everyone except me.
All of it rushed through my mind.
Then I spoke.
“No.”
Silence.
The applause stopped instantly.
My mother’s expression twisted into something ugly.
Something furious.
Before I could react, she crossed the
