Then read the number aloud.
“Leave the room,” I said.
“Alice—”
“I need to make this call alone.”
He left.
I dialed.
My hands shook so badly I nearly hit the wrong number.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then a cautious voice answered.
“Hello?”
I couldn’t speak.
“Hello?”
Finally, I found my voice.
“It’s me.”
Silence.
“Chloe, sweetheart. It’s Alice.”
Her breath caught.
Then she said something that broke my heart.
“I thought you hated me.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I thought you hated me too.”
There was a
