“I smiled for the photos,” she said.

“And all the while, Maya was bleeding in the dark.”

“It was an accident, Chloe,” Mother pleaded, her voice cracking. “The fire was an accident.”

“The fire was,” Chloe said, her eyes narrowing. “But the cover-up wasn’t.”

“The lies weren’t,” she said.

She looked at me, her eyes swimming with a fresh wave of tears.

“I was so blind,” Chloe said to me.

“I should have known when you didn’t want to swim with me anymore,” she said.

“I should have asked why you always smelled of ointment.”

“You were a child, Chloe,” I said. “They made sure you didn’t see.”

“Because they are monsters,” Chloe said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

She turned back to Father, who was trying to compose himself, straightening his polo shirt.

“The lawyers can’t save you from this,” Chloe said to him.

“Nothing can save you,” she said.

Father looked past her, his eyes scanning the crowd of guests at the edge of the lawn.

His face went pale as he realized how many people had heard every word.