Page 1 of The Sweetest Revenge

CHAPTER1

ARIELLA

Staring up at my new house, I shifted on my feet uncomfortably as I flicked a glance over my shoulder into the black night surrounding me and quickly pushed the doorbell. I'd always been afraid of the dark, of what lurked behind the blackness invisible to the naked eye. It was an irrational fear, but it didn't matter. It was always there, lingering, threatening to consume me.

Footsteps.

Glancing behind me again, I hit the doorbell again. "Come on, Mom," I muttered, humming and bouncing slightly as my nerves began to get the best of me. "What's taking so long?"

Footsteps again.

I spun around, squinting to see through the blackness. "Who's there?" I couldn't see anything but darkness past the front steps. "Mom?"

Silence.

Blowing out a sigh, I twisted back to the door, wrapping my arms around me. "Get a grip, Ari."

The front door opened. "Ari." My mother stepped back to let me in, and I rushed through the opening. "I was expecting you earlier."

I stopped in the entranceway and turned back toward the night. The door clicked shut, sealing out whatever lurked in the shadows.

I didn't know it then, but what I had to fear was living inside the house, not hiding in the darkness.

I sucked in a deep breath as I turned my gaze, sweeping over the foyer that I never thought I'd be standing in again. It still looked exactly the same: white walls, white and black marble tile flooring, and a tiered glass chandelier hanging low from the ceiling that looked like raindrops descending from the roof.

My chest tightened, and my heart ached as the memories of my best friend Kacie greeting me in this exact spot only two days before her death flooded forward. I wasn't supposed to stand here again, but here I was, standing with the last person I ever thought would answer this door.

"Traffic was terrible," I lied, shoving the memories back as I slid out of my coat.

The truth was I didn't want to come.

I didn't want to live with my mother in her new husband's home. The home where I'd had dozens of sleepovers with Kacie before she died, but I didn't have a choice.

This had never been part of the plan. When my mother left my father for Kacie's dad, I moved with him hundreds of miles away to a small town after he sold our family home.

I was furious with my mother.

How could she do that to my father?

How could she do that to her best friend, Anne, Kacie's mom?

How could she do that to me?

I planned to live with my dad until I moved into my dorm on the Westbrook University campus, where I had a full dance scholarship, including room and board. However, there was a mix-up, and they gave my bed away. So now I was homeless, and I had no place to go but my mother's new house, which was a few blocks away from campus.

"Well, it's no problem." She smiled, her hair darker and shorter than I remembered. "I'm so glad you're here."

She stepped in to hug me, but I remained stiff. The betrayal was still too fresh.

She pulled back, her smile faltering slightly. "But unfortunately, I have to leave to meet Dennis now."

Dennis. My new stepfather. I bit my tongue to keep from saying what I really thought.

"Come on," she waved for me to follow her, "I'll show you where your room is." I followed her through the all-white pristine living room to the forged iron and mahogany wood staircase. "You'll have the house to yourself tonight. Zaiden had practice, and if he does show up, it's usually only to grab something and leave."

My eyes widened. "Zaiden?" I gripped the banister, my knuckles turning white.

"He goes to Westbrook," Mom said, continuing up the stairs without noticing my reaction.

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