Part 3The Quiet Girl from Ward S

Dinner was, predictably, all of Brianna’s favorites.

Suppressing her "fear," Brianna picked up a piece of spicy popcorn chicken and put it in my bowl. "Here, Yasmine. Eat."

Pepper, chili, and... mango dipping sauce. This chicken was a curated list of everything I hated.

Arthur leaned in. "Brianna, I raised you. You aren't inferior to anyone. You don't have to grovel to her."

Brianna lowered her head, a tear hitting her plate.

I didn't get it. They gave her the best of everything, tailored every meal to her taste, yet they thought she was the victim?

Dr. Miller said: The best actor gets the candy.

I sat there, staring at the chicken, swallowing hard. Then I asked the question that made the room turn cold.

"Am... am I allowed to eat?"

Arthur: ... Silas: ... Brianna: Internally screaming.

When no one objected, I picked up my fork. I was starving. I hadn't had real food in forever. I wanted to swallow the whole table.

My unrefined, desperate eating style made them scowl.

"Yasmine, didn't they feed you in there?" Silas asked.

I shook my head. "They did. But the slop buckets never had meat in them..."

Slam!

Arthur threw his fork down. "Yasmine Sterling, who are you trying to disgust? The Sterling family funds that facility. Lowery wouldn't dare treat you like that. There’s a limit to lying."

Wouldn't he?

Arthur, have you ever seen a bed of nails? Have you ever felt the current of an electric chair? Have you ever watched a girl fight a dog for a scrap of gristle?

Arthur hadn't. But Brianna, hidden behind her napkin, was smiling.

I stood there trembling, staring at Arthur in terror.

Silas frowned. "Arthur, it's her first night back. Can't we just have a quiet meal?"

Arthur suppressed his rage, his loathing for me deepening. Silas handed me a fork. "Eat if you're hungry."

"Thank you, Silas," I said with a sweet, wide smile.

Silas’s pupils contracted. Did his sister know how to smile like that? Why had he never seen it before?

For a split second, Silas felt a strange tug at his heart. Even Arthur’s eyes flickered, though his coldness remained.