“Mother would take me and the twins to the pool and we would get into the water. Gabrielle would sit on the edge and watch. Mother would make us take turns holding each other’s heads down. We weren’t allowed to let go until Mother said so. If we did let go, she’d hold our head down for as long as she wanted. Then after we were done, we would be sent to our room, confined for days and though Claudia brought our meals, we weren’t allowed to eat them. We had to scrape them into a bag Mother would bring and if she thought we ate any of it, we’d have to drink Mother’s special smoothies too. If you’re hungry, I’ll give you something to eat,” Bridget said in the voice of someone she was mimicking again. “After, we’d vomit for days. The next time we went to the pool, we knew to do what we were told.”

“How did Melinda know about this game?”

“Gabrielle told her.” Bridget looked right at Val, tears were forming. “Melinda drowned the twins. She told everyone it was an accident but it wasn’t. She said she was going to do the same with me that day but Bethany screamed.”

“Did Bethany save you?”

“No, her screaming saved me because it made Melinda stop. Bethany was just as bad as Melinda. Gabi’s friends were horrible. They liked to hurt me. They liked to hurt the twins. They were like Mother.” Tears were now streaming down Bridget’s cheeks.

“What about Gabrielle? Didn’t she try to save you?” Val said softly.

“Melinda wouldn’t have let her. I think that’s why she didn’t try. It wasn’t Gabi’s fault. Melinda would have hurt Gabi too.”

“What’s going to happen to her?” Val asked once they were outside.

“She’s thirty-three years old and has been abused by her mother for that entire time. She’s also rid of that mother and is very, very wealthy. She’s the only surviving beneficiary to the Morgan estate. The Morgans’ will specify provisions of supervision through an uncle on her father’s side. So for now, Bridget will be okay. Will she make it in the long run? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. Is she finally free? Yes.”

“So, Melinda just gets off scot-free?” Val asked, anger in her voice.