Under One Roof by Lisa Underwood

Author:Lisa Underwood [Underwood, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2025-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Elizabeth

(1 Day Before Christmas)

Elizabeth felt sorry for her brother. What had possessed him to bring Leah here tonight of all nights? While none of them could’ve predicted the outcome of the evening, their family gatherings never went well. Catherine always berated and belittled them, but this time, she hadn’t just crossed the line. She’d incinerated it.

Leah jumped to her feet, shaking, and visibly freaked out. “Can we go? Just take me home,” she pleaded to Henry.

Henry hurried to her side, shooting an uneasy look at his family before guiding Leah out. A minute later, Elizabeth heard the front door close hard behind them.

Richard tapped his thick, stubby fingers on the table. His fingernails were stained yellow, almost the same color as his tie. The result of years of smoking cigars, Elizabeth guessed. He looked so much older than he did a few hours ago. Even the creases around his eyes seemed deeper. He wasn’t the savvy businessman that he liked to portray. He was a washed-up old crook, who’d been caught stealing from his own sister.

As if Richard could hear Elizabeth’s thoughts, he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll clear things up with your mother. There seems to be a misunderstanding.”

Elizabeth didn’t reply.

Following a series of knocking over chairs and profanity-laden outbursts, Paul now sat stone-faced next to his tearful wife. He crossed his arms in front of his chest while beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. He was on the verge of exploding again, and Elizabeth wanted to leave before that happened.

As Elizabeth stood, Vicky lifted her head from the table. Did Vicky steal her medication? Elizabeth needed to know. Without saying a word, Elizabeth went upstairs, straight to Vicky’s bedroom. Someone had made the bed with a new checkered quilt on top. Her mother refused to keep any of the linens that Howard had died on.

Elizabeth kneeled down on the floral-scented carpet in Vicky’s room, peering beneath the bed. An orange pill bottle lay on its side against the wall. She stretched her arm out to reach it, but it was too far away.

She stood, pushed the heavy bedframe a few inches away from the wall, and plopped down on the soft mattress. Reaching down, she felt the smooth plastic against her palm. Her heart raced as she examined the label. Sure enough—the pills were hers. Her mother hadn’t been lying after all.

Josh was also right. He’d suspected that Vicky was responsible. This whole time, she’d been getting closer to her sister, confiding in her! Vicky pretended to be sympathetic but had secretly taken the pills for herself. She’d even offered to give Elizabeth a ride to get more.

Elizabeth opened the lid and shook the bottle, trying to estimate how many were missing. It looked like about half of them were gone. Was Vicky a drug addict? Elizabeth didn’t know which medications were safe during pregnancy, but taking a half a bottle of Xanax within a few days wasn’t safe for anyone. Maybe Vicky was selling them, or .

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