366 A confidential file

Vivian gasped, covering her mouth in shock. She realized how much stress Abigail had been under.

"I needed to be very cautious. I wanted to reach you without alerting Britney." Abigail raised her eyes at Vivian. "I couldn't contact Christopher because of my own fear. I thought he would hate me…"

"Why were you afraid he would hate you?" Vivian asked, puzzled.

Taking a deep breath, Abigail revealed, "Because Britney is my older sister."

"What?" Vivian exclaimed, shocked. Her eyes widened in disbelief. When she noticed all the gazes in the room directed at her, she swallowed in embarrassment. She leaned forward and murmured, "Are you saying that Britney is your sister? Your sister killed Alison! Do you understand what you're saying?"

"I know." Abigail nodded, her words barely audible. "But this is the truth… the bitter truth of my life."