I couldn’t believe her nerve. “I didn’t put peanut in it. Whoever is lying, the cameras will show it.”
Wilbert’s face twisted in anger again. His suspicion vanished like it was never there, and his eyes turned cold. “I told you she’s allergic. How could you?”
She buried her face in his chest, her voice weak and pitiful. “Don’t be angry at her, Wilbert. I know she hates me, but I don’t blame her. She just… she just hate me to death. Maybe I really need to leave.”
“No, you're not leaving, Nivianne.” He stopped her. “Anika! Apologize, now.”
“Wilbert, I'm telling you the tru—”
“Enough, Anika!” He scooped her up in his arms and barked at me, “I don’t want to hear another word from you.”
Then he turned to the butler. “Lock her in the basement. She’s not allowed out until I say so.”
My legs went weak. The basement. That damp, stinking place where he kept those snakes for Nivianne. I stumbled back, shaking my head. “No… please, not there. Don’t do this to me.”
I tried to fight as they dragged me, but my strength was nothing. The door slammed shut behind me, and the darkness pressed down heavy on my chest.