"Denise kept warning me. She said something was off with you, told me I needed to keep a closer eye on you. I didn't listen. Turns out she was right all along. You really are that stupid!"
I opened my mouth to fight back, to say something.
But then I thought of my father-in-law. Burned alive in there last night.
The words died in my throat.
John's mother had hemorrhaged during his birth and never made it. For over twenty years, his father had raised him alone, playing both mother and father. That was why John's bond with his dad ran so deep.
I swallowed my anger. Steadied myself. Stepped toward him again.
"John, I didn't set the fire. The wiring was old. It short-circuited. Your dad—"
"Why do you keep bringing up my dad?!"
He cut me off again.
"Don't think that just because my dad was good to you, you can burn the house down and get away with it!"
"Faulty wiring? Stella, you can't even lie properly. I built this house last year. Denise connected me with the construction crew. Top-quality work across the board. You're telling me the wiring failed in one year?"
Denise covered her mouth and let out a little laugh.