Chapter 1: The Girl Outside the Frame
I paid for the family photographs. That little girl doesn't even belong in our family picture.
Marissa kept those words behind her perfectly painted smile.
She didn't say them aloud. She didn't need to.
The photographer was adjusting his camera. Owen was fixing his collar. Tyler was checking his reflection in the glass cabinet near the studio entrance.
And Sadie, Owen's nine-year-old daughter, had just walked over to stand beside her father.
That was when Marissa moved.
"Here, sweetheart," she said sweetly.
She placed the entire pile of coats into Sadie's arms.
Before the little girl could understand what was happening, Marissa caught the back of her cardigan and firmly guided her away from the camera.
Sadie stumbled one small step.
Her arms tightened around the coats.
Marissa stepped into the space she'd just created.
From the photographer's position, the family looked almost perfect.
A father.
A mother.
A teenage son.
Three people, standing beneath a beautiful cream-colored backdrop decorated with artificial autumn leaves.
Marissa adjusted the sleeve of her dress and smiled.
She liked what she saw.
Sadie stood just outside the frame, holding three winter coats and a small handbag.
She looked at the empty space beside her father.
"Where should I stand?"" Sadie asked.
Marissa pointed at the spot where the little girl was already standing.
"There. Hold the coats.""
Owen finally turned around.
He had been adjusting his collar, completely unaware of what had happened behind him.
His eyes moved from Marissa to Sadie.
Then to the coats.
His expression changed.
"Why is she standing over there?""
Marissa's smile remained.
"She's holding our things.""
"She's supposed to be in the photograph.""
Marissa sighed as though Owen had asked her to solve an unnecessary problem.
"I only paid for three people.""
The photographer lowered his camera slightly.
"Four people are included at the same price, actually.""
Marissa turned her head.
"I didn't ask you.""
The photographer blinked.
Sadie looked between the adults.
She took a hesitant step toward her father.
"So, Daddy, can I—"
"Don't start," Marissa interrupted, raising one hand.
Sadie stopped immediately.
Tyler, Marissa's sixteen-year-old son, shifted closer to Owen.
"Mom, it's just one picture.""
He said it casually.
He was still standing in the photograph.
He had no reason to worry about being removed.
Marissa turned toward her husband, lowering her voice just enough to make the statement sound private.
But not enough for Sadie to miss it.
"I don't want her on the Christmas cards.""
The studio went quiet.
Owen stared at his wife.
"What?""
"You heard me.""
"She's your daughter's sister," Owen said.
Marissa's smile finally tightened.
"She's your daughter. Let's not pretend this is the same thing.""
Sadie lowered her eyes.
The coats were slipping from her arms.
She struggled to rearrange them without dropping anything.
Owen looked at his daughter.
Then at the photographer.
"Cancel the session.""
The photographer looked uncomfortable.
"Sir, you'll lose the booking deposit.""
Marissa immediately turned toward him.
"Don't waste the family's money.""
The word family sounded particularly strange coming from her mouth.
She had just announced that one of its members didn't belong in the picture.
Owen stepped forward.
He took the coats from Sadie's arms and threw them back toward Marissa.
She caught them awkwardly, her eyes widening.
"What are you doing?""
Owen didn't answer.
He placed one hand on Sadie's shoulder and guided her back beside him.
Tyler remained in the group.
Now there were three people standing in front of the backdrop again, but this time the fourth person was deliberately being protected.
Owen looked directly at his wife.
"Four people, or no photograph. You choose.""
Marissa stared at him.
Her eyes moved toward the camera.
Then toward Sadie.
Then toward the empty space waiting for her.
Her fingers tightened around the coats.
For the first time that afternoon, her smile disappeared.
Sadie stood beside her father, quietly waiting.
She still hoped her stepmother would choose to join them.
But Owen knew something his daughter didn't.
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This wasn't the first time Marissa had tried to make Sadie disappear.
And it wouldn't be the last.
