Chapter 3

Mom and Dad jumped up from the living room sofa when Caleb and I came back.

"Caleb?" Dad asked, dropping his coffee mug on the rug. "What are you doing here?"

Caleb stepped inside, pulling me behind his shoulders.

"You beat my wife half to death over a bag of candy?" He rested his hand on his duty belt.

Mom’s eyes darted toward me. Her face hardened.

"You brought him into this? You lying little—" Dad lunged forward.

I flinched, shrinking into Caleb’s shadow.

"Back off," Caleb growled, unfastening the snap on his holster. "You'd better give me a good reason for beating up Chloe."

Mom scoffed.

She walked to the kitchen island, picked up my iPhone, and marched right up to Caleb.

She shoved the device against his chest. "Look at it yourself. Look at what your precious wife did."

I grabbed Caleb’s uniform sleeve.

"Don't. Caleb, whatever they put on there, whatever they altered, please don't look."

Caleb covered my trembling hand with his.

"I'm a cop, Chloe. I deal with facts. I’ll clear this up right now."

He took the phone. He tapped the screen.

I watched his eyes. The protective fire in them died in less than a second.

He ripped his arm away from my grip and violently shoved me backward.

My heels caught the edge of the rug. I fell hard onto the floorboards.

"Get away from me," he spit out. "You make me sick."

"Caleb!" I screamed, pulling myself up to my knees. "I ate a gummy! What did I do?!"

He threw the phone. It hit my collarbone and dropped into my lap.

I scrambled to pick it up.

I expected to see a planted confession, a dark web drug purchase, pictures of a dead body.

It was my Amazon app. The screen showed an order history from Tuesday.

[Neon Sour Gummies. Pack of 24.]

Not a single letter was out of place. It was exactly what it was.

Caleb unclipped his shoulder radio.

His voice was dead. "Dispatch, this is Unit 45. I need a heavy transport unit at my location. First-degree felony."

The color drained from Mom’s face.

She rushed forward, grabbing at his radio cord. "Caleb, wait. Don't call this in. Just leave her in the basement. We'll handle the discipline ourselves."

Caleb swatted her hand away. "Discipline? She belongs in a cell."

Two cruisers arrived in under four minutes.

The officers asked nothing. They yanked my arms behind my back and cuffed me.

The lead officer shoved me toward the door.

I stared at my family.

It made no sense. None of it.

Weeks dissolved into a nightmare.

This metal chair was killing my back. I couldn't stop staring at the ugly orange jumpsuit they put me in.

My dad. My mom. Caleb. Maya. They sat in a neat row, refusing to make eye contact with me.

The judge struck his wooden gavel.

"The defendant, Chloe, is found guilty of the possession and consumption of neon sour gummies."

A capital felony. For eating candy.

My brain scrambled for any remaining thread of logic. The world hadn't changed overnight. Convenience stores still sold gummies. There was no law. There was no precedent.

Unless... my brain was lying to me.

What if I thought I was eating sugar, but my eyes were tricked by a chemical?

The daily supplements.

Mom was obsessed with my health.

Every month, she gave me a fresh bottle of custom vitamin capsules, and she would have me take them after each meal. I never missed a single dose.

I bolted upright.

"Your Honor!" I screamed. I pointed my cuffed hands at my mom. "Test the supplements my mother gives me! She drugged me! I demand a lab test!"

Across the aisle, Mom flinched violently.

"Objection!" Dad yelled. "She's delaying! Execute the sentence right now! Your Honor, ignore her!"

They were sweating. They looked terrified of my request.

I had them. I finally found the crack in the madness.

The judge narrowed his eyes at my parents. He nodded to the bailiff. "Retrieve the supplement bottles from her residence."

The trial halted. Court went into recess.

I sat in the holding cell, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Next day, the bailiff led me back to my chair.

He handed a sealed manila folder to the judge.

The judge broke the seal and scanned the paper.

"Negative for all toxins. The substance is standard, over-the-counter vitamin C and iron."

"How could you?" Mom wailed, burying her face in her hands. "We did everything to keep you healthy, and you accuse your own mother of poisoning you?"

If it wasn't drugs... then what was it?

Twenty years of normal life screamed that candy wasn't fatal.

The judge raised his gavel high. "Sentence to be carried out immediately. Death."

I didn't cry. My tear ducts were completely dry.

Two armed guards stepped forward, reaching for my shoulders.

I let my head roll to the side, staring blankly past the wooden railing when I saw a little boy sitting in the corner, eating sour gummies.

Same brand as mine.

I ripped my arms out of the guards' grip and lunged against the wooden railing.

"Look at him!" I screeched. I pointed directly at the boy.

"He's eating them! He's eating the exact same gummies! Why am I the only one on trial?!"

I stared at the judge.

His expression changed. A smile stretched across his face.

He leaned forward over the desk, locking his eyes onto mine.

"Because..."