Page 123 of Siren in the Rain

Find my happily ever after with Griffin. That’s it. That’s all I need now.

Shae

“Gather round, gather round,” I tell everyone, and we all take seats in front of the enormous screen in the entertainment room.

“Damn it, I should have brought popcorn for this,” Cal complains.

I shake my head at him. “Talk about a lost opportunity. You’re off your game, Cal.”

He grins and flips me the bird.

As I’ve learned, it’s one of his ways of showing affection.

I turn on the screen and pull up the video.

A newscaster comes on the screen and begins their report.

Today, in shocking entertainment news. Bella Divine, not so divine after all? The rising pop star has been keeping a low profile since the arrest of her mother, Margaret Divine, head of Divine Beauty. But earlier this afternoon, she made a surprise appearance at a viral pop-up concert in Santa Monica. What ensued was far more than fans could have ever anticipated…

Footage starts to play of Bella on stage, seemingly singing along to one of ‘her’ songs, when the music cuts out and she keeps lip-syncing for a moment too long. On the screen, the crowd gets restless and begins to mutter in confusion while the panicked stage crew races around on the sidelines.

“Sorry! We’re just having some technical difficulties,” Bella says into the mic in her fake-sweet voice, but her smile is forced.

I grin because of what is about to happen. Griff nudges me in anticipation.

On the screen, I walk out on stage—singing the same song a cappella. The audience watches in hushed silence until I’m done, and then I turn to Bella. “Well, sister dearest, isn’t it about time you told your fans the truth about your so-called singing?”

Her face is mottled and red with anger, and I swear the camera manages to pick up a vein throbbing in her forehead that I didn’t notice in person.

Nice.

“Security!” she screeches. “Have this man removed.”

But no one steps forward.

I turn to face the audience again. “Hello, everyone. I’m the voice behind Bella Divine, and I’m sorry that she deceived you all for so long. My stepsister here has been using my vocals without my permission and claiming them as her own from the very beginning of her career. She can’t sing her way out of a paper bag.”

“That’s a lie,” she cries desperately.

Ignoring the interruption, I continue. “Her mother and my father held me captive for fifteen years, eventually scheming to profit off the voice I have as a half-siren. I only escaped from them a few months ago—that’s why Bella’s world tour was canceled. She couldn’t keep up her act without me working behind the scenes, even if it was against my will.”

“This man is deluded and deranged. Don’t listen to him,” Bella demands.

The camera zooms in on me as I arch an eyebrow at her and turn back toward the audience. “There’s an easy way to prove whether the vocals for her songs are mine or hers. She just needs to sing them, right here and right now.”

Bella takes a nervous step back.

By now, the audience is getting riled up. Some of them appear to side with Bella, while others are voicing support for me. But the one thing that unites them is their desire to hear her sing and reveal who is the liar.

“Shouldn’t we have her prove it to us?” I ask the audience. “If she’s the pop diva she pretends to be, she can sing a cappella for you, and sound like I just did.” I smirk at her. “It should be a piece of cake if you’re the real deal.”

The crowd starts chanting for her to sing and the panicked look on Bella’s face becomes obvious.

Because, of course, she and I both know she can’t hold a tune.

That’s when I swoop in for the final coup de grace. Using my Voice of Truth, I command her, “Tell them the truth about your music.”

Her body goes rigid, and she tries to clamp her mouth shut, but it doesn’t work. In a humiliating rush, she starts spewing hateful language toward me, admitting that none of the music is hers and that she profited off of my voice and tricked all of her “clueless” fans just to make money.

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