Sabine turned the gun on me.
 
 "Once you were out of Billings, I thought I finally had you. I thought I had finally succeeded in
 
 ruining your life. No friends, no boyfriend, no Billings, no future. But you just keep fighting, don't
 
 you?" Sabine said, her hand as steady as granite. "After that sappy little speech you made last
 
 night, I knew it was time for drastic measures. You're never getting back into Billings, Reed. You
 
 can't have the life you stole from Ariana. You just can't."
 
 249
 
 "Sabine," I heard myself say, breathless. "Don't do this."
 
 "I held this very gun to Cheyenne's head to make her take all those pills," she said evenly. "Now I'll
 
 finally have the chance to fire it."
 
 I took a step back. "Sabine--"
 
 "Maybe I am just like my sister, Reed," she said, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "But unlike
 
 Ariana, I am going to finish this."
 
 My life flashed before my eyes. Josh, Noelle, Thomas, Constance, Natasha, Kiran, Taylor, Dash,
 
 Scott, my parents, my grandparents, even my dog. This was it. This was the end of it all. I would
 
 never see any of them again.
 
 "Reed! Oh my God! No!"
 
 The sirens swelled. Josh shoved Gage aside and leapt toward me. Sabine closed her eyes and
 
 pulled. The shot went off, as deafening as a blast of thunder.
 
 And then, everything went black.
 
 250
 
 [This Page Is Blank.]
 
 251
 
 BEFORE REED BRENNAN CAME TO EASTON ACADEMY...
 
 BEFORE THOMAS PEARSON WAS MURDERED...
 
 BEFORE NOELLE LANGE RULED BILLINGS HOUSE...
 
 BEFORE ARIANA OSGOOD BECAME EASTON'S MOST NOTORIOUS STUDENT...
 
 SHE WAS JUST ANOTHER GIRL AT BOARDING SCHOOL.
 
 DISCOVER THE SECRET THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING IN
 
 LAST CHRISTMAS