Melody and Stephanie kept their relationship a secret from everyone except Benjamin, Paisley, Ashley and Emma. They swore not to tell anyone.

But Melody was still haunted by nightmares about Honey's death. She couldn't get the image of her sister looking so lifeless and pale out of her head.

However, Lucy and Tom were getting into a lot of trouble. Lucy had been caught bullying some younger students and Tom was caught attempting to humiliate a first year student. They were both called to the principal's office.

Melody was horrified when she learned that the principal had requested a meeting with her aunt. "Oh no oh no oh no! I don't want to see Aunt Lena to see me."

"Don't worry," said Emma. "We will hide you away until your aunt leaves."

Melody was still frightened. She had lived in fear of her aunt for years. She couldn't bear to see her again now that she was free.

Stephanie gave Melody a light hug. "I won't let anyone hurt you. If that woman lays a hand on you, I will tell my father."

Melody couldn't help but laugh a little. "Thanks Stephanie."

No one knew why Lucy and Tom didn't seem to care that they were in trouble and their mother had to come to the school. The twins continued to look down their nose to the others.

A few days later, Melody saw her tall, imposing aunt walk up the steps towards the building. Lena was wearing a purple coat and a black skirt. Her hair was tightly curled and dyed dark blonde.

Melody didn't know what her aunt's real hair colour was (though she suspected that it might be black) as her hair was dyed a different colour every week. One week it would be ginger, then the next it would be turquoise. Other colours had been rose red, honey blonde and mint green.

Melody hid in her dorm. She didn't understand why her aunt was so cruel. Her husband had divorced her when he got fed up with her attitude.

Stephanie and Ashley decided to eavesdrop on the meeting. They used paper cups to place on the door to hear better. It was Saturday, so most of the students were doing their own activities.

Lena was even more awful than they had imagined. For they overheard her saying, "So what if my kids were bullying others? Those kids probably deserved it."

"Excuse me, there is a strict policy against bullying. Your kids can get it expelled for such behaviour. I suggest that you warn them against picking on other students."

"Pah! You're so soft. I'm starting to regret making that huge donation towards the school."

"Mrs Markham, that donation is the reason why I agreed to let your children come here on reduced fees. They disrespect their elders, they bully for fun, and they don't care for the rules. Either you correct their behaviour, or I won't keep them here."

Stephanie and Ashley gasped. They had to tell Melody at once!

"What?" asked Melody. "Is it true? Did my aunt bribe the principal to enroll Lucy and Tom?"

"Of course!" said Benjamin. "Nobody would let two spoilt brats in such a school. They would ruin the school's reputation."

Melody went quiet. If that was true...

"I want to know more," she said. "My aunt is a ruthless woman, and I want to know why she's encouraging Lucy and Tom to be mean."

"But I thought that you didn't want..."

"I need to know. Now."

Melody saw her aunt yelling at her cousins. But as she slowly inched towards them, something her aunt said made her freeze.

"Do you know how bad you made me look? Reporting me for Honey's death?"

"Mother, did you really kill Honey?" asked Tom.

"I didn't murder her, if that's what you're saying. That coward ran away, remember?"

"Mother, why do you always tell us to be mean?" asked Lucy. "I don't want everyone to hate me."

"Because it's what society is like! In a cruel world, only the cruel succeed."

"What if the world isn't cruel?" asked Tom.

SLAP!

Melody gasped as she watched her aunt slap her own kids. Clearly with Melody out of the way, her aunt had started to abuse her own kids instead.

"Hey! Stop it."

Lena glared at her. "And who are you supposed to be?"

At first, Melody was appalled that her aunt had forgotten her so quickly. But then she remembered that her face was clean of all the dirt and dust that she had encountered under her aunt's care, her hair was neatly styled, and she was wearing a pretty blue frock. She looked nothing like a servant.

"I'm your niece, Melody. I can't believe that you were so horrible to your children! I'm not afraid of you. You are going to jail."

"Says who?"

"Says me. You're under arrest."

Lena gasped as a police officer suddenly appeared and handcuffed her. He was Paisley's father.

"You won't be able to touch another child ever again," said Stephanie.

Lucy and Tom gasped. Despite their cruel treatment to Melody, she had chosen to save them from their toxic mother.

Author's Note: The prompt I had used in this chapter is Another One Bites The Dust by Queen.