Chapter 2

The air froze.

I rose slowly and met his eyes across the desk.

Seven years had passed, yet the look in his eyes had not changed one bit. He still wore the same arrogance, with the same cowardice lurking beneath it.

I smiled faintly. "That's right. It's me. The one whose college spot you stole. The one your parents nearly sold off. That cheap bitch."

Cam's face went pale. His bluster vanished in an instant.

Panic flashed in his eyes as he took half a step back. "You... You're talking nonsense! What do you mean I stole your spot? I'm Sam Thompson! I got into college on my own merit!"

"Oh?" I leaned forward and lowered my voice. "Then how do you explain the solution to the last question on the 1993 science paper? The one that went beyond the syllabus? I worked out that solution myself from an old textbook. No one else in the county knew how to solve it but me."

Cam's lips trembled. Panic robbed him of words. "I... I..."

I straightened and gave him his marching orders. "Cam Thompson, or should I call you Mr. Sam Thompson? The interview is over. Please leave."

"No!" He seemed to catch himself, and his voice grew steadier. "Even if you are... what proof do you have? My file is flawless! What right do you have to reject me? You're abusing your position to settle a personal score!"

"That's right. I'm settling a personal score." I picked up his resume, slowly tore it in half in front of him, and tossed the pieces into the trash. "Now get out."

Cam's face turned from white to a sickly green. He glared at me with undisguised hatred. "Taylor Selwyn! You'll regret this! Plenty of big companies want me!"

He slammed the door behind him and stormed out.

Misha patted her chest in alarm. "Miss Selwyn, this... What exactly happened?"

I waved a hand. "Prepare the next interview."

I walked over to the window. Before long, Cam appeared on the street below. He loosened his tie and shouted furiously into his phone, then kicked a trash can and hailed a cab.

I knew exactly where he would go: our rival, Daybreak Technologies.

They would take him.

"Good," I muttered.

…

That afternoon, my phone rang. The caller ID showed a number from my hometown.

I answered.

"Hello? Is... Is this Sam?" A woman's voice came through the receiver.

I knew it all too well. I belonged to my mother.

"Sam, I heard you're a boss now?" she asked cautiously, her voice catching slightly.

I said nothing.

After a moment, she gave a dry cough and continued hesitantly, "I also heard you interviewed your brother today, but you threw him out. How could you do that? He's your own brother!"

"My own brother?" My lip curled. "The 'own brother' I was locked in a cellar for? The one you nearly sold me off for so you could collect a bride price?"

Silence fell on the other end.

Then my father's rough voice echoed. "You little wretch! Watch your mouth! We had no other choice back then! Your brother's a college graduate now! Instead of helping him, you're tripping him up?

"You have no conscience! Your brother's been hired by Daybreak Technologies! A big company fought to get him! He's better than you!"

Memories flashed before my eyes.

The only chicken wing at the table always went onto Cam's plate. My "new" clothes were always his old ones cut down to fit me. On rainy days, my father carried him on his back while I trudged through the mud alone.

Then came the dim light of the cellar and the rusted scissors.

I closed my eyes for a moment. "How far can a stolen path really take you?"

"Why, you!" My father was so furious he could barely breathe. "He is better than you! I'm telling you, your brother got into a big company! Not like you, turning your back on your own family!"

"Oh, congratulations," I said.

My father erupted into a torrent of curses.

Beside him, my mother cried and pleaded, "Sam, what family holds a grudge overnight? You're the older sister. You should give way to him. You should help him..."

I laughed softly. "Look out for each other? Is that what you call trading my entire life for his? Selling me off to pay his tuition so he could have a future?

"Or maybe I was never your daughter at all. Maybe I was just a lifelong blood bag you raised for your son. Whenever he needed to feed, I was supposed to lie down and let him?"