Chapter 2

Vera called again and again.

When Ethan finally answered, he snapped impatiently, “Tell Julie not to contact me again until she apologizes!”

Then he turned off his phone.

At the police officer’s suggestion, Vera went to the house looking for him.

The housekeeper told her Ethan had taken Mia on a trip around the world.

With no family member willing to come forward, the case eventually went cold, and my body remained at the funeral home.

Vera paid the storage fees for five years, waiting for Ethan and Mia to return.

She thought I could finally be buried beside our parents, just as I’d wanted.

Instead, Ethan accused her of lying and helping me put on an elaborate act.

Rain poured from the sky.

Vera stayed there crying until dawn, her eyes swollen and raw.

Only then did she brush her wet bangs from her face and go home.

Once inside, she walked numbly to her bed and pulled a diary from the cabinet.

She quickly wrapped it, called a courier, and had it delivered to Ethan’s company.

Watching the courier disappear into the distance, she closed her eyes.

“Julie, this is all I can do for you.”

I followed the diary to my brother’s company.

Inside his office, his assistant handed it to him.

“Mr. Cole, you received a package. It’s a diary.

“Vera sent it.”

Ethan didn’t look up from the documents he was skimming.

“Read it to me.”

The assistant opened the diary to the first page and began reading in a serious voice.

“January 3, 2020. Today, my brother threw me out of the house.”

The temperature in the office seemed to drop.

Ethan finally looked up, mockery flashing in his eyes.

“So this is what they’re trying now? Interesting. Keep reading.”

The assistant nodded and continued.

Today, my brother threw me out of the house.

Because I slapped Mia.

She saw the paperwork confirming my depression diagnosis and gave me a vicious smile.

“You should’ve ended up like this a long time ago. Why didn’t you die in that earthquake with your parents?

“Then Ethan would belong to me alone!”

I almost laughed.

She was only a girl Ethan had financially supported. She wasn’t related to either of us.

What gave her the right to think my brother belonged to her?

I ignored her, so she knocked my jewelry box to the floor.

Inside was the family photo I’d hidden away.

Before I could stop her, Mia snatched it up and tore it to pieces.

Furious, I slapped her.

But she was stronger than me. She quickly pinned me to the floor and made me watch as she dumped my antidepressants into the toilet and flushed them away.

When Ethan came home, she immediately twisted the story. She claimed I’d hit her and tried to force her out of the house.

The way he looked at me was so cold.

His lips tightened before he said, “Do you still want to live in this house? If you do, apologize to Mia.”

I pretended I was going to leave, hoping he would stop me.

Instead, he took all my cash, bank cards, and identification.

He wouldn’t even let me take my clothes.

“If you’re leaving, then everything I gave you stays here.

“Tomorrow, I’ll tell everyone you’re no longer my sister.”

Mia stood behind him with a triumphant smile.

It had been two years.

Two years since Ethan brought her home and began treating her like his younger sister.

That was when my nightmare began.

Our parents had been dead for years. Until Mia came along, Ethan and I had only ever had each other.

I couldn’t accept him bringing someone else into our home.

Even worse, he was always telling me to give in to her because he felt sorry for everything she’d been through.

If he bought something that had once been exclusively mine, he would buy two and let her choose first.

Whenever he finally had a day off, I would ask him to take me to a movie, while Mia would want to go shopping.

He would always tell me, “We’ll see the movie next time. Let’s go shopping today.”

But next time never came.

Mia always took it from me.

I hated the feeling.

A stranger had entered my life and quietly stolen everything I had.

Yet I was still expected to smile, nod, and force myself to be the understanding sister.

But I cared about Ethan too much.

He was my brother.

During the earthquake, he had held me up beneath the rubble.

Without him, I probably would’ve died there with Mom and Dad.