Chapter 2

But I saw it. Fiona's eyes were rimmed with red.

The next day, Walter still wasn't ready to give up. I followed him into the skyscraper where my sister's company was located. Beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, the city bustled with activity.

Fiona's office was on the top floor, and it was nothing short of impressive. She was in a meeting.

Even through the frosted glass, I could hear her scolding the people inside.

"Even a fool wouldn't make such a basic mistake!"

"If you don't want to work here, then get out!"

The executives, each earning a seven-figure annual salary, were being scolded like children.

Walter pushed open the conference room door without a second thought.

"Ms. Carter!"

Everyone turned to look at him. Fiona's expression instantly turned icy.

"Who let you in? Where's security?"

Ignoring everyone else, Walter strode over to the conference table and slapped the broken Nokia down on it.

"Ms. Carter, please take a look. Just one look."

"I told you, I don't know him!" Fiona snapped, her voice growing shrill.

She waved for security to throw Walter out. But the moment her eyes fell on the phone, she froze.

The phone's lock screen was lit up, displaying a photo of an elderly woman whose face was lined with wrinkles.

It was the grandmother who had taken us in and raised us. She was Fiona's only weakness in the world.

While Fiona was distracted, Walter unlocked the phone and opened something.

The phone held the five emails I'd arranged for Walter to send, one each year. He opened the earlier messages for Fiona to read.

A mechanical voice began reading the email aloud, sounding especially harsh in the silent conference room.

"Fiona, long time no see. I've got some good news for you. I sold that crappy bracelet Grandma left behind and bought myself a big motorcycle. It's fucking awesome. And you were stupid enough to treasure that thing."

When the reading ended, the conference room fell deathly silent.

Suddenly, Fiona laughed. She threw her head back and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face. But there was no joy in it, only bitter hatred.

"I knew it. He'll never amount to anything. Grandma couldn't even rest in peace when she died, and it was all because of him."

She suddenly pushed up the sleeve of her suit jacket, revealing an emerald bracelet on her wrist. Its vivid green stones were clearly worth a fortune.

"Tell Billy I can afford ten thousand bracelets like this now. Ten thousand!"

Like someone celebrating a victory, she showed off her wealth to Walter and to me as I floated unseen nearby.

I floated in midair, staring at the flash of green on Fiona's wrist. A sudden pang went through my chest.

Fiona, have you forgotten? Back when Grandma was seriously ill, we didn't have a penny to our names. You took that so-called family heirloom to a pawnshop, only to be told the bracelet was made of glass and wasn't worth a cent.

I was the one who went to an unlicensed clinic on the west side of town and sold nearly a pint of my blood. That money paid for Grandma's medicine and your bus ticket out of our small town to the big city.

And that flashy motorcycle? I'd never even ridden a decent bicycle in my entire life.

Walter looked at Fiona, who seemed almost beside herself, with a mixture of complicated emotions and pity in his eyes.

"Ms. Carter, have you ever wondered why he would write something like that?"

"Why?"

She shrieked like a cat that had just had its tail stepped on.

"Because he's rotten! He's a good-for-nothing! Deep down, he can't stand seeing me do well. He wants to keep me trapped in that dirt-poor backwater for the rest of my life, so I'll end up a loser just like him."

She snatched the Nokia off the table and hurled it toward the trash can in the corner.

The phone struck the metal side with a dull thud. It sounded like something breaking inside my chest.

In the end, security came and "escorted" Walter out.