Chapter 3

Her voice grew sharper, the angry echoes reverberating through the hallway.

I looked at her and remembered the girl I’d seen lying in that hospital bed ten years ago.

I didn’t know what had happened over those ten years to turn that girl into the person standing in front of me now.

Sophie kept going.

“You’re not asking me to return to Bellmont because you want what’s best for me.

“You’re doing it for yourself. You think that because you’ve spent money on me, you deserve to make it back from me.

“Three years at Bellmont General Hospital. And then you’ll secretly make money off me through kickbacks, right?”

Rebecca remained silent.

I waited until Sophie had finished before speaking.

“Sophie, do you know how much newly graduated medical residents actually make when they start working at a hospital?”

Sophie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t try to fool me with salary figures from some bottom-tier hospital. I’m not going to work at a place like that.”

I calmly replied, “Residents at top teaching hospitals across the country make an average of $60,000 to $80,000 a year. The same applies to the most prestigious hospitals. You can look it up.

“You said residents at top teaching hospitals make over $200,000 a year. That’s the salary of an attending physician, not a newly graduated resident. You won’t even have your full medical license yet. What exactly are you comparing?

“With a PhD, you might earn around $150,000 in your first year at a top hospital in a major city.

“After rent, transportation, food, health insurance, retirement contributions, and everything else, you’d have less than $8,000 a month left in take-home pay.

“And you’ll have to complete at least three years of residency training. Your income won’t change much during those three years.”

The smile disappeared from Sophie’s face for half a second before being replaced by an even more mocking expression.

“Stop trying to scare me.

“Do you really think I don’t know anything?

“My advisor told me that with my qualifications, I’d be starting at over $200,000 a year if I went to one of the country’s top hospitals.”

She was bluffing.

But I had no intention of exposing her.

What would be the point?

Would she believe me?

After ten years of financial support and help, she’d already twisted everything I’d done into some kind of calculated investment. What difference could a few sentences from me possibly make?

I looked away and reached for the door.

Before closing it, I said one last thing.

“I’m taking the apartment back.”

The hallway went silent for a moment.

Sophie reacted almost instantly, her voice shooting up several octaves.

“See? See? What did I tell you?

“Your true colors are finally showing!

“You’re even taking away the place we live in. Eliana, you really are such a ‘generous’ person!”

I said nothing else and closed the door.

Not once did I hear Rebecca say a word.

Not even one.

That afternoon, I went to a real estate agency.

I listed the apartment for rent at $48,000 a year, with one month’s rent as the security deposit and three months’ rent paid upfront. It was available for viewings immediately.

After leaving the agency, I stopped by the supermarket to pick up a few things.

By the time I got home, it was already past seven in the evening.

The door across the hall was open.

Sophie and Rebecca were moving out.

Several duffel bags and suitcases were piled up in the hallway.

Rebecca carried a large suitcase out of the apartment, its wheels rattling against the tiled floor.

When she saw me, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Then she lowered her head, pushed the suitcase toward the elevator, and turned back to the apartment.

She never said a word to me.

The woman and her daughter who had lived across from me for ten years were gone.

The next morning, I checked my phone.

A new post appeared on my social media feed.

It was from Rebecca.

She rarely posted anything. The last time had been two years ago, when Sophie was accepted into her PhD program. She’d posted a picture of Sophie’s acceptance letter that day.

This time, she’d posted nine photos.

All nine were pictures of their new apartment.

The caption read:

“My daughter got us such a spacious new place. It’s so comfortable here. My girl has really made me proud.”

I looked through all nine photos and suddenly remembered something.

I could tell where the apartment was from the view outside the windows.

It was in the new luxury apartment complex on the east side of town.

A one-bedroom apartment there cost at least $8,000 a month.

With a two-month security deposit and three months’ rent upfront, the initial payment would be $40,000.

Forty thousand dollars.

That was the last of Sophie’s money.