Chapter 2

I had come back to assess the area before submitting my final investment report.

If my firm was going to invest here, I wanted the money to make a real difference.

I wanted local students, especially those from struggling families, to have better opportunities.

The town already valued education. It just lacked the money to support it.

But every new insult in the group chat made me question whether these people deserved my help.

Rachel handed me a cup of coffee.

She didn't say much, but I knew what she meant.

Ignore them. Stick to the plan. Don't let a bunch of bitter people ruin something good.

My eyes stung, but I managed a smile and nodded.

That afternoon, I went to Margaret's home.

When she opened the door to her old apartment, a stale, musty smell greeted me.

She was sitting on a low stool, washing vegetables.

After a long silence, she said, "Clara, just do what you think is right. I trust you."

Margaret had given her whole life to her students.

After everything that had been said about me, she was still willing to stand by me.

I nodded and told her why I'd really come back.

My firm planned to turn the area into a top education hub, and I was leading the project.

I'd even volunteered for the job.

If everything went well, students here would finally have access to modern classrooms and equipment.

Margaret's eyes brightened. "That's wonderful! Let me thank you on behalf of the children!"

I looked at her graying hair and the excitement in her eyes.

She had spent most of her life caring for students. Even now, they were the first thing on her mind.

I smiled and poured her a glass of water. "When the new building is finished, you'll be one of the first teachers invited to see it."

The shabby little apartment suddenly felt warm.

Then I changed the subject. "Has anyone been to see you lately?"

Margaret looked away.

After a sigh, she said, "Emma visited me once. She was trying to sell me her school's tutoring program. When she learned we couldn't afford it, she left right away."

I frowned. "She came empty-handed?"

Margaret gave me a bitter smile. "She brought a few flyers. She left without even taking a sip of water."

My anger grew with every word.

Before I left for New York, my classmates used to bend over backward to impress Margaret.

Emma was the worst of them.

She came by every few days to borrow study guides, acting sweet and calling Margaret her beloved mentor every chance she got.

And every time she left, she took more study materials with her.

Now Margaret was retired and ill, and suddenly none of them had time for her.

Yet they had plenty of time to tear me apart in the group chat.

Margaret had never imagined the students she'd cared for so deeply would grow up to be so selfish.

The moment she retired and could no longer do anything for them, they disappeared.

No calls.

No visits.

Nothing.

I said nothing more.

After dinner, Margaret started clearing the table.

We talked a little longer before I got ready to leave.

Something occurred to me, and I exclaimed, "Oh no! I left the medicine I bought you in the car!"

I wiped my hands. "It's all right. You go upstairs and rest. I'll grab it."

It was nearly dark when I walked out of the apartment building.

I headed toward my car and pulled out my phone to ask Rachel for the contract.

Walking through these familiar streets brought back memories of my childhood.

But as I neared the parking lot, I heard a horrible scraping sound.

Metal against metal.

I quickened my pace.

Someone was dragging something sharp across the passenger door of my Cullinan, carving deep scratches into the paint.

It was Emma.

She stood beside my car with a screwdriver still in her hand. "Why are you acting so proud over your sugar daddy's hand-me-down?" she sneered. "There. Now you'll always have something to remember me by."