Chapter 2

In the basement garage, a white Tesla sat in ruins. Its windshield was shattered in a spiderweb of cracks, and two deep dents marred the hood.

There were two dents in the doors, all four tires had been punctured, and the rims were pressed against the ground.

The license plate was 7723. It was the very car I'd driven out the day before and parked in the neighboring residential complex.

I'd moved the car out of harm's way, yet it had still been smashed.

Worse, this was the worst attack on any of my cars in three years.

I went straight to the property management office.

In the security room, footage from the previous night played across the monitors.

Later that evening, I'd parked my car in the neighboring complex.

Sometime afterward, someone had driven it back.

The person who stepped out of the driver's seat was my father.

At 1:12 a.m., Sophia appeared in a pink silk nightgown and a hammer in her hand.

Among all the cars in the garage, she went straight to my white Tesla.

She raised the hammer and brought it down.

The first blow shattered the windshield into a web of cracks.

The second caved in the hood, leaving a deep dent.

The third crushed the door inward.

As she swung, she cursed furiously. Her words crackled through the surveillance audio.

"You little bast*rd! Shameless piece of trash! I'll teach you to act so high and mighty! I'll teach you!"

I stared at the screen.

I couldn't tell whether she was cursing Jacob or me.

But she wasn't finished with the bodywork. She bent down and punctured each tire in turn: front left, front right, rear left, rear right. Not a single one was spared.

Even through the recording, I could hear the air hissing out of the tires.

I copied the footage onto a USB drive, pulled it out, and clenched it in my fist.

Back home, I took out my laptop, plugged in the drive, and started playing the video.

Sophia froze at first. Then the tears began to fall.

"Riley, I really didn't mean to! I was so angry that I'd lost my head. I couldn't tell which car was which..."

I stared at her.

"Yesterday, I went out of my way to point out Jacob's car to you. Why didn't you smash that one?"

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

"I was still willing to give Jacob another chance then. He refused to admit he was wrong, so I lost it in the middle of the night and took the hammer downstairs."

"My car is white. Jacob's is black. You can't even tell the colors apart?"

She hesitated for a moment before bursting into even louder sobs, her shoulders jerking with every breath.

"It was dark! You know I'm nearsighted!"

My chest heaved with anger.

"Fine. Let's say you couldn't see clearly.

"My car was parked in Section C. Jacob's was in Section A."

"You deliberately went all the way from Section A to Section C. Are you telling me that was an accident, too?"

Sophia trembled as she cried, shaking her head over and over.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I don't understand these things..."

Jacob pulled her into his arms, his expression darkening.

"It's just a car! Get it repaired if it's smashed. Why drag the property management into this and give the neighbors something to gossip about?"

My father slammed his hand against the table.

"I'm the one who drove it back! Why did you have to park your own car in someone else's complex? Were you that desperate to give outsiders a reason to laugh at our family?

"If you ruin Jacob's marriage, don't expect anyone in this family to have a peaceful life!"

My mother took my hand, her face full of worry.

"Riley, be reasonable. Family harmony is what matters most. Sophia has already admitted she was wrong. We're family. Can't you just let this go?"

I yanked my hand away.

"Three years. She's smashed three of my cars. And now this one is practically totaled, too."

Jacob took out his phone and jabbed at the screen.

A moment later, my phone buzzed.

He'd transferred me a hundred dollars.

He pointed a finger at my forehead.

"Isn't it just about money? I've paid you. Now stop making a fuss."

I was so furious my lungs felt like they were on fire.

My first car was a BMW. It had cost 57,000 dollars.

Sophia had smashed it seventeen times, and I'd spent 23,000 dollars on repairs.

My second was an Audi, purchased for 45,000 dollars.

She'd smashed it twenty times, and the repairs had cost me 28,000 dollars.

My third car was the Tesla. I'd had it for barely three months, and now it was wrecked beyond recognition.

I'd worked for eight years and hadn't managed to save a single cent.

And now Jacob had sent me a hundred dollars and expected me to fix the car with it.

I was speechless. Jacob ushered Sophia into their bedroom, shielding her as he went, then slammed the door shut with a resounding bang.