Chapter 1

I watched my brother, Leroy Graham, pick up a pen through the window of the mediation room.

He was facing a lawsuit because he was accused of damaging factory equipment caused by an operational error.

We were supposed to meet and discuss a strategy for compensation today, but Emilia Barton had locked me out.

There she was, standing beside Leroy, wearing a tight frown while gesturing wildly in front of him.

Leroy, who was frantically looking around for me, began to shrink as Emilia went on gesturing. Eventually, he lowered his head and gripped the pen tightly.

With that, he signed the liability admission and the deed transferring the mortgage on the house.

“Don’t sign it, Leroy! Stop!”

I pounded wildly at the glass door until I finally managed to barge inside.

I tried to seize the signed agreement so I could rip it apart, but Emilia was a step ahead of me. She grabbed it and clutched it against her body to protect it.

Then, she turned to me, her bloodshot eyes fixed on mine, and shouted, “You can’t keep forcing him into doing what you want!”

I ignored her and proceeded to produce a stack of bank statements from my bag.

“Leroy, we can afford the fine! If worst comes to worst, I can withdraw all my investments! The house is the last remaining asset our parents left for you, you can't mortgage it to her! I'll sell everything I have if it means I can protect you from getting blacklisted from the industry!”

Ever since an accident that occurred after his university entrance exam, Leroy had become deaf and mute. Since then, his personality had become very neurotic.

He was staring intently at the bank statements I held and drawing heavy breaths.

Suddenly, he shoved me out of the way without warning.

I dropped the bank statements to the ground. Its contents detailed the savings I scraped together with my blood, sweat, and tears over the past few years.

I staggered backward and bumped into a table before crying out, “Are you insane? I'm your sister!”

Meanwhile, Emilia rushed to him and patted his back before proceeding to gesture wildly in sign language again.

I did not understand sign language, but Leroy’s reaction told me everything I needed to know.

He stared at me with a brazen look in his eyes and his face flushed red. Then his mouth grew wide open as he howled at me.

“Quit provoking him!” Emilia cried out exasperatedly with tears in her eyes while turning to the mediator, “Mediator, are you seeing this? Leroy’s sister had always shunned him just because he was disabled and considered him a disgrace. When the factory accident happened, she refused to hand over a single cent and even blamed Leroy for dragging her into this!

“Leroy wanted to transfer the house to my mother so she could help manage the property while he borrowed money from loan sharks to pay off his debts. He would much rather save his dignity than have to put up with his sister looking down on him!”

The mediator, who was a woman in her fifties, frowned upon hearing this. Then, she looked at Leroy, who was heaving heavy breaths.

“Madam,” the mediator tapped the table before turning to me and said, “This is an office, not a place to throw your weight around with your brother. If you don’t want to help your brother, then so be it, but why are you causing a scene if his fiancée is willing to give up everything to help him? You should have some self-awareness!”

I protested, “That’s not true! I gave him the money for his driving lessons while she… Look, I even brought my bank statements with me today!”

I bent over to grab my bank statements while scrambling for an explanation.

Emilia did not give me the luxury of defending myself. She tucked the agreement in her bag before helping Leroy up. “Let’s go, Leroy. We don’t have to care about what she thinks.”

She even shoulder-checked me as she walked past, nearly throwing me off my feet.

I watched desolately as they walked out of the room.

By the time I chased after them, Leroy was already entering a taxi.

Then, the windows rolled down. Emilia stared at me with a smug smile. There were no longer tears in her eyes.

I was shaking. It felt like the sun was charring my skin. Where had it all gone wrong?

Why was Leroy so hostile toward me when all I wanted was to help him?