Chapter 3

My eyes burned.

This time, I wouldn't let my brother or my family be destroyed again.

The next morning, I had barely stepped into the office when someone screamed from the hallway.

"Someone get up there! Emily's at the edge of the rooftop parking deck! She's threatening to jump!"

I had heard those exact words in my previous life.

A sharp ringing filled my ears.

For a moment, the room tilted beneath my feet, and I nearly lost my balance.

Then I followed the crowd up to the rooftop parking deck.

Rain still lashed across the building. The wind howled between the surrounding towers.

The scene I had seen before appeared in front of me again.

Emily stood near the edge of the rooftop parking deck.

Her business-casual outfit was wrinkled and soaked from the rain. In her trembling hand was a piece of torn fabric she had been clutching like evidence.

The moment she saw me, her eyes locked onto mine.

Tears immediately filled them.

"Sarah... Jake raped me!"

"His semen is all over this!"

Emily raised the torn piece of fabric, her fingers shaking.

"Sarah, I never wanted things to get this far. But every time I close my eyes, I see what happened last night."

"I'm scared. My whole life has been destroyed because of your brother."

Whispers spread through the crowd.

More employees looked at me with suspicion.

Michael turned to me, his face tight with alarm.

"Sarah, if your brother knows anything about this, call him. Right now."

I looked him straight in the eye.

"My brother never left the house last night. He couldn't have assaulted her."

I pulled out my phone and tapped Jake's name.

After a few rings, his face appeared on FaceTime.

"Sarah?"

I turned the screen toward Emily.

"Jake, where are you?"

"At home."

"Did you leave last night?"

Jake frowned.

"No. I stayed in my room like you told me. I was playing games the whole night."

Emily's head snapped up.

"You're lying."

Her voice shook as she stared at the phone screen.

"It was you."

"You came to find me last night! You were wearing a black jacket. You were driving that black Jeep!"

Tears streamed down her face.

"You ripped my bra off. These bruises on my neck. You did this to me."

Jake froze.

His face flushed a deep crimson.

Faced with the accusation, and the horrified stares around him, he was so shaken that only a few words came out.

"That's a lie! I was gaming at home all night!"

Emily reacted as though he had just humiliated her all over again.

She let out a hysterical scream.

“You’re lying!”

“It was you last night!”

“You told me your sister might act cold, but she actually cared, and that she had sent you to pick me up. That’s why I got in your car!”

Tears streamed down her face.

"I have a boyfriend. Why would I ever lie about something like this?"

The way my coworkers looked at me became even colder.

“Rich kids really are something else. They can do something like this and still stand there denying it without a hint of guilt.”

“Someone like him needs to be investigated. His whole family’s company should be looked into.”

“This probably isn’t the first time he’s done something like this. What a monster.”

Jake's face drained of color. Surrounded by accusing stares, he looked like a frightened kid who couldn't even process what was happening.

“I was playing games in my room the entire night. I have witnesses!”

“If you don’t believe me, ask—”

Before he could finish, Emily suddenly burst into tears.

“Sarah is your sister. Of course she’s going to take your side!”

She was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

“I was hurt. I was violated. And now I have to stand here while you turn everything around and accuse me instead? Are you trying to push me until I have no choice but to die?”

Seeing her like that, the crowd became even more emotional.

“This is too much! Just because she's an intern and doesn't have the money or connections your family does, you think you can get away with this?"

“He did something wrong, and now he’s trying to make the victim look guilty? How is that fair?”

A few angry male coworkers clenched their fists and stepped toward me.

“Stop talking. Someone needs to make him pay for what he did.”

I was about to step forward and stop them when a familiar voice came from behind me.

“Stop!”

I turned around and saw my parents rushing toward the rooftop parking deck.