Chapter 4

After my shift, I went to the clinic near the bar by myself.

I was a regular. The doctor sighed when he saw me walk in.

He brought over his supplies, knelt in front of me, and carefully extracted the glass shards from the raw wounds on my legs.

I gritted my teeth through the whole thing without making a sound.

"Ms. Weems, don't you have any family to come with you?"

Company. The word felt as foreign to me as love.

I smiled and shook my head. "They're busy keeping someone else company."

The doctor gave me a pitying look and, as usual, prescribed the least expensive antibiotic.

I limped out of the clinic and took the money Darian had thrown at me to the bank.

But when I saw the balance on my account, my eyes went wide.

Balance: $0.

Every dollar I had saved for my living expenses in Zurich was gone!

Not a single cent was left.

My mind went blank for a moment, then I forced myself to think clearly.

The account had been opened under the Weems Family name, which meant the only people who could access it besides me were my brothers.

I hailed a cab and rushed to the mansion.

Ignoring the burning pain in my legs, I kicked the door open. Dominic, Julian, and Leah were all there.

"Why did you drain my account!"

Dominic's expression didn't change. "What were you planning to do with that dirty money!"

I pressed my lips together. "I got into college with a full scholarship. That money was for my living expenses, and I saved every penny of it myself!"

"You're still lying!" Julian slammed his palm on the table.

"I'm not!"

"Heather, Leah already told us everything. She said you keep going to the mall and buying luxury goods!"

I laughed. I laughed at how blindly they favored Leah, and at how stupid they were.

Everything on me was worth less than fifty dollars combined. Meanwhile, even a simple hair clip on Leah cost a hundred thousand dollars.

The facts were right in front of them, and they still believed every word out of Leah's mouth.

Leah put on her wounded act again, her voice thick with crocodile tears. "I was only trying to help. I never thought they'd actually take your money..."

Julian's face hardened. "Heather, apologize to Leah."

I didn't move. I just stared at Leah, who was hiding behind my brothers, flashing me a smug little smile.

She was gloating over yet another victory.

I kept my voice steady. "I'm not apologizing. I didn't do anything wrong."

"You!" Julian shot to his feet, his hand raised as if to strike me, but the blow never came.

I looked up. His hand hung frozen in the air, trembling slightly. After a moment, he clenched it into a fist and lowered it.

I turned to leave, but Darian walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of Leah's favorite peaches.

He set the plate down and fixed me with an irritated look. "What are you making a scene about now? Didn't I just give you money?"

"Heather, your jealousy is out of control. When are you going to learn your lesson?"

I grabbed the wad of cash and hurled it at him. The bills scattered around him like falling snow.

Shock flashed across Darian's face.

"There. Your money. I don't owe any of you a thing."

Dominic frowned and pulled a black credit card from his wallet, holding it out to me. "Heather, are you really going to make this big of a scene over money? If that's what you want, I'll give it to you right now."

"I don't need it!" I stepped back without taking the card and looked at all of them.

"You always thought I was jealous, that I was dirty, that I needed to learn my lesson." My gaze swept across every face in the room. "But you won't have to worry anymore. Soon I'll be far away, and you'll never have to see me again."

I didn't stay a second longer. I left without looking back.

Back at my apartment, I dug out the ruby necklace buried at the bottom of my dresser.

It was the only thing my adoptive mother had left me, and the last tie I had to the Weems name.

I clutched the necklace tight and went to the nearest pawnshop.

A few days later, I used the money from pawning the necklace to buy a ticket to Zurich.

The moment the plane lifted off, I watched the world shrink away beneath me and smiled.

It was the only genuine smile I had worn since they dumped me in that neighborhood.

The Weems Family, my two brothers, and Darian. I would never see any of them again.