I, Gabriel Lamb, walked out of Strom Inc. Cradling my mother’s ashes, I sat on the curb. It was my mother’s final wish to have her remains kept in a bottle, all to save money to pay Noelle Strom’s debts.Noelle appeared on the massive display screen in the city square. The news announced, “This just in—Noelle Strom, chairwoman of Strom Inc., after five years of absence from the public eye, has resurfaced with her fiancé, Charles Atkinson, at a ceremony.” I watched her on that screen, glowing with success and confidence.Tears rolled down my cheeks. My mother and I had worked ourselves to the bone to clear her debts.Yet, it was all nothing but a lie. I sat there in a daze until dusk when Noelle’s call came in. On the phone, she sounded sweet as always. “It’s late. Why aren’t you home yet? Where are you? I’ll come get you.” I opened my mouth to speak, but all words failed me. Before, I would pout.There she was again, interrupting me in the middle of my work. H
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