All Chapters of A Gift for My Brother's Eighteenth Birthday: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The sensation of weightlessness emptied every last breath from my chest.Below me was the abandoned fountain in the Ashford estate's backyard, with a bronze angel statue standing at its center.Its sharp wings pointed skyward like two spears.I didn't struggle. I didn't scream.I just spread my arms as wide as I could, like a bird that had finally broken free from its cage.The next second, my body slammed down.A bronze wing pierced through my lower back and out my chest.The agony lasted only a single instant.Then all sensation faded into nothing.I was dead.It happened at my brother Ethan's grandest, most extravagant eighteenth-birthday celebration.My father's shove, delivered in a fit of rage, had sent me falling from a terrace more than a hundred feet high.No one noticed I had fallen.My body was still impaled on the statue.But my vision was slowly rising.My soul, weightless as a wisp of fog, drifted toward the brightly lit banquet hall.It was so bright in here.For five ye

The next morning, the sky hung gray and heavy.In the first-floor dining room, the long table was laid with a lavish breakfast spread.Black truffle omelets, creamy seafood chowder, French foie gras roulades, and freshly baked croissants.My soul hovered beside the table, staring hungrily at all that food.I hadn't eaten a proper meal in five full years.Early in my illness, my mother had taught herself to cook nutritious meals, coaxing me to eat one spoonful at a time.But later, when they grew tired of me vomiting on the carpet, they decided that "a bland diet is better for the nerves" and had the maid bring me nothing but a bowl of plain, unseasoned oatmeal each day.The truth was simpler: their patience had run out, and they didn't want to bother the chef with preparing anything special for me.Ethan, wearing a brand-new jacket, sat shoveling croissants into his mouth."Mom, Dad said I could pick a sports car from the garage and take it for a spin today."Jessica's waiting for me."

The entire Ashford estate fell into a deathly silence.Nothing remained but the whisper of autumn wind through the leaves and the old gardener's uncontrollable retching."No."This can't be real."Victoria clung to the balcony railing.Her nails split and cracked from the force of her grip.Blood welled up, but she seemed to feel nothing, her eyes locked on the body in the fountain."That's not Amelia."Amelia was terrified of pain. She would never have jumped."That's not her!"She spun around and bolted downstairs without even putting on her shoes.Ethan had gone completely blank.He stared numbly at the balloon wedged between the statue's wings, the words from the diary echoing in his head.Ethan, this is the birthday gift your sister risked her life to make for you.Then he heard again the last words I had spoken as I shoved him into the dumpster five years ago, "Don't make a sound."Sis will come back for you.""Sis."His legs buckled and he dropped heavily to his knees.He tried

I didn't follow the police car.I stayed at the Ashford estate.Or rather, I stayed in my own memorial hall.Three days later, my funeral was held at the estate.Richard was under criminal investigation, Ashford Group's stock had tanked for days straight, and the entire business community was watching the family's downfall.The memorial hall was nearly empty.Aside from a handful of company executives who felt obligated to attend, almost no relatives showed up.At the center stood my black-and-white portrait.The photo had been taken when I was thirteen.Back then, I had been the Ashford family's shining treasure, my smile bright and carefree.Victoria wore black mourning clothes, her hair as dry and brittle as straw.In just three days, she seemed to have aged a decade.She knelt before the fireplace, feeding letter after letter she had written to me into the flames."Amelia, Mom got you new clothes."The pink dress you always loved."Mom will never say you look bad again."Mom had th