Chapter 3

Every word plunged straight into my heart.

Memories flashed violently behind my eyes.

When he was twelve and burned with a 104-degree fever, I carried him on my back for two miles in the freezing rain to reach the clinic.

When he was bullied in middle school, I stormed into the principal's office with a baseball bat.

During his senior year, I pulled all-nighters right beside him, tutoring him until morning.

My dream had once been to become a literature teacher, living a peaceful, simple life.

For his sake, I gave up every dream I ever had.

And yet, in his eyes, I was nothing more than a suffocating, domineering warden.

Amber stood up right then, dripping with false sympathy. "Come on, Leo, she is the one who raised you, after all."

Her lips offered fake comfort, but her eyes gleamed with triumphant cruelty.

She turned to me. "Though, Chloe, look at you. No boyfriend, no husband, no kids. When you're old and grey, you'll be totally alone. Who's going to take care of you?"

"Lucky for you, you've got Leo and me. Once we're married, our boy will treat you like family."

"Don't worry. In honor of how you're helping us out now, we'll send you an allowance every month when you retire."

"A couple hundred bucks should be plenty for an old maid like you."

She said it so casually, as if handing down the ultimate royal mercy.

A sharp, humorless laugh almost escaped my throat.

It was painfully obvious. She didn't love Leo; she was hunting the wealth and power sitting right behind him—me.

And my idiot brother actually believed he had found the love of his life.

I didn't even bother tearing her mask off.

I was just so tired.

For eight agonizing years, I had run myself ragged like a madwoman, only to nurture a venomous snake.

"Whatever, Chloe," Leo snapped coldly, looking down his nose at me. "We've said our piece. Think it over carefully!"

With that, he grabbed Amber's hand and stormed out, slamming the front door behind them.

The deafening thud made the entire penthouse rattle.

I sat on the sofa, motionless.

I don't know how many minutes passed before tears rolled down my cheeks without warning.

I looked down at my hands.

Years of manual labor had scarred my knuckles and roughened my skin.

Later on, even with the most expensive creams and weekly spa treatments, nothing could completely erase the marks left by those brutal early years.

I had believed that because we shared the same blood, we were each other's anchors in this cruel world.

Only now did I realize that some people were born hollow. No matter how much you fed them, they would never be full.

My phone chimed on the table.

It was my assistant.

"Ms. Vance, regarding tomorrow morning's board meeting..."

"Sarah," I cut her off, my voice hoarse. "Cancel every single secondary credit card linked under Leo's name right now."

Silence hung over the line. "...All of them, ma'am?"

"Every single one."

"Also, that luxury penthouse he's living in—list it on the real estate market immediately."

"And revoke access to the BMW registered under company assets that he drives."

"From this second on, not a single cent from my accounts goes to him without my personal written consent!"