Shattered my sister’s dream of marrying a rich man
Chapter 1
My sister, Crystal, was convinced she was a
dead ringer for some billionaire’s late wife. I’m
talking, like, the kind of resemblance you see on
those “celebrities and their doppelgangers”
lists. Anyway, she decided that meant she was
destined to be Mrs. Billionaire 2.0.
So, being the brainiac she is, Crystal hatched a
–
–
plan to meet the guy’s wife — Bethany — and
“accidentally” arrange a little “accident” for her.
I’m talking hit and run kind of vibes. I got wind
of this scheme and managed to get to Bethany
before Crystal did.
I chewed Crystal out on the way home, trying to
knock some sense into her. “Look, Blake
Sterling didn’t build his empire by being stupid.
He’s a freakin‘ shark. Your amateur–hour plans
will get you busted, and you’ll drag the whole
family down with you.”
Crystal actually nodded like she understood.
But then, she went home and poured Drano, the
most dangerous cleaning chemical, into my
water glass. I got her words burned into my
brain with pain, “You’re just jealous because I
have the face to bag a billionaire. You’re ruining
my fairytale, so I’m ruining you.”
Then I woke up… back to the day she hatched
her scheme.
:
1
The screech of tires and a sickening thud
ripped through the air. Crystal, without missing
a beat, bolted toward the scene.
She was kneeling beside the woman on the
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ground, screaming, “Forget the car! Somebody
call 911, NOW!”
Crystal, wearing a full face of makeup that looked like it had been professionally applied, started doing CPR, going straight for mouth- to–mouth without even flinching.
Her fancy dress was soaked in blood. Anyone watching would have thought she was a saint.
The ambulance and a gaggle of reporters arrived almost simultaneously.
Crystal, glaring into the cameras, snapped,
“Have you people no decency? This is about
saving a life, not getting a story!”
She turned, practically shoving the paramedics to the victim, Bethany, “Doctors, please help
her, she’s so beautiful, she can’t die so young!”
One of the doctors, clearly moved, responded,
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“We’ll do everything we can. Are you family?”
Crystal shook her head, “Just a passerby. But
I’ll go with you, help with the bills, whatever it
takes.”
The doctor praised her heroism and rushed her
into the ambulance. As she turned, she swiped
Bethany’s cellphone without anyone seeing it.
I watched the ambulance pull away. Thirty
minutes later, a black SUV screeched to a halt at the intersection. A guy in a grey suit jumped Blake Sterling’s right–hand man, I
out
—
recognized him from the news. He surveyed the
scene, then started talking to the cops.
I pulled out my phone and texted Crystal.
Me: Saw you on TV, Crystal. What the hell did
you do?
Her reply was immediate. Crystal: None of your
business.
That got a smirk out of me.
Crystal had watched too many Hallmark movies
and thought every billionaire was a sap.
She had that one accidental brush with Blake,
and he told her she was a “dead ringer” for his
late wife, and now she was seeing dollar signs
and wedding bells.
Last time around, I’d tried to talk her out of it,
and I ended up paying the ultimate price.
This time, the first thing I needed to do was
distance myself, make sure I wasn’t collateral
damage when Blake Sterling came for her.
I was just about to head home when the
hospital called. They had a patient in critical
need of blood, and they wanted to know if I was
available, stat.
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Crystal and I both had a rare blood type – O
—
negative and our information was in the
blood bank’s system.
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Hearing someone was desperate, I rushed to
the hospital without even thinking. Turns out,
the patient who needed the blood was Bethany
Sterling.
After they took my blood, I headed to the
waiting room.
Crystal saw me and froze. “What are you doing
here?”
I sat down, saying, “Heard someone needed O
neg. Just doing my civic duty.”
I glanced at her, then asked, “What were you
doing there, anyway?”
After I found out about Crystal’s plan, I had
tried to talk her out of it, even threatening to
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call the cops on her.
- ))
Crystal, nervous that I was catching on, offered,
“Just… passing by.”
“Oh,” I replied, and I shut my mouth and just
close my eyes.
When I didn’t press it, Crystal couldn’t resist bragging. She leaned in and whispered, “Janice, you know who that woman is? Blake Sterling’s
wife. Blake said I look just like her when she was younger. Once she kicks the bucket, I’m gonna be the next Mrs. Billionaire.”
Usually, when she talked like this, I’d tell her to
wake up and smell the coffee. But this time, I
gushed, “Wow, congrats! When you’re the First
Lady of Sterling Enterprises, can you get me a
job?”
