My eyes burned. I screamed, “I’m the real
heiress! You share a mother with me! Why are
you taking her side? She’s a gold digger!”
T
Liam slapped me. His face was like stone.
“Don’t you dare,” he hissed. “Anyone Dad calls
family is my family. I’m fair, Ashley. You’re the
one who’s disgusting.” Security guards
appeared and forced me to my knees. “You’re
not going to the party,” Liam said coldly. “Stay
in the basement and think about what you’ve
done. You’ll come out when you’ve learned your
lesson.”
As they dragged me away, I glanced up. Dad,
on the landing, looked pleased. I lowered my
eyes, hiding my contempt.
Liam locked me in the basement, but he left me
my phone. Sarah texted me updates from the
party. Mrs. Parker beamed, holding Chloe’s
hand. Ethan and Chloe gazed at each other,
looking almost in love. I turned off my phone
く
and went to the storage room.
After Mom died, I’d practically lived in the
basement. Liam was away at boarding school,
and I, at eight years old, was forced to witness
Dad’s parade of women. My nightmares about
Mom’s death often woke me up screaming,
disturbing Dad’s… activities. So, I was banished
to the basement. It was filled with Mom’s
things, a source of comfort in the otherwise
creepy space. I opened the closet, curled up on
a pile of Mom’s clothes, inhaled her familiar
scent, and fell into the deepest sleep I’d had in
months.
I woke to Liam carrying me, wrapped in the
clothes, out of the closet. “Chloe’s staying at
the Parkers‘,” he whispered. “Dad’s at the club.
We’re safe.”
I drifted back to sleep. The next day, Liam gave
me a wooden box. Inside was a beautiful jade
—
bangle. I recognized it instantly the Parker
<
pangie. I recognized it instantly
—
family heirloom. I looked up at him.
tne Parker
“Mrs. Parker gave Chloe a fake last night,”
Liam explained. “For show. She called me to
the chapel and said you’re the only daughter-
in–law she’ll accept. She gave me the real one
for you.”
Under the bangle was a black card. “And this is
from Ethan. He said he’s afraid you think he’s
serious about Chloe, so he’s giving you all his
assets as a sign of his… undying love.”
I burst out laughing, thanked Liam, and started
eating.
Chloe didn’t come home until the afternoon. I
was arranging flowers when she sauntered in,
wearing the fake bangle. She picked up a rose.
“Such a refined hobby, Ashley,” she purred.
“But roses symbolize love. A bit inappropriate,
don’t you think, given your recent… loss?”
I snatched the flower. “It’s a peony, you idiot.” I
left her standing there, fuming, and went
upstairs.
I had provoked Chloe initially because, newly
arrived and flush with Mom’s shares, she was
wary. To make her trust Liam, I had to play the
villain. I’d escalated things to push her towards
Ethan, to make her want revenge. Now that she
was engaged to him, I didn’t need to waste any
more energy on her.
I went to school as usual. A few social climbers
abandoned me for Chloe, but the real elite
didn’t bother with a gold digger, engaged or not. Time flew by, and soon it was graduation.
At the graduation ball, Ethan proposed to
Chloe. I sat in the audience, in a simple
pantsuit, watching their performance with
indifference. Chloe, teary–eyed, accepted. Just
as she was about to put on the ring, Dad’s
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driver burst in. “Miss Chloe! Your father… he
collapsed at the club!”
