11
When I saw Grandma again, she was lying in
the ICU, chatting to a young nurse. Three out
of every five sentences were about me. She’d
never forgotten her only granddaughter!
<
Just like when I was little, she loved me
unconditionally.
“Where’s my Ashley? Why hasn’t she come to
see Grandma yet?”
Her old hand reached out and touched the
nurse, who was about my age. “Honey, do
you think my Ashley will grow up to be as
pretty as you?”
“Ah! I don’t want to go yet. I want to hang on
a little longer. This family… without my
Ashley, no one will care anymore… They’re all
vultures!”
I froze, my hand shaking on the door handle.
く
A wave of sorrow washed over me. My heart
still ached.
Grandma hadn’t given up on me. She’d been
waiting for me to come home. To come
home, to our home.
“Grandma…” I pushed the door open, my
voice choked.
She thought she was hallucinating. She
paused, then muttered to the nurse.
“I think I heard my granddaughter call me.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I wanted to
hug her like I used to when I was little, but I
<
just stood carefully behind her.
“Guess who I am?”
She reached out to me, trembling, but I
instinctively wanted to move away.
I was ugly, skinny.
Grandma would worry.
“Ashley, it’s Grandma’s Ashley! It’s good to be
back, good to be back.”
Neither of us mentioned the last six years, or
where I’d been.
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It was like I’d never left. She asked me about
everything, about food and the seasons.
Amy had framed me, but everyone kept it
from Grandma, afraid that if she found out,
Amy would be thrown out of the Smith family.
They’d even replaced all of Grandma’s staff
and moved her away from the city she knew
so well.
I didn’t know how she’d survived all these
years.
And I didn’t want to know.
Then I mentioned the shares to her.
L
Finally, she opened the drawer next to her
bed and handed me a contract with my name
on it.
It was all her assets.
“Don’t be scared, Ashley. Grandma’s leaving
all this for you.”
“Yeah, I’m not scared. Grandma needs to be
okay. I’m going to be busy… I won’t have time
to come see you.”
Maybe it was because I hadn’t been out for
so long. Jake rushed into the room, too
impatient to wait. He heard me say that
Grandma was leaving everything to me.
<
Amy, who was following him, acted like she
couldn’t stand the injustice. She turned
around to leave.
“Ashley! Didn’t the slums teach you anything?
You’re going to give me those shares!”
“If Amy hadn’t warned me you might change
your mind, and told me to come to the room
and listen, you would have tricked me!”
He reached out to snatch the contract, trying
to force me to sign the transfer agreement.
Grandma threw herself on me to protect me.
Amy shoved her and nurses rushed in when
the machines started beeping.
<
Amy looked panicked for a second. She
quickly hid behind Jake.
“Grandma!”
My long–suppressed emotions shattered. I
stared at the machines, watching as Grandma
was wheeled into the emergency room.
Dad rushed in. Without asking any questions,
he kicked me in the stomach.
“If your brother hadn’t been here, were you
and your grandmother going to conspire to
kick Amy out?”
Ryan looked like he wanted to stop him, but
く
Ryan looked like he wanted to stop him, but
he glanced at Amy, crying, and turned around
to comfort her.
“Ashley, if it wasn’t for you, Grandma
wouldn’t be in the emergency room. It’s okay
to plot against me, but why hurt Grandma!”
She got so upset that she fainted in Ryan’s
arms.
For a while, I was the only one in the waiting
area.
Even Mom, who arrived later, just walked past
me and rushed to Amy’s side.
L
I clutched my stomach, gritting my teeth, not
taking my eyes off the light outside the
emergency room.
I didn’t care about anything else.
But the pain slowly stole my senses. Before I
passed out, I heard Dad yelling from far away.
