Chapter 3

3.

"What?"

The entire family froze in shock.

My aunt Brenda was the first to speak. "Why on earth would you want to do that? Did someone bully you at school?"

My cousin Yvonne practically shrieked, "Macy! You can't change your name! If you do that, what happens to―I mean, why would you?"

Before she could finish, Silas grabbed her arm and gave it a sharp squeeze.

He laughed nervously and tried to smooth things over.

"She didn't mean it like that. She just means you're her role model. She changed her name because she wanted to be as great as you. Look, I have some important people coming over soon. Can we talk about this in a few days?"

They were such good liars.

I sneered internally, wondering how I never noticed they were all Oscar-level actors.

Since they wanted to play a role, I would play along until the very end.

I rubbed my eyes until they were red and forced a sob into my voice.

"The hospital called me. My mom is getting worse, and we don't have the money for a private room or better treatment. I'm almost an adult and I can't even help her. I can't just watch her die. I've failed her, and I've failed the name she gave me. I'm even failing your expectations!"

If they wanted drama, I would give them a masterpiece.

I was a senior in high school. If I suddenly changed my name and dropped out, my uncle's entire plan would go up in flames.

As expected, Silas scrambled to comfort me.

"Macy, don't cry. I'll figure out a way to cover your mother's medical bills. Just go back to school and study. Changing your name is a massive legal headache. If you really want to do it, we can talk after the Merit Trials, okay?"

I kept sobbing, acting like my mind was completely made up.

"I don't even want to take the exams anymore. I'll just find a job at a warehouse or something. I can't let her die."

Through my fake tears, I caught a glimpse of Silas's face.

He looked absolutely livid.

He had spent over a decade planning to get that Ivy League acceptance letter, and now I was threatening to ruin it all.

The truth was, after my father died, we didn't hear from Silas for years.

My mother had dropped out of school young to work and support him.

She even married my father partly because his family offered a generous dowry.

Silas took that money to pay for his own college education.

After graduating, he started a small business that failed almost immediately.

It was my mother who spent nights sewing and working extra shifts to bail him out and give him a second chance.

Once his business finally took off, he vanished from our lives.

When my mother ran out of money for my school fees, she tried to call him.

He hung up on her every single time.

She even went to his office and wrote out a formal loan agreement to show him.

He wouldn't even look at it before rejecting her.

"It's not that I don't want to help, but things are tight. My daughter needs her tuition paid, and I have employees to look after. I'm barely keeping my head above water!"

My mother begged him until she was out of breath, but she left his office empty-handed.

That summer, she worked herself to the bone and borrowed from everyone she knew to keep me in school.

That was when her heart problems started.

It wasn't until I reached middle school and started ranking first in the city that Silas suddenly reappeared.

My mother, being the kind soul she was, forgave him instantly.

But now I know that his return was a carefully crafted trap.

Mom, if you knew his true face, would you regret everything you did for him?

It doesn't matter. I'm going to get back everything he stole.

The money, the reputation, the power―I want it all.

And I'm going to make Silas pay for it.