Chapter 3

3

Lulu stepped out of the bathroom looking smug and satisfied. She gave me a triumphant look that she didn't even try to hide.

I finally understood her. She didn't just hate that I was smarter; she was scared I would take a spot that her younger sister wanted.

That "clumsy girl" act was just a mask for a toxic, calculating snake.

Only my idiot brother fell for it.

I pretended not to notice her and kept my head down, focusing on the cooking.

A few minutes later, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the hallway.

"No! My thesis! Who did this?!"

Everyone froze. Lulu's sister, Sierra, came running out holding a dripping laptop. She lunged at me and slapped me across the face.

"Faye Gentry, you bitch! Was it you? You're so scared I'll take your spot at Apex Dynamics that you'd do something this pathetic? Lulu was right―you're a snake!"

My cheek burned, but when I saw the look of pure horror on Lulu's face, the pain vanished.

Sierra was staying with us because Lulu insisted on it. She went to the same university as me. Because of her, I had been kicked out of my own bedroom and forced to live in a cramped dorm.

Lulu wanted to save her family money by letting Sierra leech off us. Meanwhile, I had to work three part-time jobs just to survive.

However, after I realized I had been reborn, I had hidden my own laptop. Lulu had no idea she had just sabotaged her own flesh and blood.

I looked at the varying shades of pale and red on their faces and smiled.

"I've been in the kitchen the whole time. How could I have touched her laptop? If you think I'm a thief, call the cops."

"No!"

Lulu and my mother screamed the word at the same time.

Lulu was terrified of being caught, and my mother was terrified of the scandal. My mother glared at me.

"Haven't you embarrassed us enough? You think those books make you the boss of this house? This is my home!"

Lulu quickly jumped in to redirect the blame.

"She's right, Sierra. We shouldn't involve outsiders. But Faye, you're responsible for this mess since it happened while you were here. You should give your thesis to Sierra so she can use it. You can just go get a job; we're all counting on you to bring in some money."

The sheer audacity of her words made my head spin. I knew she was shameless, but this was a new level of insanity.

"Why don't you send your own sister to work?" I snapped back.

Lulu didn't blink. She played the innocent card perfectly.

"Sierra is the only real scholar in our family. She's my parents' pride. I'm not smart like her, and besides, I'm pregnant now. You wouldn't want your nephew to have a stressed-out mom, right? We need you to step up."

If it were just about Sierra, my parents might have stayed out of it. But the moment she mentioned a grandson, the game changed.

No one in that room seemed to care that I was also a university student. I was just a resource.

My mother immediately sided with her.

"Sierra is family. Lulu is right. Your nephew is going to need you to help with his education later. If you go work for some big company, who's going to take care of this house?"

The rage was boiling in my veins, ready to explode.

My mother actually despised Lulu. She thought she was an idiot, but she tolerated her for the sake of Silas. Now, all her hopes were pinned on a grandson.

I almost laughed. Lulu wasn't stupid at all; she was a master at turning personal drama into a family crisis.

Silas, who had been silent, finally barked at me.

"What are you standing there for? Give Sierra your files now!"

I felt a surge of defiance. I had worked on that project for years. I had consulted experts and stayed up for weeks. It was my dream. And Sierra?

Sierra had only stayed in the running because Lulu used to steal my research data and give it to her.

"I earned my spot with my own brain," I said, my voice trembling with fury. "Did I ask any of you for a dime? No. You guys took my scholarship money and my part-time pay. Now you want to throw me to the wolves?"