Chapter 3

3 Last time, his sudden sternness scared me. Not this time.

I turned to my classmates. "My nanny's daughter stole my yacht, and my brother is protecting her! Someone call the police!"

They all avoided my gaze.

"Ashley, Tiffany's so sweet, she would never steal anything."

"Tiffany's beautiful and generous. She wouldn't do something like that."

"Tiffany said she was doing it for your own good. Why are you accusing her? Shouldn't you be thanking her?"

"Maybe all those abortions messed with her head…"

They whispered and snickered.

My face burned. "Tiffany's generous with MY family's money! You…"

Jason grabbed my wrist, his voice menacing. "Enough! Stop embarrassing yourself."

"Tiffany grew up in our house. She's practically our sister. You're slapping her in the face, which means you're slapping ME in the face!"

I stared at the veins bulging on his forehead and slapped him hard across the face. "THAT'S what slapping you in the face looks like."

I picked up my phone and frantically dialed my mom's number. It went straight to voicemail. I tried again and again. My heart sank.

Everything happened so fast last time. But now, I realized something. My mom hadn't been around for any of this. Something was wrong.

Ignoring Jason and Tiffany, ignoring my sneering classmates, ignoring the eight-million-dollar yacht, I backed away and called my grandma.

Her voice was strong and warm. "Sweetie, when are you coming to visit?"

I quickly explained. "Grandma, Mom's missing. I think Dad, Jason, and the nanny are involved. Jason and Tiffany sold my yacht, but that's not the most important thing. We need to find Mom!"

As I spoke, I bumped into someone. It was Ethan.

Jason and Tiffany caught up. Seeing Ethan, Tiffany's eyes welled up. "Ethan, Ashley's been so mean to me! I donated millions to the temple for her, so you two could have a happy marriage, but she's accusing me of wasting money! She even hit Jason! Please, talk to her!"