Chapter 2

In my previous life, faced with this scene, I just stood there awkwardly, like I didn't belong at all.

No, to the Andrus couple, I truly was just an outsider.

They never really saw me as family—only called me their daughter because they needed me to rescue Harry.

And after they'd gotten what they wanted, they didn't hesitate to kill me off.

So this time, faced with Tiffany's pleading eyes, I just kept working, totally unfazed. "Ma'am, could you not interrupt me? I'm busy here."

Tiffany got flustered and stepped closer, her voice shaking. "Emily, I'm telling the truth. We can do a DNA test if you want.

"As long as you come back home, your dad and I will do everything we can to make it up to you, I swear."

I scoffed inwardly.

All these years, you had every chance to make things right.

But when I was starving, when I was so sick I could barely breathe, when those people you dumped me with were hanging me up and beating me, where were you then?

Now that Harry's sick and I'm the only one who can save him, suddenly I'm your precious daughter again?

I handed the coffee to the grumpy customer, and she couldn't resist one last jab. "This dump's gonna go under sooner or later."

I didn't bother responding.

Honestly, if this place did go under, it'd be a relief. The boss was a real piece of work, squeezing every drop out of us. He treated his staff worse than animals.

"Emily, please, just come home with me. It kills me to see you like this," Tiffany cried, sounding all heartbroken as she watched that customer give me a hard time.

"Just tell me what it'll take for you to come home with me, okay?" When I kept quiet, she tried again, her voice getting more desperate by the second.

Anyone watching would think she actually missed me.

But really, it was just because Harry was running out of time.

After a long pause, I finally smiled and said, "I want to transfer to Southville High."

Southville High was the best high school in the whole state.

But since it was a private, elite school with sky-high tuition, even with my good grades, I wouldn't have dared to even think about applying in my previous life.

But it wasn't just about how fancy the school was. I was really after the huge cash prize they offered for top SAT scores.

If a Southville High student got into the Ivy, they'd get a 30 thousand dollars bonus.

If you scored even higher, the prize would go up too.

30 thousand dollars would be more than enough to cover my tuition and living expenses for college.

Tiffany was caught off guard. She definitely didn't see that coming from me.

For the Andrus family, that was nothing.

All it took was cash to make it happen.

In my previous life, after I joined the Andrus family, I'd thought about transferring to Southville High. But the moment I brought it up, Zelda burst into tears, looking all pitiful.

"If you transfer to Southville High, too, everyone will know I'm not really the Andrus family's daughter. How am I supposed to live with that?" she wailed. "I might as well just die now and save myself from all the gossip later."

Hearing that, my "mom" and "dad" immediately pulled her into their arms, cooing, "Zelda, don't cry. It breaks our hearts."

Then they turned to me, their voices icy. "Just forget about transferring. Your grades depend on you, not the school."

Thinking back on what they said, I couldn't help but let out a sarcastic laugh.

If the school really didn't matter, then why did they shell out big bucks just to get Zelda, whose grades were a total disaster, into Southville High?

Why not just send her to some crappy school no one wanted to go to?

"No problem at all, Emily. I'll have your dad call the principal at Southville High right away. You'll be in before you know it." This time, Tiffany didn't hesitate for a second.

"And one more thing," I said, "I want to wait until after the SAT exam before I go through with the surgery."

Tiffany's face flickered with uncertainty, but she finally agreed.

Besides, the SAT was just around the corner. Harry could afford to wait a little longer.

With a satisfied nod, I said, "Alright, once I'm off work, I'll go home with you."

After that, I called up my boss at the BBQ joint to quit.

He was pretty bummed—hardworking and cheap part-timers like me don't come around often.

But before I could even dial my boss at the coffee shop to quit, my phone buzzed; he was calling me first.