Chapter 2

I could almost see that summer from ten years ago.

The night my SAT scores came out, I was so excited that I could not sleep.

I ranked in the city's top ten. That was easy enough to get me into the best university in the country.

When I told my foster parents, their faces were complicated. They were not happy, and they wouldn't look at me.

Later, I found out they had already made a deal with Michelle's parents, who were their own brother and sister-in-law.

It was about 100 thousand dollars.

That was the price for my years of studying. That was what they traded for my future.

Michelle was their real daughter. She had been raised by her uncle since she was little.

I was the child they took in from another family because they could not have kids of their own.

When Michelle came along unexpectedly, they sent her away and told everyone that I was their only daughter.

Then came the SAT. Michelle's scores were so bad that she couldn't even get into community college.

That was when my foster parents finally remembered the daughter they had hidden away.

They needed a good reason to bring Michelle back and give her a bright future.

So my future became the thing they put on the table for her.

I cried. I argued. I even got on my knees and begged.

But my foster mother looked at me with cold eyes. "Luna, we raised you for eighteen years. Now you need to pay us back. Michelle's future matters more than you going to some fancy university."

My foster father slapped the bankbook on the table. "There is 100 thousand here. 30 thousand goes to you. That's enough to start a small business. Don't say we didn't treat you fairly."

That was when I understood I was never their daughter. I was just an investment they had kept for eighteen years, something they could turn into cash whenever they needed.

I didn't take the money. I tore up my acceptance letter and left that suffocating house with only a few hundred dollars in my pocket.

I went to the farthest city I could find. I washed dishes in restaurants, carried bricks at construction sites, and even slept in warehouses at the clothing market.

When I was at my hungriest, I'd stand outside a food shop and cry from the smell.

It was the burning resentment and the refusal to give up that kept me alive.

I swore to myself that someday I would take back everything they stole from me, with interest.

It'd been ten years. I knew I'd soon make it happen.

I had my own company. I had the means to stand tall in this city.

And Michelle, my so-called sister, had stolen my name and my achievements to graduate from the university I had always wanted. Now she was showing up at my door.

It was funny how life came full circle.

I slid Michelle's resume into the shredder and watched it tear into strips that could never be put back together.

Michelle was about to enter my world, and I'd warmly welcome her.

This time, the rules were mine to make.

*****

On Monday, Michelle officially started her new job.

She walked into Team One's office wearing a perfectly fitted designer suit. Her makeup was flawless. Her heels were three inches high. She looked like a total fish out of water.

Most people on Team One were tech people and planners. They cared about comfort. T-shirts and jeans were their usual clothes.

Michelle's arrival got everyone's attention immediately.

Thomas Walker, the team manager, was a straightforward guy. He introduced her warmly. "Everyone, please welcome our new colleague, Michelle Lynch. She graduated from a top-tier university. We should all learn from her."

Michelle smiled politely with her chin slightly raised. Her eyes moved around the office and stopped on a girl in the corner, who was focused on her drawings. A small look of dislike crossed Michelle's face.

I had set this up on purpose. She would sit next to Christina Avery, who was the hardest-working and quietest intern in the department.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle. I'm really happy to join this team. I hope we can all grow together," Michelle said.

Her voice was pleasant, but the feeling that she was better than everyone else was so strong that I could sense it even through my office blinds.

I didn't step out. I watched through the cameras.