Chapter 2
Just as everyone was about to get into the car, a heavily made-up woman came downstairs, yawning. She had already walked past them, but when she saw William's face, she turned back and gave him a sultry wink. "Hey, handsome, looking for some company? Only a hundred bucks."
I was stunned and floated closer to William, sizing him up. Well, he was good-looking. Back when I remembered, women had chased him in droves.
William had never been humiliated like this. His face darkened instantly. "Get lost."
Several bodyguards stepped forward menacingly.
The woman shrank back and was about to run.
"Wait," Chloe called out, flashing a sweet smile. "Have you seen the person who lives here?"
The woman glanced toward the unit I used to live in. She sneered, "She does great business. There are always several men visiting her at a time."
The moment she finished speaking, the scene fell into dead silence.
Chloe was the first to react, covering her mouth, looking innocent and shocked. "Oh my... how could Emily do something like that?"
My mother clutched her chest in fury and cursed. "That vile little tramp."
Chloe hurried over, patting my mother's back, helping her catch her breath.
"This is outrageous!" William snapped, his face twisting from shock to rage. "She's a Summers. She should know better."
William's fury made me instinctively shrink back. I didn't understand why he was so angry. Wasn't he the one who used to scold me, saying I was born worthless, that I had no right to call myself a Summers? So why was he saying it now—as if I belonged? And why did he bother with what I'd done?
The internet exploded. The comments scrolled at lightning speed.
[What the hell? Emily was actually doing that kind of business?]
[The Summers family really drew the short straw. If only Chloe were the real daughter; she has such a good heart.]
[Can we switch scenes already? I don't want to hear about this person anymore. It's disgusting.]
A different voice cut in: [Could this be a misunderstanding? Chloe might not be right. Andrew grew up with Emily—maybe he knows her better?]
Everyone on-site saw the comments and turned to look at Andrew, waiting for his response. I drifted to his side too, waiting.
Andrew just frowned, his voice flat. "I never expected her to fall this far."
With that, he sided with Chloe—condemning me and confirming that someone like me was perfectly capable of doing such a thing. The crowd erupted.
William clenched his hand into a fist, veins standing out.
Chloe hurried to support my mother, who was clutching her chest, and guided her into the car.
I fixed my gaze on Andrew—three years younger than me, the boy I once treated like my own little brother. I thought I was used to it by now. Yet my heart still went numb with pain.
When we were kids and he was bullied, I always took the blows for him. I'd broken an arm and nearly lost an eye. But none of that mattered compared to the day Chloe lightly handed him an umbrella in the rain.
From then on, whatever Chloe said or did, he defended her. When she claimed I'd stolen the class funds, he testified for her. I was shunned by my classmates and punished by the school.
When Chloe fell down the stairs and I happened to be there, he pushed me down as well. Just like now.
Even back when we had relied on each other to survive, when he'd lived with me in this same rundown building—that thin metal door couldn't block out the noise. He had covered my ears, gritting his teeth. "Don't listen, Emily. Don't be scared. When I make money, we'll move out."
We did move into a bigger house eventually. But the sister in his heart had already become Chloe.
"Mr. Summers," someone said, "we've found Emily's number."