An awkward silence fell over the room.
Ryan sat up a little straighter. “I’m finished. Enjoy your meal.” He stood up and strode out of the house, heading for work with a sudden, inexplicab- le surge of energy.
As for Lily, who
was
usually the center of all drama, she was suddenly as quiet as a mouse.
A thoughtful expression crossed my face.
Jessie. The girl who was supposed to be me, the former Blackwell heiress, and now Leo’s actual sister.
She was that intimidating, huh?
Under Leo’s continuous barrage of text-message agony, I learned just how much of an overachiever Jessie was. She wasn’t just writing business plans late into the night; she was already renovating the facilities, implementing scientific breeding and butchering protocols. She had even humb- led herself to work at Dad’s butcher stall for three days, observing and then implementing a complete overhaul.
And you know what? Her changes had elevated the humble stall to a whole new level. Business was booming.
The only victim was Leo, who had become the sole soldier in Jessie’s one-woman army.
But that wasn’t even the most terrifying part. The butcher shop was just Jessie’s side hustle. Her main job was Team Lead in the project develo- pment department at Blackwell Corp.
She had applied for the job right after she turned eighteen, starting as a junior employee and earning every promotion on her own merit. No one at the company even knew she was the boss’s daughter.
Terrifying. Utterly terrifying.
Suddenly, Ryan’s newfound sense of urgency this morning made perfect sense. With a super-hustler like that for a sister, constantly threatening
his CEO throne, how could he ever relax?
But now he had me, his new slacker sister. He probably didn’t have to worry anymore.
While my CEO brother was out providing for the family, I was sprawled on the sofa, playing on my phone.
Lily finished her piano practice.
I was on the sofa.
Lily finished her dance lesson.
I was on the sofa.
Lily was learning to bake with Auntie Liu.
I flipped over to my other side.
“Sister, you…” Lily approached me with a plate of freshly baked cookies, her words trailing off.
My fingers were tapping away on the screen. I hadn’t even registered the human-shaped organism standing beside me.
A flash of annoyance crossed Lily’s pretty face, and her voice rose sharply. “Sister, the Blackwells may be wealthy, but that doesn’t mean we shou-
Id waste our lives. We should strive to better ourselves.” She paused, biting her lip before continuing.
“Perhaps the environment you grew up in was… lacking. You haven’t been exposed to truly exceptional people, so your perspective is limited. You’
ve grown accustomed to that… aimless, day-to-day existence of the lower class, but-” Her tone sharpened, her fists clenching as she stared at
me, her face a mask of righteous anger. “That’s no excuse for you to be so degenerate!”
I looked up, bewildered. “What is she talking about?”
Lily frowned, about to speak again, when a familiar voice cut through from my phone.
“She’s always been like that. Can’t make a point, no logical flow, her semantics are a mess.”
On the other end of the line, Jessie paused, then added with emphasis, “Lily, did you just skip every English class you ever had? Is that what your teachers taught you? Or is there something wrong with the way you learn? How can a grown person be so utterly incapable of articulating a cohe-
rent thought?”
“Chlo… Jessie?”
Over the ected
Lily’s face went pale. She tensed, instinctively standing up straight. Jessie’s words seemed to hit her hard. She turned and walked away, looking utterly dejected.
phone, Jessie thanked me. “Your system is brilliant. Leo was right, you’re incredibly good at this.”
mittal
grunt.
I gave
a
Our
Before hanging up, Jessie remembered something. “By the way, Mom and Dad… the Blackwells… will be back in a few days. They’re very different
r parents at
ne butcher shop. You should probably brace yourself.”
Diffe
Were they not human?
I pondered i
for
Seconds before dismissing it from my mind.
