The stolen life
Chapter 1
After I got back from studying abroad, my
brother, being the cool guy that he is, gifted
me this sweet Maserati. Problem was, Mom’s
charity case flipped her lid. She stormed up
and smacked me right across the face.
“Who the hell are you, you gold–digging
b****? Thinking you can go after my brother?
You aren’t fit to drive this car!”
She started clinging to Mom, whining about
how I stole her stuff, even straight–up lying
and claiming I tried to seduce Jake in my
birthday suit. Like, seriously? She pointed at
my brother, all dramatic, stomping her feet,
demanding he give her the car, or she
wouldn’t be his “sister” anymore.
And my whole family? They just stared at her,
all unimpressed. Girl, this wasn’t some
daytime drama, it was real life.
- 1.
My brother, Jake, practically dragged me
straight from the airport to the dealership. He
waves his hand, all, “Liz, whatever catches
your eye, it’s yours!”
I’d just aced it at Stanford, and I was the
most educated person in our whole family
now. Jake was more stoked than I was! He
grabbed me right off the plane, spun me
around a bunch.
“I always dreamed of going to Stanford, but
the family business needed me here. You did
it for me! You’re the brains of the operation,
kiddo!”
I busted his chops right away. “You mean you
didn’t get in, right?”
–
That’s when I spotted it this bright red
Maserati sitting up front. I got all excited,
“Jake, I want that one!”
<
He snapped his fingers like some big shot,
and the salesman practically kissed our feet,
shoving the contract in my face. I was about
to sign, when someone yanked me back by
my shirt. Before I even knew what was
happening, I got slapped, hard.
“Where did you come from? Some nobody
who thinks they can sneak in while I’m gone?
Stealing my brother!”
This girl, totally average–looking, was right in
my face, yelling, “You’re not worthy of this
car! Glad I got here just in time to stop this
nonsense!”
After yelling at me, she turns and starts
stomping her feet at my brother, whining,
“Jake, you’re so naive! Can’t you see right
through this gold digger? Seriously, you are
such a guy, I am so worried about you.
“Just because we’re rich, doesn’t mean we
throw money around like this, I won’t let you
waste money on other girls! You should only
be spending your money on me!”
She pouted like she could catch a million fish
with that thing, all cute and helpless, then
started circling the Maserati, practically
drooling over it.
“Jake, you need to apologize to me right now
and give me the car. And get this girl out of
here, or I’m done being your sister!”
She threw a fit, crossed her arms, stuck her
nose in the air, waiting for my brother to give
- in. It was so predictable.
It was like, the whole dealership froze. My
brother, usually a pretty chill guy, was seeing
red. He was about to go for her when I
stepped in first, grabbing her hair and
slapping her across the face.
“Bam, Bam“.
After that, I grabbed my brother’s arm, and
started getting comfortable. “Who is this
crazy lady? I am super scared.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, this girl was the charity case my Mom had been supporting for twelve years. Her name was Ashley, and she’d moved to the city four years ago.
That’s when I went overseas.
My mom felt bad that Ashley didn’t have a place to live, so she brought her home. Ashley was also a good girl, calling “Dad“,
“Mom“, “Brother” as soon as she came in.
We’re all pretty easygoing, so we just treated her like family.
But she was really getting into it, she really
treated herself like she was royalty, and on
top of that, she actually slept in my bed. She
wore my pajamas and was holding my video
game, telling us how the old room didn’t have
good lighting.
My Mom told me about this, and I just
thought, whatever, it’s just some stuff, and I
wouldn’t be back for a long time, so I let it
- go.
Later, I was talking to my brother, and I
realized that Ashley was really getting out of hand.
First an iPhone, then a Hermes, then she even used my mom’s credit card at some club.
My Dad was not happy, and told her that she needed to learn to manage her money.
Ashley cried and started packing her stuff, saying how they all thought she was some kid
from nowhere, that her background was
beneath them.
My Mom felt bad and transferred her some
money.
She must’ve taken a few million dollars from
them.
After she graduated, she begged my dad to
let her into the company, pretending to be
some Jiang family member.
L
Once, she gave Jake underwear for
Valentine’s Day. He kicked her box halfway
across the room.
I’m back now, so her easy life is over.
Ashley started crying, staring at my brother. “Are you really going to let her do this to me? I am going to tell Mom that you’re hanging out with a skank!”
“You’re not my sister, so don’t try to pretend“. My brother said.
Ashley didn’t like that and glared at me and stormed off.
I drove back home in my new car, and before I even got in, I could hear Ashley crying.
“Mom, I saw her, she was taking off her
clothes, begging Jake to sleep with her! He is
just too nice, and doesn’t realize what’s going
on!
“And she stole my watch! I didn’t want to
start anything, but then she said I was some
L
hick from the sticks!
“Aren’t you embarrassed to have someone
like that hanging around?
“She is just going to ruin everything!”
My Mom was trying to calm her down, saying she’d tell Jake to leave her alone, and stuff.
I just gave my brother a look. He seems sick of her constant drama.
I was not having it, and went straight in there. As soon as she saw me, Ashley grabbed my
mom, yelling, “Mom, there she is!
“You’re not gonna get anywhere with this! My
brother is just using you! You’ll never be a
real member of this family!
“Mom, look!”
Ashley grabbed my wrist. “She stole my
watch, look. She is too poor to afford
something like this!”
She yelled for a while, and then noticed that
everyone was pretty quiet.
Looking at my Mom’s dark face, she was confused and annoyed. “What’s going on?”
