Chapter 2

The next morning, before I could even leave the house, Mom blocked my way.

"Give me your phone!" she snapped, demanding.

"No! This is my privacy!" I immediately hugged my phone to my chest, putting up a dramatic struggle.

The more I "resisted," the more aggressive she became.

My bedroom was instantly turned into a mess. Books were knocked to the floor, and my desk lamp was tipped over.

Like a madwoman, she snatched the phone from my hand. I "frantically" tried to lock the screen, but "accidentally" let her see the Snapchat chat history between Julian and me.

Mom opened it without a second thought.

Those chat logs were carefully fabricated by me over two whole days.

Every sentence was a sickeningly sweet promise of love.

[Babe, I dreamed of you again last night.]

[I want to buy you the whole world.]

There were even screenshots of Julian sending me "money gifts"—each one over ten thousand dollars.

Of course, I didn't mention a single word about how he made me transfer the money right back to him under various excuses.

Chloe leaned in to watch the drama, her eyes practically sparkling.

"Wow, Elena, your boyfriend is so romantic and generous!" she said, raising her voice on purpose.

"He's so much better than that guy who chased me last month. That loser bought me a designer bag and complained about the price for weeks."

Mom’s finger stopped scrolling. She saw Julian’s incredibly wealthy background, which I had "carelessly" revealed in the chats.

[Babe, my parents are flying to Europe next week for a business deal. I'll be home alone. It's so boring.]

[My dad gave me another card today for pocket money. The PIN is your birthday.]

The anger on Mom's face vanished instantly.

She pulled me out of the room and whispered a warning: "Keep this quiet for now. Your dad and I need to look into this boy."

She paused, then added as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

"If he's really that good, we can't let your sister miss out on this."

I stood there, my eyes instantly welling up with tears.

Even though I had expected this, hearing it out loud still felt like a stab to my heart.

"Why?!" I screamed with all my might, my voice breaking into a sob.

"Mom, ever since we were kids, you guys always took her side! Toys, new clothes, your love... and now you want to steal the only boyfriend I’ve ever had?!"

The harder I cried, the more desperate I seemed, the more it proved that Julian was a priceless treasure.

Mom was taken aback by my scream, but then disgust washed over her face.

"Stop screaming! He’s just a man! Is he worth all this drama?"

"Your sister is prettier than you, sweeter than you, and everyone loves her. What's wrong with her getting a good man?"

"If you really cared about your sister, you would step aside! Act like an older sister for once!"

Her words were like a poisoned blade, stabbing right into the softest part of my heart.

I covered my face, ran back to my room, and locked the door.

Outside, Mom was still cursing.

"What an ungrateful brat. We raised her for so many years, and she doesn't care about this family at all."

"Exactly. If Chloe can marry into the Vance family, we'll all be set for life. She's so selfish, only thinking about herself."

That was Dad's voice.

Listening to those cold words, the tears on my face slowly dried up.

I looked up at my red, swollen eyes in the mirror.

Excellent, Elena.

Your acting is getting better and better.

That evening, I purposely left one of Julian's jackets on the living room sofa. It smelled of his favorite woody cologne.

Sure enough, when the house was dead silent in the middle of the night, Chloe crept out of her room, picked up the jacket, and took a deep, greedy breath.

Then, she put it on, ran to the full-length mirror, and posed.

Next, she took out her phone, opened her secret Instagram account—the one she used to bait guys—and posted a few selfies.

The caption read: "I love this scent so much. It feels like a warm hug~ [blushing emoji]"

Lying in bed, I saw her post and silently gave it a like.

My dear sister, with every step you take toward the abyss, I will be right here to document it for you.