Chapter 4

Tomorrow wasn't actually my birthday.

My birthday had passed months ago, unnoticed and uncelebrated by anyone.

But let me manipulate her just this once.

A long silence stretched over the line before Eleanor finally let out a heavy sigh. "Address."

I gave her the address of the gallery. Then, with agonizing effort, I stood up, cleared away the ruined canvases, and swept the floor.

For our final meeting, let's keep it clean. Let's leave a decent impression on each other.

I must have drifted off to sleep at some point. When I woke up, Eleanor and Natasha were already standing in front of me.

Natasha puckered her lips, tears welling in her eyes. "Audrey, are you doing this on purpose to make Mom think I'm abusing you?"

"Mom is incredibly busy with the company. I spent so much time convincing her to come, and I even prepared a gift for you..."

I leaned heavily against the wall, barely managing to withstand the blinding pain wracking my body.

Eleanor stared at my abnormally pale face, a flicker of hesitation crossing her eyes.

For the first time, she didn't immediately flare up at me to defend Natasha.

Instead, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking genuinely exhausted. "Let's sit down first."

I stayed glued to the wall.

It hurt too much. Every movement pulled at a deep, bottomless well of despair.

If only someone loved me... or if I could just drop dead right here.

But nothing happened.

Natasha and Eleanor began chatting like a pair of close friends.

They talked about how Eleanor's work had been stressful lately. A highly classified, hazardous radioactive isotope sample had gone missing from her bio-tech research lab.

The question I wanted to ask—Did you not bring a cake for me?—was swallowed back into my stomach.

It didn't matter. I had a more important goal today.

I pulled out the pages of a journal entry I had found, written in Natasha's handwriting.

"I suddenly found the gift Natasha gave me for my birthday earlier."

The perfect mask on Natasha’s face finally cracked.

She bolted upright, knocking her chair backward.

Forgetting to maintain her sweet image in front of Eleanor, she lunged forward, snatched the papers from my hands, and ripped them into shreds.

"Liar! I never gave you anything like this!"

I looked at Eleanor, my expression utterly blank. "So you mean... this was the gift I supposedly sent to Mom..."

Only then did Natasha realize she had reacted far too violently.

"What is wrong with both of you?!" Eleanor slammed her hand on the table, visibly irritated by the sudden chaos.

Before I could speak, Natasha shot me a warning, icy glare.

The next second, she beat me to it: "Mom, I think Audrey just wanted some sisterly bonding time, which is why she played this little prank."

Eleanor gave Natasha a suspicious look, but her phone started ringing.

"Whatever. I don't have time for your childish games."

The moment Eleanor stepped out of the room to take the call, Natasha abandoned all pretense. She lunged, wrapping both hands tightly around my neck, pinning me against the wall.

"Audrey! I don't care what you think you know. You will never beat me!"

I had never wanted to fight her.

I was only terrified that she would do something to hurt Eleanor.

But as Natasha squeezed harder, my vision began to darken.

I guess I wouldn't be able to warn Eleanor after all.

That was my last thought before I blacked out.

"I already showed her the stone! By all accounts... she should have died of cancer long ago!"

When my consciousness drifted back in waves, I saw Natasha pacing the room, frantically speaking into her phone.

I didn't know whether to praise my own stubborn body for refusing to die, or to marvel at how I always happened to wake up at the worst possible moments.

"I stole it directly from Mom’s lab! Of course it’s real!"

"With her pathetic, sentimental personality, she must have kept it close to her every single day. The cancer should have progressed way faster!"

Through the haze, it clicked.

I recalled seeing news reports about people getting terminal illnesses from being in close proximity to radioactive elements.

I never imagined... Natasha was the one behind it all.