“You did that on purpose!” she sputtered.
I shrugged. “You think I wanted to go for a
swim?”
“Don’t get cocky. Soon, everything will be
Jason’s again. I’ll be Mrs. Smith, and I won’t
forget this!”
I snorted. “Newsflash: The Smiths already
transferred half their shares to Ethan. They
<
were going to announce it at his birthday. You
just delayed things.”
I smiled, enjoying her shock. “You’re so
clueless. As long as the Smiths are alive, you’ll
never be anything but trashy, rude, and low- class. You’re fighting for scraps. It’s over.”
Ashley’s eyes flashed with hatred.
That night, Ethan sent me security footage.
Jason and Ashley, disguised, bought gasoline
and hid it in the basement. Jason might be their
son, but they needed a reason to give up on
him. Murdering them would do nicely. Ethan
wondered how I knew they’d do it.
I chuckled. “They probably spent years
dreaming of coming back, living it up, taking
over. But they’re not wanted. You have
everything they thought was theirs. And this
afternoon, I told Ashley you were about to
become CEO.”
Ethan said, “Do they think it’s that easy to
become CEO?”
I laughed. “The stuff we take for granted, they
<
have no clue about. But hey, it works.”
Before hanging up, I paused. “Be careful when
they start the fire.”
His voice was low. “Worried about me?”
“You talk too much. Bye.”
- 8.
A week later, the Smiths invited us for dinner.
“We were so rude last time. Who knows, we
might be in–laws someday! So, we wanted to
apologize,” Mr. Smith said, raising his glass.
Jason tapped his glass with his chopsticks,
glaring at me. “What’s with the look, Princess?
Sorry, I’m just a country bumpkin. Don’t know
all the fancy manners. Deal with it.” He sneered
at his dad, who was frowning. “I’m not marrying
her. Ashley’s the only woman for me.”
“Haven’t you said enough? We’re so
disappointed in you,” Mr. Smith said.
Jason slammed his hand down. “Whose fault is
that? I’m your real son! He’s just a bastard!
And Mom,” he turned to Mrs. Smith, “Don’t
think he actually cares about you! He’ll probably
<
dig up Dad and bury his whore of a mother next
to him! He’s a constant reminder of Dad’s
affair!”
Ashley chimed in, “Right, Mom? Jason’s so
smart. Mothers should always side with their
sons.”
Slap! Mrs. Smith stood up and slapped Ashley.
“Enough! Who do you think you are? You’re
lucky to even be at this table! I will never
approve!”
Jason scoffed, dumped his plate on the table,
glared at everyone, and stormed out with
Ashley. “Fine. You asked for it.”
Everyone except me and Ethan looked
confused.
At 2 a.m., the alarm blared. Flames engulfed the
house. Jason and Ashley watched from the roof
next door.
Jason was practically giddy. “Those old fools
disrespected me! You were right, if we waited,
that bastard would get everything! Now it’s all
mine, and you can be my wife!”
Ashley snuggled up to him, then pointed, her
voice shaking. “Ghosts! They’re supposed to be
inside! How are they out here?”
- 9.
Jason turned. The Smiths were standing there,
unharmed. His eyes went wide. “How…how are
you alive?”
I shook my head. “Your big plan? It ends with
jail time.”
The Smiths looked at him, heartbroken. “We
thought you just needed time. But you tried to
kill us!”
“You forced me!” Jason screamed, his face
contorted. “You have no idea what I went
through! You were living it up while I starved!
And you still want that bastard to take over!
You think I’m stupid? You want to steal
everything from me? Dream on!”
“What are you talking about! Even without the
company, we’d take care of you!”
“Yeah, right!” He saw police lights flashing.
“You called the cops?! You’re all against me!”
<
