Chapter 16
Give in? I wondered what Damon could be referring to. I was confused, but I could see Shane’s expression growing darker by the second.
Not far away, Amber stood proudly, surrounded by the Schultz family.
Mom couldn’t stop praising her. “You’re incredible, Abbie. Just a few of your simple paintings brought in hundreds of millions. Not like that untalented brat.
“Allison’s teacher always claimed she had talent, but I’ve never seen her paint anything of value. She could never compare to you.”
My brother chimed in, “By the way, has anyone heard from Allison? Her phone’s unreachable. She’s growing more irresponsible by the day. All she does best is make us worry.”
“I heard she went to Gildford.”
“Mom, Dad, I’ve told you not to spoil her that much. She’s caused such a mess, yet she just ran off without a word. She’s so reckless.”
“Mom, Dad, Archer, don’t be mad. Maybe she just needed a break.”
“When she returns, I’m going to make sure she apologizes to you!”
“The way I see it, she needs a good beating to teach her some respect.”
As I watched Amber’s fake, hypocritical act, I wanted nothing more than to tear her mask off then and there. But everyone bought into her act, not once questioning her and even blindly following her lead.
I could tolerate a lover’s betrayal, but I couldn’t stand my family’s cold, cutting words. My mother carried me and gave birth to me too, so how could she be so cruel to me?
I loved painting so much, but on Amber’s birthday, Mom suddenly lost her temper. Storming into my studio, she poured paint over my works and tore them apart with her own hands.
Turned out she had already hated me since then, thinking I should have disappeared instead of
Amber.
Amber and Shane had caused this entire mess, yet everyone was blindly pinning the blame on me. Instead of looking into my disappearance, they discussed how they’d punish me with a
beating.
I
I touched my face. There wasn’t a single tear, yet still felt unbearable pain.
At some point, heavy snow began falling again. With the white snowflakes falling, it eerily resembled the scene I saw before my death.
When would they finally realize I was already dead?
Soon, the events at the gallery went viral, with Amber and I topping the trending list.
“Exposing Allison Schultz”
“Genius Painter Actually a Heiress”
“Wretched Allison Schultz”
“Paintings Fetched Astronomical Prices”
“Beautiful, Kind–hearted Amber Schultz Donates 300 Million”
Public opinion was overwhelmingly one–sided.
I stood behind Shane, watching as he scrolled through his phone, his frown deepening the more he read.
Amber clung to his arm. “Shane, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. Should we suppress the news?”
Chap 12
Chapter 17
