Chapter 3 Wait Half a Month

Mia recorded my story. She played the raw footage back to me before posting it on her TikTok. 

I barely recognized the girl on the screen. She looked like a walking corpse. My skin was a sickening, sallow yellow, tightly stretched over protruding cheekbones.

Suddenly, an overwhelming urge hit me. I didn't want to die looking like this. I wanted to wear a pretty dress, just one last time, before they put me in the ground. 

I checked my pockets. I was about fifty bucks short of buying a decent gown from a thrift store down the street. I drag myself out the next morning. I went to the local supermarket parking lot, hunting for discarded cans and bottles to feed into the recycling machines. 

I didn't know that overnight, Mia’s video had completely blown up. Thousands of comments were viciously tearing into the "billionaire Ashford brother" and his "entitled fake sister," demanding justice.

By noon, I had finally filled a massive trash bag with sticky soda cans and crushed water bottles. My spine felt like it was splintering as I leaned over the hot asphalt to tie the plastic shut. 

Before I could even lift the bag, a polished leather dress shoe kicked it violently. 

The cheap plastic ripped wide open. Dozens of cans spilled out, clattering loudly across the pavement and rolling into the dirty gutter. 

I looked up. Julian stood there.

"Eleanor! What the hell is the meaning of that video?" he roared. "Deliberately playing the victim online to cyberbully Eliza? You pushed her into a severe depressive episode! Delete that damn video right now and post a public clarification!"

I stared at the crushed cans at his feet, the cans I had spent three excruciating hours picking up. My stomach cramped, a sharp, twisting agony that made cold sweat break out across my forehead. 

I forced out a weak, raspy laugh. "Clarification? For what? Isn't every word in that video... the truth?"

Taking a single breath felt like swallowing shattered glass. I barely had the energy to stand, let alone yell back at him. 

But to Julian, my physical weakness was just another calculated performance. 

He let out a cold, sharp sneer. "Save the act. You put on this entire pathetic show just to force my hand, didn't you? You think mounting a public PR campaign will make me bring you home early?" He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a vicious hiss. "Fine. You want to throw a tantrum and make a scene? Then just wait and see what happens."

He turned on his heel, got into his waiting black SUV, and sped off. 

I picked the cans back up, trading them in, and buying a simple, pale blue dress. I was just walking out of the thrift store when my phone rang. 

It was Mia. The second I answered, I heard terrifying, hysterical sobbing. 

"Eleanor... I'm so sorry," Mia choked out, her voice trembling so hard. "I can't help you anymore. The video was wiped completely offline, and my TikTok account got permanently banned. I came home from class and my apartment was totally trashed. Everything is destroyed."

"Mia, what happened?"

"My mom... she got home from her diner shift and saw the mess. It shocked her so badly she collapsed. She had a major stroke. She's in the ICU right now." Mia broke down completely. "They forced me to post a public apology... I had to tell everyone I fabricated the entire video just to make them stop. I have to scrape money together for her treatment. I can't be involved in this anymore. I'm so sorry!"

The line went dead.

A freezing chill shot through my veins. 

Julian. He didn't just threaten me. He went after a totally innocent college student who was just trying to help me. 

I spent my remaining cash on an Uber straight to the Ashford estate.

I kicked open the doors of Julian's home office. 

He was sitting behind his desk, casually typing on his laptop. 

I lunged forward, grabbed a heavy crystal paperweight off the coffee table, and hurled it straight at his head. 

He ducked just in time. The crystal smashed into a million pieces against the bookshelves, raining glass everywhere. 

"What the fuck gives you the right to do that to Mia?!" I screamed, my voice tearing my throat raw. 

Julian’s face went rigid. The veins in his neck bulged as he slammed his hands on the desk and shot to his feet. 

"Because she fabricated facts with you to destroy an innocent girl's reputation!" he roared back. "Do you have any idea what you two did to Eliza?! She saw those comments! Her anxiety spiraled. She swallowed a bottle of pills and almost died last night! You nearly murdered her!"

I stared at him. The absolute righteous fury in his eyes made me physically sick. 

"Fabricated facts?" I asked. A cold smile spread across my face. "You dare use the word 'fabricated'?"

I took a step closer, looking dead into his arrogant eyes. 

"Did we fabricate the DNA test, Julian? Did we fabricate you dragging me out of my own home and shipping me off to that hellhole of a reform school?"

Julian froze. The color drained from his cheeks. His lips parted, but no sound came out. 

"You... you know?" he stammered. 

I looked at him, feeling a deep, hollow exhaustion. He didn’t deny it. He didn't look guilty. He knew I was the real daughter of the Ashford family all along, and he still did this to me. 

He quickly composed himself. He adjusted his cuffs, clearing his throat. 

"Listen to me," Julian said, his tone shifting into something falsely comforting. "In two weeks, Eliza is graduating. She's heading out to Oxford for her master's degree. Once she's settled overseas, I will sit down with Mom and Dad. I'll explain the situation and bring you back home. You can go back to being the Ashford heiress."

He crossed his arms, looking at me like he was doing me a massive, charitable favor. 

"Just wait half a month. Once the dust settles, I swear I will compensate you for everything. Your little accomplice will be fine too. I'll drop the pressure, and she won't be in any trouble. Just take down the video, stay quiet, and wait."

Wait half a month.

A single tear slipped down my hollow cheek. I started laughing. The laughter bubbled up from the bottom of my ruined stomach, tearing at my throat. It was a horrible, agonizing sound. 

I clutched my stomach, laughing so hard my vision blurred and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. 

Wait half a month? 

By the time he successfully shipped his fake sister off to her glamorous life in England and finally decided to show me mercy... I would already be rotting in the coffin I was collecting cans to afford......