Chapter 67

“Nicole is her sister, so why would she lie?” My mother was completely convinced by Nicole’s story.

Grandma let out a cold laugh. “And Amanda swears she didn’t push her. Why don’t you believe her? Nicole is Amanda’s sister. Why would Amanda shove her into the water? What benefit would that bring her?”

“Mom, I think you’re just arguing. There were so many people at the festival; it’s possible Amanda accidentally pushed her sister amidst the chaos and is denying it to avoid blame. We need to sort out the truth. Amanda is already well-settled in the Reyes family and has everything. Soon, Nicole will be of marrying age. I’m planning ahead and thinking of giving her some shares to strengthen her position when the time comes.”

What a thoughtful mother. She was already planning Nicole’s wedding before there was even a whisper of it.

I wanted to ask her, what about me? Am I not her daughter, too?

The Reyes family’s wedding gift was extravagant: a thirty-million-dollar mansion, a luxury car, and over one hundred million dollars in cash. For the Reyes family, this was more than respectable.

But my side of the family? My mother claimed the company was doing poorly and cut my promised wedding gift from $28 million to just $80,000. She swapped a prime retail space worth ten million dollars for one barely worth a million in the outskirts.

My wedding gift was drastically slashed, but by then, I had already given up on Chase, and after losing our child, these material things didn’t matter anymore. No amount of money could bring back my child.

Even six months ago, I knew the Reyes Corporation had profited immensely from several projects for the Kennedy family; we weren’t short on cash. They just wanted to keep everything for Nicole, who coveted a luxury collector’s jewelry set worth over eighty million dollars. Without hesitation, my mother used the money intended for my wedding gift to buy it.

When the jewelry arrived, I peeked through the door and saw my mother, beaming with pride, fitting Nicole with the set. Her eyes were filled with undeniable maternal love. She said, “Nicole, you deserve the best in the world.”

Clearly, I didn’t matter to her at all. She’d drained my wedding gift and was now after Grandma’s shares, too.

Grandma was livid. “Take your junk and get out. Don’t think I don’t know what you and your husband are up to. I’m the only one in this house who truly cares for Amanda. Everything I have is for her, and no one else is getting a piece of it! Get out!”

Grandma’s anger caused a fit of coughing. I wanted to help her, but my hand passed right through her back. My mother was ushered out, and I saw Nicole waiting outside. They were whispering complaints to each other; Nicole tried to soothe my mother. “Mom, it’s okay. They’re just shares. If I don’t want them, they can go to my sister.”

As she said this, I caught a sinister glint in Nicole’s eyes, and unease washed over me. Delivering the dinnerware was definitely her doing!

I rushed towards the porcelain dinnerware, and sure enough, I was sucked into it by a beam of light, just as before. My ashes were inside that dinnerware set. This heartless creature had actually given my ashes to Grandma.