Page 19

Ellie beamed, completely unbothered. She patted the check, then shoved it back toward Jenelia. “Sign, big sis. Write five hundred thousand in bold letters.”
“I amnotyour big sis! Don’t call me that!” Jenelia growled, snatching the check from Ellie’s hands. Then, with barely restrained fury, she scrawled her signature across the paper, the pen nearly breaking under the pressure.
The second Jenelia lifted the pen, Ellie snatched the check up, inspecting it with a bright grin. She looked up, met Jenelia’s furious gaze, and nodded. “Alright, Jenelia. I got it.”
Jenelia’s rage boiled over. “You—”
But before she could finish, Ellie grabbed her suitcase and bolted toward the door. “I’ll leave now. Thanks, Jenelia!”
"GET LOST!" Jenelia’s roar echoed through the Stark estate as Ellie skipped out of the house, a victorious grin on her face.
Clutching the check tightly, Ellie stepped out of the Stark house. She took a deep breath, basking in the freedom, almost skipping a few steps with a bright grin on her face.
“Excuse me, madam.”
A voice interrupted her blissful moment. Ellie turned to see a young man on a bike pulling up beside her.
“Are you Ellie Madden?” he asked, balancing a large food delivery on his handlebars.
“Yeah.” Ellie flashed him a carefree smile.
The boy handed over the food delivery package. “Here, Mr. Stark sent this for you from Machoman Inn.”
Ellie’s eyes widened in delight. “This night just keeps getting better!” she squealed, eagerly grabbing the bag. “Thanks!”
She placed the bag on top of her suitcase, securing it with one arm before striding away from the Stark house. The city buzzed around her—cars honking, neon lights flickering, and the night sky stretching endlessly above.
Just as she was basking in her newfound freedom, her phone rang. Without glancing at the screen, she picked up, her voice lilting into a cheerful sing-song. “Hellooo—”
“Ellie, set up the dinner table. I’ll be home in ten minutes.” Sawyer’s deep, casual voice came through the receiver, the faint sound of honking signaling he was already on the road.
Ellie froze. Her lips parted in shock before she cursed under her breath. ‘Damn it! Why the heck didn’t I check the caller ID before picking it up?!’
Thinking fast, she spoke in the most exaggerated, high-pitched, robotic voice she could muster. “The number you’re trying to dial is no longer in service. Please refrain from calling this number again if you don’t want to end up in jail. Ting!”
“What?! Hello?” Sawyer called out, sounding confused.
Ellie immediately hung up and blocked his number. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she stared at the red ‘Blocked’ notification, a triumphant smile on her face.
“This is for the best, Narcissistic Stark.” she declared, lifting her chin. “Before you throw me out of your life and your house, I’ll take what I can and leave first on my own. You can enjoy your perfect little life with your high-nosed childhood sweetheart. At least I’ll have half a million to live off of for a while.”
Huffing out loud, she shoved the phone back into her purse, but her fingers brushed against something—a piece of paper. She pulled it out, and her smile faded.
It was a photograph.
Two children—a boy in a green striped pajama set and a girl in pink—stood hand in hand, grinning at the camera. But while the girl looked straight ahead, the boy’s gaze was locked on her, as if she were his whole world.
Ellie inhaled sharply, her thumb tracing the worn edges of the picture. A lump formed in her throat.
“This is the only proof I have that I had a family before I lost my memory. It’s been so many years already. I don’t know who this boy is or how long it’ll take me to find my family.” she murmured. “He must be someone very close to my heart. Even when I was burning, I still held onto this photo like a lifeline.”
She stared at the image, the faintest trace of warmth flickering in her chest.
A sudden blare of a car horn jolted her back to reality.
Ellie shook her head, frowning at the picture before stuffing it back into her purse.
"Meh, whatever." She growled in frustration. "First, I have to figure out how I'm going to get more money now that I've lost my personal ATM. How am I supposed to treat Uncle Tony? Even though he was just a stranger, he spent so much just to fix my burnt face and body with surgeries before he got into that damn car accident and fell into a coma. I’d be a heartless animal if I left him in a care home instead of finding a way to get him back on his feet with treatment."