جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 9

Vincent crouched before me and patted my dirt-streaked face. "There's going to be a private birthday celebration at the Jacobson residence tomorrow evening, and they're short of a party clown. Mr. Jacobson has requested your services."If you do well and make him happy, I'll not only overlook this complaint, but also pay you twice the wages we docked from your paycheck and the 200-dollar tip."I shook my head instinctively. "No… I'm not going…"Vincent snorted. "Fine, don't go. But your reputation in the industry will be ruined. I'll leave you to consider your chances of finding a new job after that."Two security guards charged forward, grabbed me under my arms, and dragged me to the back door. They roughly tossed me beside the bags of trash in the back alley.There was a sudden raging downpour, and rainwater soaked through the flimsy fabric of my clown costume.I lay in the muddy water and glanced at my prosthetic leg, the rusty rod inside it exposed through a crack. A hopeless

"I was going to give you a second chance, but seeing as you're so incorrigible, sign that in front of everyone!" Mom's gaze was sharp and unforgiving. "Sign the papers and get the hell out of the Jacobson residence!"From now on, you'll have nothing to do with our family, whether you live or die. You could go around begging or die in a ditch somewhere for all we care!"Lightning split the sky, followed by the crack of thunder. The sky began to pour again.I stared at the agreement as pain crept into my chest. I'd stopped holding out for Mom's love over the last few years, but why did I still feel as if my heart would shatter?Perhaps I should've died seven years ago.I picked the pen off the ground and signed my name on the agreement. Before leaving, I fetched the misshapen lucky amulet from the floor and leveled a long, hard look at Mom. Her face was contorted with anger, but she was still beautiful, courtesy of her immaculate skincare."Mom," I called out softly. "This is the l

Darren froze. Panic flickered in his eyes, but he hid it just as quickly. He dramatically clamped a hand over his mouth, his eyes turning red as if he were tearing up. "Maybe Ethan really is short of money. Otherwise, he wouldn't have faked his death and deliberately ordered a prosthetic leg…"The shock in Mom's eyes turned into untempered rage when she heard this."What a load of crap!" She slammed her phone on the table and hissed through gritted teeth, "Come on! We're going to that prosthetist's place and see what Ethan is playing at!"If I find out he's been lying to me, I'll break his leg if it's the last thing I do!"Darren linked arms with Mom, a smug smirk tugging on the corner of his mouth.I hovered in mid-air as I took in this scene, feeling cold all over as I thought bitterly, "Mom, after everything, would you still choose to believe Darren over me and ignore the pain I'm in?"Mom sped through the streets like a maniac. I settled down in the passenger seat, gazing out

I stared at the 200 dollars and felt a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry for getting dirt and blood on the cash, Mom. I'd been so worried about losing the money. My life depended on it, after all, and it was the last bit of cash I got from you."A sharp, guttural scream tore free from Mom's throat. She fell to her knees, bowing her head so low that her forehead smacked the ground. The muffled thud of the impact reverberated through the morgue. "Ethan! I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I didn't know… I really didn't know!"I drifted downward and wrapped my incorporeal arms around her and comforted her quietly, "Stop, Mom. You'll hurt yourself if you keep knocking your head on the ground. I'm not hurting anymore, really. Not even a little bit."The police officer sighed at the rich, elegant woman who'd broken down in tears, then handed her an old cellphone with a cracked screen. "We found this on the deceased's person. After technical restoration, we discovered an audio recording that had