Chapter 2

The voice on the other end was careful, and a smile was impossible to hide.

“Good! Good! My Alice!”

I hung up and shoved my phone back into my pocket, while laughter was still going on inside.

“Mom, how much money did that idiot send this time?”

“Three hundred thousand. With everything from before, it’s almost enough for Thompson to study abroad for a while.”

“Mom really knows how to handle things. She’s got Alice that fool wrapped around her finger.”

With a blank face, I pushed open the half-closed door.

The three people in the room—my mom, Bella; my stepfather, Harris; and my younger half-brother, Thompson—froze with their smiles still on their faces.

My mom was the first to react. She immediately clutched her chest and started coughing hard, her face going pale as death, looking like she could keel over any second.

“Alice, you’re back... cough cough... why didn’t you say something first? Look at you, you’ve gotten so thin from working at the construction site.”

She was so good at acting.

For three years, she had tricked me into giving her everything with that same act.

Harris hurried to back her up too. “Yeah, Alice, sit down. Your mom’s been talking about you this whole time.”

Only Thompson, the precious son they spoiled rotten, didn’t bother hiding his disgust.

He pinched his nose and exaggeratedly took two steps back.

“You reek of sweat. Disgusting! Alice, can’t you wash up before coming in?”

I ignored him and went straight to my mom. “Did you get the money?”

My mom froze for a moment, then quickly put on a weak but relieved smile.

“We got it, Alice. You’ve really suffered. My illness is all depending on you.”

“Now that the money’s enough, let’s go to the hospital tomorrow for the bone marrow match.”

A flash of panic crossed my mom’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by greed.

She grabbed my hand. Her hands were well cared for, soft and smooth, completely different from mine.

“Alice, the doctor said... said the surgery fee went up again. We’re still short a little bit...”

“And the matching isn’t urgent. Your health matters most.”

“You need to recover more, build yourself up nice and strong. That way the bone marrow quality will be best.”

I looked at her and suddenly smiled.

“Really? I thought you were all in a hurry.”

“After all, if we don’t get the bone marrow swapped soon, Thompson won’t be able to hide it much longer.”