I wiped my tears dry and made my way to a run-down apartment building. Aunt Harriet had been waiting for me for a long time.

I had nothing left now. Nothing except the aunt who loved me most in this world. She was the only one who had ever truly cared for me, the only one who had ever stood up for me, from the time I was small.

She steadied me with trembling hands as I stepped through the door. "Libby, your hands are freezing. I already made you a cup of your favorite hot cocoa. Drink it while it's warm."

Aunt Harriet was the only family member who had ever been good to me. A car accident years ago had left her paralyzed from the waist down, confined to a wheelchair ever since.

She warmed my icy hands in hers while I sipped the cocoa and poured out everything that had happened.

Her eyes glistened when she heard it all. "Don't be afraid, sweetheart. They don't cherish you, but I do."

I buried my face in her lap and let my whole body go slack. She was the only thing tying me to this place. Every good memory from my childhood had her in it.

She had never been able to stand the way my parents poured everything into Agatha, their precious biological daughter, and blamed me whenever there was a conflict for not yielding to my little sister.

All those countless times they left me behind and went out as a family of three, it was Aunt Harriet who came to pick me up and take me home. In my eyes, she was my real mother.

The thought made my nose sting. I couldn't hold back the quiet sobs. She thought I was cold, and she shifted to wrap her arms around me, pulling me close.

That night, for the first time in what felt like forever, I slept soundly. I didn't wake until the sun was high overhead, the smell of a home-cooked meal drifting into the room. Aunt Harriet had already prepared all my favorite dishes.

She was a wonderful cook, and I ate until I was full and content. She worried about my body after the miscarriage and wanted me to rest and build my strength back up.

"Libby, you stay here and rest. I'm going out to pick up some herbal supplements for you."

She insisted on going alone. All she wanted was for me to stay home and recover. I didn't feel right about it, but there was no arguing with her.

She had barely been gone a minute when I heard a scream.

"Help!"

I threw open the door and found her on the ground, crumpled beside her overturned wheelchair.

"Aunt Harriet!" I dropped to my knees and gathered her up, struggling to lift her. Then I saw the blood covering my hands. A scream tore out of me, and I called an ambulance immediately.

In the back of the ambulance, my breathing came in ragged gasps. She kept drifting in and out of consciousness, mumbling my name. My vision blurred with tears as I pressed close to her, gripping her hand so tight my knuckles went white, terrified that something terrible was happening.

I paced outside the examination room, grabbing every doctor who walked in or out, begging for an update.

The wait dragged on, unbearable. I needed air and turned toward the window, only to come face to face with Frederick and Agatha.

Frederick was at her side, one hand supporting her arm, the other holding a prenatal report.

"Everything looks great. All the markers are normal." He nodded with satisfaction. "This baby is going to be perfectly healthy."

Agatha's face glowed with smugness. "Of course it will. I'm not like my sister, that useless waste who couldn't even keep a baby alive."

I didn't want to see them. I turned to leave, but walked right into them.

"Oh, sis! What are you doing here?" Agatha's voice dripped with mock concern. "Another allergic reaction? Or did you lose another baby?"

Her eyes landed on the worn knitted cap in my hands, and she snatched it away.

"God, how tacky."

"That's my aunt's hat. Give it back." My glare could have cut glass. I ripped it out of her grip.

Aunt Harriet had never had any use for either of them. She only tolerated them for my sake. After her accident left her in a wheelchair, neither of them had visited her once.

Agatha and Frederick exchanged a glance, taking a long moment before they even realized who I was talking about.

"Oh, that crippled old woman?" A cruel smile played across Agatha's lips. "She's still alive?"

"Your aunt was never exactly pleasant, Libby." Frederick reached for my arm. "You should stop wasting your time on that dead weight and come home."

I wrenched free of his hand, spun around, and slapped Agatha across the face. Hard. Again. And again.

Everyone froze. The woman who had always been gentle and composed was now striking with everything she had.

"If you ever insult my aunt again, next time it won't be your face I go after."

Agatha shrieked that I'd lost my mind and lunged at me. I sidestepped at the last second and she flew past, slamming face-first into the wall.

"You bitch!" Agatha howled, blood streaming from her nose as she clutched her face.

Frederick looked between the two of us, both burning with fury, and realized nothing he said would make a difference. He grabbed Agatha and hauled her away.

I looked down at my stinging palm, and for the first time in a long time, something inside me unclenched.

The test results finally came back. The doctor's hesitant expression made my blood run cold.

They'd found a tumor. Aunt Harriet needed surgery immediately. The success rate was high, but the cost was staggering.

She must have known for a while. She hadn't wanted to burden me, and that was why she'd let it go this long.

I agreed without a second thought. But when I tried to swipe my card, the system flagged it for verification. I had no choice but to call Frederick and explain the situation.

"Don't waste the money. You just hurt Agatha. Getting her treated is more important right now." He hung up.

I was frantic. I scrolled through every contact on my phone, and in the end, I called Joseph.

He didn't ask questions. He wired several million dollars and told me to spend whatever I needed. I thanked him over and over, then worked with the doctor to schedule the surgery right away.

Meanwhile, Agatha was staring at her reddened cheek in a mirror, grinding her teeth with rage. Frederick rushed to soothe her. "It's all Libby's fault. Don't be upset, Agatha. Here, take this new black card. Buy whatever you want."

Agatha took the card and finally stopped crying, though the fury still simmered beneath the surface.

"She loves that old woman so much she'd beg and borrow just to pay for surgery," Frederick mused, a cruel smile playing at his lips. "Imagine how devastated she'd be if the surgery failed."

He called the hospital shortly after and made all the arrangements.

The next morning, Aunt Harriet was wheeled into the operating room. I waited outside, watching the clock. A procedure that should have taken two hours stretched to four.

When the medical staff finally emerged, they brought only one piece of news: Aunt Harriet was dead.

My entire body shook. "The success rate was practically guaranteed. How could it fail? Why did it take so long?"

The attending physician stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. It was a young nurse beside him who spoke up. "Mr. Simmons said it was just a minor procedure, so only an intern was assigned. The chief surgeon was called away hours ago to attend to Miss Dickerson..."

The nurse and the intern stood there with sweat beading on their foreheads. It had been their very first surgery. The outcome was inevitable.

The blow shattered something inside me. My body went ice-cold. Nausea surged up my throat until I was doubled over, dry-heaving. It felt like plummeting into a bottomless abyss. The two of them had done something so unconscionably evil, and Aunt Harriet had paid the price.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails bit into my palms, then slammed them against the wall again and again until my strength gave out and I collapsed to the floor. Aunt Harriet's knitted cap was clutched in my hands, soaked through with tears.

The intern rushed to help me up. "Before the anesthesia, the patient kept calling your name. She wanted you to take care of yourself and get some rest."

I wiped my eyes and forced myself to hold it together. The surgical light went dark. They wheeled her out. I threw my arms around Aunt Harriet's cold body and held on. The one person in this world who had truly loved me was gone forever.

I handled the funeral alone. Sorting through her belongings, the cremation, arranging the headstone. I hadn't closed my eyes in over twenty-four hours.

Hardly anyone came. I called my parents to let them know, but they hung up before I could finish.

"She only ever cared about you, didn't she? Then you can mourn her by yourself."

They couldn't have cared less. All they told me was to hurry up and come home for a family gathering to celebrate Agatha's pregnancy.

I hated them down to the marrow of my bones. I swore silently over that grave that I would get justice for Aunt Harriet and make every last one of them pay. The family gathering would be the perfect opportunity to drag their filth into the light and turn them against each other.

I nodded obediently, playing the dutiful daughter. But the plan was already taking shape in my mind.

I stood before Aunt Harriet's headstone for a long time, saying nothing. A fine rain began to fall. Frederick appeared beside me, holding an umbrella over my head. "Libby, my condolences. Given your aunt's condition, maybe passing on was a mercy."

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "For me, leaving would be a mercy too."

Frederick didn't understand what I meant. He moved to lay flowers at the grave, but Agatha's voice cut in from a distance.

"Are we done yet? When are we leaving?" Impatience was written all over her face. She'd shown up to the funeral, but inside, she was happier than anyone.

"Go ahead without me. I want to be alone." I pushed Frederick away and let the rain soak through me.

After the funeral, I called Joseph to thank him, and to ask for one more favor.

"Of course. You never have to be polite with me."

"I've already made the introductions here. Whenever you're ready, there's a seat on the board waiting for you."

He sent over a series of documents. I looked them over and nodded, satisfied.

When I got home, I packed up my personal belongings and came across the old love letters, along with every expensive gift he'd ever given me.

I sorted through all of it, then burned every last letter. The luxury gifts I sold off, down to the final piece.

The money went to a disability charity in Aunt Harriet's name. A small comfort for her spirit, wherever she was.

That evening, before the family gathering, I wasn't feeling well. When I stepped into the bathroom, I noticed bloodstained tissue in the trash. Someone was on her period.

Instinct told me something was off. I crept downstairs and rifled through Agatha's things until I found her prenatal report. Sure enough, same old trick. The report was forged.

I tucked myself into a corner and watched. Agatha slipped into the bathroom with a bottle of painkillers, thinking no one saw her.

I texted Joseph immediately. Five minutes later, he sent me Agatha's real medical report.

Night fell, and the family gathering was in full swing. The house had been decorated like a fairytale castle. Agatha was dolled up to perfection, but no amount of makeup could hide the exhaustion written across her face.

My parents were celebrating Agatha's pregnancy, announcing that she'd already found a boyfriend and they were planning the wedding.

When everyone raised their glasses, I turned and handed Agatha a slice of cake. "Have some more, sis. Pregnancy must be exhausting." I paused, letting my smile settle. "Faking one must be even worse."

"Faking it?" Every eye in the room went wide. Agatha broke into a cold sweat, and the cake slipped from her fingers, splattering across the floor.

"Have you lost your mind?" Frederick shot to his feet and pulled her behind him. My parents told me to stop talking nonsense.

I smiled and tossed the real medical report onto the table, followed by the evidence that the two of them had been siphoning my parents' assets.

"You two might want to stop protecting them," I said, tilting my head toward my parents. "Unless you somehow haven't noticed that they've bled you dry."

My father's face went white. He snatched up the documents. Once the truth sank in, he wheeled on Frederick with a roar. "What is this? You told me you were using Libby's money!"

Frederick stood there with nothing to say. He turned to me, expecting me to explain, to smooth things over. I didn't say a word. Instead, I pulled out the divorce papers I'd had drawn up long ago.

"From this moment on, your problems are no longer mine. Consider this your official notice: you're leaving this marriage with nothing."

My parents' assets were now entirely in my name. Everything they'd handed over to Agatha had been clawed back by force. All those two would inherit were the loan shark debts Agatha had racked up.

The divorce agreement gave me the lion's share of Frederick's wealth as well.

Within seconds the room erupted. Frederick demanded to know how long Agatha had been lying to him. My parents grabbed Frederick, shouting about why they were drowning in debt. Agatha crumbled, clutching her head and sobbing, unable to get a single word out.

What had been a picture-perfect family dinner dissolved into chaos. I watched them shove and scream and point fingers, each one blaming the others, and all I felt was a quiet, bone-deep satisfaction.

I turned and walked out the door. Joseph's car was already waiting. The moment I climbed in, I pulled the new diamond ring off my finger and tossed it out the window.

"What's going on in there?" Joseph glanced toward the house. "I could hear the shouting from out here."

"Don't worry about it. Just a pack of selfish people choking on what they deserve."

I powered off my phone, tossed it onto the curb, and never looked back.