Chapter 6
With money In my pocket, everything became easier.
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I ventured to the nearby university and enlisted some stunning college students to distribute flyers for tutoring gigs around their campus.
After an initial screening, I selected nine tutors to join my venture.
I then sprang into action, directly pitching to parents at the transition points between primary and secondary education, as well as targeting local high schools.
3:33 PM
Right on the spot, I impressed them with my abilities, reciting poetry from memory and solving complex high school math problems in real
time.
My tutoring center took off with great success.
Well before I secured the apont, I had all my ducks in a row for opening shop.
I was the epitome of a good kid; breaking the law was never on my agenda.
While claiming to pay my tutors generously, I funneled the profits into my own account and instructed Amanda to covertly purchase loose shares from Bruce’s company.
He might have held the majority stake, but his focus was on charming women, leaving him blind to the corporate maneuvers happening under his nose.
Our stealthy acquisitions didn’t raise any alarms.
He was probably too entangled in romantic escapades to notice.
By the time Amanda held more shares than any other individual shareholder, becoming the second largest, I had reached high school, and my brother was now three years old.
Children grew up in the blink of an eye, and I limited my visits to the family villa to holidays, otherwise keeping my distance.
I told everyone I was buckling down on academics, with plans to accelerate into university.
Initially, Bruce doubted my academic prowess, assuming I was just sulking and avoiding home.
All he could do was provide financial support, which I took, acting as if I was disheartened.
However, just like they say, every cloud has a silver lining.
In my excitement, I let loose on the exams, not restraining my abilities, which led to my teacher insisting on advancing me by two years, directly approaching the principal with the proposal.
Why? Well, pretending to be any younger would’ve been too much of a stretch for me.
This academic jump left Bruce in awe.
Suddenly, he stopped pushing me to move back into the villa. Instead, he gave me a lot more freedom.
If I’d known that jumping grades would give me this kind of leverage, I would’ve done it ages ago.
But then, as I spent more time around my brother, I started noticing something odd.
Sure, the kid’s features were fine, but none of them resembled Bruce’s.
In fact, he bore a strange resemblance to that popular actor who was the talk of the town in my former life.
It felt like the pieces of the puzzle were finally clicking into place; I was on the verge of uncovering the truth.
That very night, I reached out online to a master of physiognomy, Mike, whose insights into fate through facial features I had been quietly following for some time.
I didn’t fully believe in his skills, but I enjoyed his streams for the entertainment and the juicy gossip he’d spill.
Still, from what I’d seen, Mike seemed to have more than just a knack for reading faces.
I hesitated for a moment and sent him Bruce’s photo through a private message, asking him to check out Bruce’s prospects for children.
Mike glanced at the photo and said, “This one’s too touched up. I can’t see clearly. Send me a natural shot, girl.”
I was startled.
3:33 PM
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How did he know I was a girl?
My social media profile was disguised with a male classmate’s photo.
I murmured, “This old guy really has something going for him.”
I quickly got out of bed, making a swift path to the living room, where Bruce was enveloped by the flickering light of the TV. I launched into an unexpected photo session.
“Front’s in the bag! Now, let’s see that profile; perfect! Flash me a smile for the closeup! And now, the full upper body to top it off,” I announced with excitement.
He looked utterly confused, but I made up some excuse on the spot, blaming it on a school project.
After sending over dozens of fresh photos to Mike, he paused during his livestream, glanced at them, and then said with a sigh, “Little trouble, you’re just wasting my storage space.”
But then, he gave me a clear answer: Bruce was destined to have a weak bond with children. I would be his only child.
“Oh boy, Helen’s doomed, isn’t she?” I exclaimed.
I was practically rubbing my hands in excitement as I gathered all the evidence, ready to confront her.
But just as I was about to make my move, I got a call from the hospital.
Amanda was in an accident.
By the time I rushed to the hospital, I could only stand there, watching through the thick glass as Amanda lay covered in tubes.
A piercing pain shot through me, spreading from my heart to every corner of my body.
Fragmented memories flooded back: Amanda on a hospital bed, the flatline on the heart monitor, and my own screams erupting from my
chest.
The scene morphed before my eyes: above, the sky was an expanse of brooding darkness; my hands were stained, and the blood was
everywhere.
I snapped my eyes open. Fury set my eyes ablaze.
I remembered everything now.
