I Stole My Brother’s Destiny Chapter 07

I Stole My Brother’s Destiny Chapter 07

Maybe the disgust in my voice had been too obvious.

After that day, Joe never came to the hospital again.

My life moved on, steady and quiet.

After I was discharged, with Peter and Sarah’s help, I got out of that house for good.

A place that had felt more like hell than home.

Once Peter’s family heard that I had saved his life, they treated me like family, too.

Everyone said I had gotten lucky, that I had caught Peter’s eye and climbed my way up.

Peter’s granddaughter, Thea Howell, shut them up on the spot.

“If you’re so great, why don’t you save my grandpa’s life? Who says Mae’s climbing up? She’s a great person. If anything, we’re the lucky ones for having her join our family.”

Despite her standing up for me, the gossip didn’t disappear. It just went quieter, more hidden.

At school, people looked at me differently.

On my way home, familiar faces would whisper behind my back.

I knew exactly where it was coming from: the Castros.

They told everyone I had turned my back on them, that I had latched onto Peter instead.

Joe even made it clear to everyone that Felicity was his only sister.

They thought it would make me regret it.

They thought I would realize how important that family was, come crawling back, and hand over my connection to Peter to help pave their way.

So they waited and waited.

But what they got instead was Peter officially taking me in as his god-granddaughter and my acceptance letter from Blackstone University, the top university in the country.

That was when they finally went quiet.

Peter’s family threw a big party to celebrate my achievement.

The same people who used to talk behind my back suddenly changed their tune.

“Commander Howell really knows how to spot talent. His granddaughter got into Blackstone. That’s a big deal!”

“Right? Meanwhile, the Castros are busy doting on that foster girl. I heard she didn’t even get into a decent college. Can’t even find a job. It’s pathetic!”

Joe showed up at the compound once, probably planning to fix things with me.

After hearing those comments, he left, furious.

The next time I heard anything about them, most of the Castros were already gone.

Peter didn’t hold back. He reported Joe to the military, and Joe was discharged on the spot.

Word spread quickly. Everyone knew he had neglected his duty, skipping out during work hours to set off fireworks with his

foster sister, while Peter had nearly drowned because of it.

That was it for him. He had completely burned bridges with Peter, and there was no coming back from that.

Joe couldn’t accept it. He blamed everything on Felicity and me, and he also grew to hate William for keeping him in the dark.

From someone everyone once saw as promising, he became nothing more than a drunk who spent his days gambling, taking it out on Felicity and William whenever he felt like it.

When people tried to intervene, he spilled all their dirty secrets without holding anything back.

Because of that, everyone found out William had driven his wife to death and brought his illegitimate daughter home.

The Castros’ reputation collapsed overnight.

Even William’s former lover became the target of gossip, lost her stable job, and quietly moved to another city.

William and Felicity, beaten black and blue by Joe, finally couldn’t take it anymore. They conspired and slipped rat poison into his food.

But Joe wasn’t an idiot. With his military background, he immediately sensed something was off. He flipped the table, and the three of them got into a violent fight.

William was already old, and Felicity was no match for him. They didn’t stand a chance. They were beaten to death.

Joe didn’t come out unscathed, either. He lost a leg and would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Before he was taken away, he asked someone to pass a message to me.

Just a simple one.

“I’m sorry.”

I believe that, this time, he meant it.

But by then, I no longer cared.

I wasn’t just Peter’s god-granddaughter. I was also a student at Blackstone University, with a future as bright as everyone said.

All those rotten people and everything tied to them had long since stopped having anything to do with me.