They Granted Her 100 Wishes And Forgot I Was Dying Too Chapter 03

I spent the last of my money on the cheapest little room I could find down an alley.

The next day, I forced myself out of bed.

It was launch day for my Auron chip.

I’d poured ten years into that chip, designing every part of it myself, from the architecture to the code. It was the core product of the company the five of us had built.

I couldn’t miss a moment this important.

But when I reached the launch venue, a security guard stopped me outside.

“No invitation, no entry.”

“I’m the lead designer on the chip. My name is Maya Bennett.”

I pulled out my employee badge.

The guard held it to the scanner. Nothing happened.

“Ms. Molly Bennett is the project’s lead designer. There’s no Maya Bennett on the team roster.”

“Your badge is fake or your access was revoked. Either way, you’re not getting in.”

As the guard spoke coldly, thunderous applause rose from the ballroom.

Molly stood radiant onstage, microphone in hand, addressing the audience with confidence.

She was reading the speech I’d rewritten countless times.

The audience was full of industry leaders I’d always dreamed of meeting. They called her a brilliant young talent, a genius designer.

Evan stood beside the stage, watching her with admiration.

My brother, Sophie, and Ryan sat in the front row, beaming with pride.

They’d let a thief take credit for ten years of my work.

“Well, if it isn’t the great designer herself. Why are you stuck out here?”

A mocking voice came from behind me.

I turned and found my rival of five years, Claire Shaw.

Years earlier, her father offered me $1.4 million a year to join his company. I turned him down, determined to build a startup with my friends.

For five years, our tech company stood in Shaw Tech’s way. We competed with them openly and behind the scenes.

Now she stood before me with her arms crossed and a contemptuous curl to her lips.

“If you hadn’t been so ungrateful and turned down my dad’s offer to start a company with this bunch, Shaw Tech wouldn’t have lost tens of millions over the years.”

“Now they’ve thrown you out and made you look like a fool. Regret it?”

I wanted nothing to do with her and stepped aside to go around her.

She waved a hand and ordered two bodyguards to drag me into a dark alley.

They pinned me to the ground. Gravel sliced my cheek, and they twisted my broken hand so hard the pain left me drenched in cold sweat.

“What’s the rush?”

Claire crouched and slapped a stack of hundred-dollar bills against my cheek.

“Slap yourself ten times and admit you made a terrible choice.”

“Then maybe I’ll give you enough to get that hand treated.”

“Otherwise I’ll break your other hand and your legs, too!”

I clenched my teeth. “In your dreams.”

“A loser with nowhere to go, and you still have the nerve to snap at me?”

Claire’s smile vanished. She tossed the cash behind her.

“Teach this arrogant idiot a lesson. Keep going until she begs.”

The blows rained down. I trembled with pain, but I never begged.

The commotion caught the attention of the group leaving the launch.

“Isn’t that Maya?”

Sophie spoke quietly.

My brother turned and frowned, starting toward me. Ryan followed.

Evan started toward the alley, too, but Molly suddenly began wiping away tears.

“You know, when Maya first came back to the family, people cornered me outside the office and humiliated me just like that.”

“But everyone was with her then. No one cared about me.”

“Today was supposed to be such a happy day. Maybe I shouldn’t have come and ruined it for everyone…”

She made as if to leave, crying. My brother stopped and hurried to block her path, his face full of concern.

“Don’t say that. Today is your day. We promised to spend it with you and no one else.”

Evan hurried over to comfort her.

“Exactly. Don’t let some stranger upset you.”

Sophie and Ryan agreed.

They crowded around Molly and fussed over her without looking my way again.

Claire saw it and laughed harder. She stamped on my ankle.

A sharp crack split the air.

Everything went black.