Chapter 1: The Last Card
My aunt wanted to adopt my little sister after our parents d*ed just to get her hands on the money — she had no idea I had one more card to play.
I'm Michael, 19.
Three months ago, my parents p*ssed away in a massive house fire.
My 7-year-old sister, Vicky, survived only because I rescued her myself.
Since that night, I've been her sole guardian.
I left my dream college and took two jobs.
Life wasn't easy, but I did everything I could to make sure Vicky had everything she needed.
Then Aunt Denise and her husband, Howard, showed up.
They hadn't visited in years.
But now they wanted to become Vicky's guardians.
"You're nineteen," Denise cooed.
"Go enjoy your life.
Let the grown-ups raise her."
When I refused, child services began receiving complaints.
Denise claimed I left Vicky alone, barely fed her, and frightened her with my temper.
Every lie brought another inspection.
And every time Denise and Howard took Vicky for the weekend, she came home in tears.
One evening, she whispered, "They get mad because I won't call them Mommy and Daddy."
I was furious, but there was nothing I could do.
Child services refused to listen, dismissing me as a young, unreliable kid.
Then one afternoon, I arrived early to pick Vicky up.
My bike tire had gone flat, so I crouched beneath Denise and Howard's open window to fix it before taking my sister home.
That was when I heard something that made my heart stop cold.
"The sooner we get guardianship and ship that girl off to boarding school, the better," Denise snapped.
"I can't stand having her here.
All she does is cry for my sister.
I'm sick of it."
"Just hold on a little longer, dear," Howard replied.
"Think about all the money we'll get.
Once it's ours, we'll never have to work another day."
My hands were trembling.
I waited a few minutes, then knocked on the door as if I hadn't heard a word.
The next day was the final hearing, where a judge would decide who Vicky would live with.
Denise arrived dressed to the nines, smiling as though she had already won.
"Let's settle this quickly," she said.
"My daughter, Vicky, and I have a very busy day planned."
But there was one thing Denise didn't know.
I still had one final card to play.
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What did Michael hear — and what is that final card?
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