Chapter 3Back at My Brother's Birthday From Hell

I ignored Samuel's taunt, shrugged off my jacket, and draped it over Rowan's shoulders.

He flinched, then looked up at me and said in a small voice, "Thank you."

People all around the restaurant were staring. Samuel gritted his teeth, then spun toward our parents and wailed, "Mom, Dad, look at Jeremiah! He's taking a stranger's side and bullying me!"

My mother's face went dark. She pinched my arm hard. "So your loyalty's to outsiders now? I swear you're nothing but an ingrate! Sam is your brother, yet you're helping some nobody instead. Do you have any idea how expensive his shoes are?"

I gritted my teeth through the pain. "Just let the waiter go. I'll pay for the shoes."

My mother snorted and tore into me. "You'll pay? With what? Doesn't your money come from our family? Acting generous with our cash now, are you?"

I shook my head and pulled out my wallet. "This is money I earned from my job."

The moment Samuel heard that, his tone turned sarcastic. "Mom, Dad, what does Jeremiah mean? He's the Stone family's eldest son, yet he went and got a job for pocket money. Does he want people to hear about this and think that we're mistreating him?"

My mother's expression frosted over. She snatched my wallet and hurled it to the floor, jabbing a finger in my face as she shrieked, "I get it now. You went out and got a job so you could make everyone pity you and think we're abusing you, didn't you? How can you be this manipulative?"

My wallet hit the ground and burst open, a few sad bills fluttering out. Samuel stepped right onto them, grinding his sole against the money, sneering. "Wow. All this big talk, and all you have are these few lousy bills. This wouldn't even cover the tax on my shoes!"

He turned back to Rowan, his eyes even more malicious than before. "I'll say this once more—lick my shoes clean!"

Rowan's fingers twisted in the hem of his shirt, his lips pressed so hard together that they'd gone white.

Mr. Wade was beside himself with rage. He hissed, "What are you waiting for? Do it! You wanna keep this job or not?"

Rowan shook all over, his eyes turning red from unshed tears.

My chest tightened. I wanted to step in, but my mother shoved me hard and snapped, "Are you still trying to play the hero, Jeremiah? You open your mouth one more time, and you'll be disowned from this family. As far as I'm concerned, I never gave birth to an ingrate like you!"

I stumbled into the corner of the table, a sharp pain shooting through my waist.

My father frowned at me, then snapped, "You're a disgrace!"

Then, he turned to Mr. Wade, his tone turning cold and heavy. "Mr. Wade, our patience has its limits. If you don't deal with this matter to our satisfaction, don't expect us to ever do business with you again."

Sweat beaded on Mr. Wade's forehead. He grabbed the back of Rowan's neck in a vice grip and tried to force his head down.

As Rowan struggled with everything he had, a small gold pendant slipped out from inside his collar.

Samuel's eyes flashed with greed. He lunged forward and grabbed it. "What's this?"

I recognized it instantly. It was an heirloom passed down in the Graham family, the city's wealthiest family. In my last life, it was how they'd tracked Rowan down and reunited with him.

The pendant glowed with a soft, warm sheen under the lights. One look at it was enough to tell that it was worth a fortune.

Rowan hurriedly clutched at his collar and cried, "That's all I have left from my parents!"

Samuel yanked hard on the chain, leaving an angry red mark around Rowan's neck. The gold pendant dropped straight into his palm.

Rowan lunged to grab it back, but Samuel kicked him away. Turning the pendant over in his hand, Samuel's lips curled with satisfaction.

"Not bad," he drawled. "Didn't expect a broke waiter like you to be hiding something this nice."

He tied the broken chain in a knot and slipped the pendant around his neck, tilting his chin arrogantly. "Since you can't afford to pay me back for dirtying my shoes, this will cover the debt. It's worth maybe a fraction of what these shoes cost, so you should thank your lucky stars I'm willing to settle for this."

Rowan's eyes turned bloodshot as he tried to get to his feet. "I'm begging you, please give it back. It's the only thing my parents left me!"

Samuel stared down at the pendant, admiring it. He didn't even spare Rowan a glance. "You're just a broke waiter. Your parents probably dug through trash just to survive. No way they could afford a gold pendant like this."

His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Unless… Don't tell me you stole this."