- 6.
I left the hospital, phone in hand. I was
waiting for a call.
I didn’t know if it was my cousin, Brian, or
Sarah, but whoever put that thing in my head
wanted something from me.
I sat down on a park bench, looking
suspiciously at everyone who passed by.
If they could monitor my thoughts, were they
already here in Phuket?
My phone finally rang. It was my cousin.
Even with his company collapsing, his voice
was full of smugness.
“So, Emily, how does it feel? Head about to
explode?”
I gripped the phone. “You put a tracking
device in my head? Why would you do that?”
My cousin laughed. His next words were
Г
“I’m not that smart. Dad thought you were, so
he came up with the idea to control you.
If you listen to me, keep being my right hand,
you’ll be fine. But if you don’t, if you try
anything, I’ll crush your skull!”
So they knew I’d been reborn…
But I still didn’t get it. “Why did you make
Jessica copy my code, accuse me of
cheating?”
“Because I was sick of you acting like you
were better than everyone else, like you were
the only smart one in the world!”
“So you teamed up with Brian and Sarah to
set me up?”
“Yep. You think you’re so clever? I wanted
everyone around you to treat you like an idiot.
Who’s the smart one now?”
My voice trembled. “I never thought I was
smart. I never wanted to compete with you.
just wanted a job, a normal life.”
“Don’t give me that! I’ve been worried ever
since Mom got pregnant with you, afraid
you’d be a boy and try to steal my
inheritance. Lucky for me, you were a girl.
When you were little, I really thought of you
as my sister. But you grew up too smart,
always getting the best grades. Dad always
called me stupid because of you!
So I had to prove myself!”
|
“Family discord is the fault of the elders, you
should hate Dad, why would you hate me?
Moreover, you’ve already won, you can just
kill me, you don’t have to say all this?”
“Shut up! I didn’t think that you could control
your thoughts, you lied to Sarah and let
Jessica steal the wrong code.
Our users all lost money! The money’s gone,
you need to get it back.
Or I’ll turn your brain into mush!”
Faced with my cousin’s hysteria, I was
strangely calm.
“I see it now. No one truly loves me.
Everyone’s been lying to me. I don’t want to
く
live anymore. There’s no point.”
My cousin was caught off guard. He even
sounded a little worried.
“But you’re smart! If you win this competition,
you can get into the research department you
always wanted, make millions! As long as you
don’t work against me, I promise nothing will
happen to you. Isn’t that good?”
“I’m tired. And I already quit the competition.
Besides, you guys had Jessica frame me. I
can’t win anyway.
There’s more to life than money. I think I’d
rather die.”
My cousin tried to talk me out of it, but I cut
him off.
“Dad’s always been hard on me. Since
elementary school, I haven’t slept more than
five hours a night. I only have so much time
left. I want to sleep longer.”
I hung up, closed my eyes, and forced my
mind to go blank.
I’d figured out the pattern. If I didn’t think,
say, or do anything, they couldn’t figure out
what I was up to.
