I knew Landon grew up in a world of backstabbing and power plays. Human life had long ceased to mean much to him.

But I thought I was different. That my family was different.

It turns out, the only one who was different was Lila.

"I only have one sister," I said, my voice sharp as I cut him off. "Her name is Josie."

When Lila first came back, her mother had just passed away, and she was listless and depressed.

Landon was too busy, so I was the one who kept her company, who cared for her.

Even when she played her petty games and tried to drive a wedge between us, I brushed it off as harmless.

Then, she started clinging to Landon every second of the day.

She would even bring a stuffed animal to our bedroom door at night, insisting she needed to sleep with us.

One night it was fear of thunder, the next it was fear of the dark. She saw ghosts, she was scared of shadows. No matter how flimsy the excuse, Landon bought every single one.

Things only got worse after Landon proposed to me. A sudden bipolar diagnosis gave her the ultimate weapon, and Landon completely surrendered.

She started acting out, causing chaos wherever she went. One phone call from her, and Landon would abandon a multi-million dollar contract to go clean up her mess.

Soon, it became a pattern. Any time Landon and I were alone, she’d have an "episode"—threatening to jump off a building, burn charcoal in her room, drown herself, or slit her wrists. The tricks were endless.

And Landon, while cursing her under his breath, would already be out the door.

I fought with him about it, of course. But he always knew the right words to calm me down.

"Aria, her mother just died. It's natural for her to feel insecure."

"Aria, she's just sick. If we give her enough love, we can heal her."

It continued until the day she tried to stop us from getting our marriage license by leading a group to bully my sister, personally pushing Josie off that building.

I thought that would be his wake-up call. I thought he would finally take back his unconditional, bottomless indulgence of her.

But he didn't.

In that moment, I finally understood. In his heart, no one could ever compare to Lila.

I looked at the video on the phone, at my once-vibrant sister now lying still as a porcelain doll on the hospital bed.

Just yesterday, she was laughing, telling me she couldn't wait to be there when we got our license, to take pictures for us.

One day. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"Landon, I'll sign."

She had to live.

Anything was better than her dying.

Landon’s lips parted slightly. He took the settlement agreement from his assistant and placed it in front of me.

"Aria, I knew you were the best. I knew you loved me most."

"I promise you, I'll punish her severely this time!"

I had heard those words countless times, but I had never once seen the punishment.

I'd never even heard him say a harsh word to her.

I let out a cold, hollow laugh and bent down to sign my name on the paper.

"When we get married, have her come back to be your maid of honor."

Landon folded the agreement, a smile on his face as he pulled me into a hug.

"That won't be necessary."

I pushed him away and walked out of the room.

Behind me, Landon stared at the signature on the paper, a chill creeping into his fingertips.

That night, I saw that Lila, who had just landed at an international airport, had immediately boarded a flight back home.

A video of Landon picking her up from the airport went viral.

On Lila’s social media, she posted a picture of herself smiling from behind a bouquet of 9,999 white roses.

[Who wouldn't want to be the apple of her brother's eye? @LandonHayes, my personal Superman.]

Even if the photo was just of their backs, I would recognize Landon's silhouette if he were burned to ash.

I sat on the windowsill in my room and, finally making my decision, typed out my letter of resignation.

The next day, I went to the hospital to see Josie, just like always.

As soon as I walked in, I saw Lila sitting on the edge of Josie's bed, swinging her legs.

"I heard you were going to sue me over this living corpse?"

"What happened? Did you change your mind?"

"Oh, right. I heard your family took a thirty-million-dollar payout! Tsk, tsk. Is your sister's life only worth thirty million?"

Her taunts filled the air, but I acted as if I hadn't heard a thing.

"Get out. You're not welcome here."

Lila just grinned and hopped off the bed.

"If my brother hadn't told me to come here and atone for my sins, you think I'd want to set foot in this depressing place?"

"She wet herself when she fell, you know. Did you get her all cleaned up?"

She circled the bed, her words dripping with provocation.

I ignored her and leaned over to straighten my sister's blanket.

"What's this?"

I followed her voice and saw her hand hovering over the power outlet.

"Don't touch that!"

With a flick of her wrist, the monitor beside me let out a single, piercing beep.

Josie's vital signs flatlined.