Chapter 3
Monday afternoon at four o'clock, my roommates had all gone to class, leaving just Crystal and me facing each other in the suffocating silence.
I slammed the "Oceanfront Hospitality Group" business card down on her desk.
"Explain this business card. And don't lie to me again."
Crystal glanced at the card, her face draining of color before quickly recovering her composure. "I don't know what you're talking about. Jake and I were just... exploring opportunities."
"Exploring opportunities?" I laughed coldly, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. "Then what about these photos?"
The screen clearly displayed pictures of our resort's VIP client files, contact information and all.
I continued, "You photographed our client files! You're stealing confidential information!"
Crystal's eyes flickered, then she switched to a wounded expression. "Your precious family secrets aren't as secret as you think, princess."
Blood rushed to my head. "What did you just call me?"
"You heard me," Crystal completely dropped her mask, her voice dripping with unveiled malice. "You think you're so special because you were born into all this? Some of us have to work for what we want."
Suddenly, Crystal deliberately knocked into her vanity table, sending expensive cosmetics crashing to the floor. Then, incredibly, she used her own fingernails to scratch red marks across her cheek!
"You're insane! I never touched you!"
But Crystal was already sobbing loudly, her voice pitched high enough to attract attention from students passing in the hallway.
She cried into her phone: "Jake, please come quick! Sophia went crazy... she hit me and destroyed my things!"
I stared in shock at her performance. This woman could win an Oscar.
Soon, several students clustered around our doorway, whispering. Crystal continued her act for them: "She's always been jealous of me and Jake. This is what happens when spoiled rich girls don't get their way."
I trembled with rage, but the more I tried to explain, the more pathetic I sounded.
Forty-five minutes later, Jake's black BMW screeched into the parking lot below our dorm. The setting sun cast everything in orange light as he practically leaped from the car, his face a mask of fury and concern.
"Crystal! Oh my God, what happened to your face?"
He rushed to examine the "injuries" on Crystal's face, completely ignoring my attempts to explain.
"Look at her face! How could you do this to someone I love?"
I responded, "Jake, she's lying! Those marks are self-inflicted!"
Crystal leaned into Jake's embrace, her voice trembling: "Don't blame Sophia, Jake. She just... doesn't understand what we have."
That line poured gasoline on the fire. Jake's eyes turned even colder: "Sophia, you will apologize right now, or you're coming home with me."
I retorted, "Why should I apologize for something I didn't do?"
"Because you clearly did something!" Jake's voice echoed across the parking lot, drawing more curious students. "Look at the evidence!"
I glanced around. Everyone was staring at me like I really was some spoiled rich brat throwing a tantrum.
"You've been spoiled your entire life! You never had to work for anything!" Jake's words cut like knives.
"At least I don't have to prove I deserve the Martinez name every single day!" The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
Jake's face turned ashen.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Crystal chose this perfect moment to interject, her voice dripping with false sympathy: "Jake, maybe she just doesn't see you as real family..."
That line lit the fuse in Jake's heart.
He said, "You're right. I've given everything to this family, but I'll never be enough for her."
I tried to explain, "That's not what I meant—"
"No, Sophia," Jake's voice became eerily calm, more terrifying than anger. "I finally see the truth. I'm just adopted, right? That's what you've always believed."
Crystal stroked his arm comfortingly, triumph flashing in her eyes.
The unfairness of it all finally pushed me over the edge. If they wanted to paint me as the villain, I'd give them a real villain.
Two resounding slaps landed on Crystal's face. The crowd gasped in shock.
Crystal screamed, covering her face: "She's completely out of control!"
The watching students stepped back. Someone was already recording with their phone.
"That's it! You're coming home with me right now!" Jake exploded.
I shouted, "Good! At least at home, I won't have to watch you make a fool of yourself!"
The drive from Miami to Key Biscayne felt like traveling through a storm cloud. The BMW's interior was thick with tension.
I noticed Jake's hands trembling slightly on the steering wheel, his jaw clenched tight. He was struggling inside too.
After an hour of suffocating silence, he finally spoke: "Do you know what it's like to never feel like you truly belong?"
I turned to look at his profile, so vulnerable and broken.
"Jake..."
He continued, "Every achievement, every success - I always wonder if it's because I'm good enough, or because they feel sorry for the orphan they took in."
My heart clenched. "That's not... we never thought of you that way."
"Crystal understands. She sees me for who I am, not who I was born to be."
That statement made me realize Crystal's manipulation ran deeper than I'd imagined. She was weaponizing his deepest insecurities.
By the time we reached the resort, it was 8:30 PM. Carlos and Maria had already gone to bed, leaving only the porch lights glowing while palm trees swayed gently in the ocean breeze.
"You'll stay here until you learn to respect the people I care about." Jake's voice was so cold I couldn't believe this was the brother I'd adored since childhood.
I asked, "Since when do you punish family members?"
Jake replied, "Since family members started acting like spoiled children."
I said, "This isn't you talking, Jake. This is her."
Jake stopped and turned to face me, pain flashing in his eyes: "Maybe it's time you realized that I can think for myself."
He carried my luggage to the guest room, then left without looking back. I listened to his footsteps fade down the hallway, feeling more alone than ever before.
Ten minutes later, I watched through the guest room window as Jake wandered alone on the beach, his silhouette stretched long by moonlight. Suddenly, his phone rang.
I saw his face transform into a gentle smile as he answered - an expression I hadn't seen on his face in so long.
"Crystal..." Though I couldn't hear his words, his relaxed shoulders and soft tone told me she was comforting him.
In that moment, I realized I hadn't just lost my brother's trust. Something far worse was happening - I was losing my brother entirely.
Crystal didn't just want Jake. She wanted to completely destroy the bond between us. And from what I could see, she was succeeding.