dered on

, the kind with peeling wallpaper and a smell that clings to your clothes. Sabr

n a small diner in South Philly, died in a car crash two years ago. Their last wish, whispered to me in a hospital bed that s

nts' life insurance payout in a low-effort clerk job at a community college. He was n

longed to Sa

he' d scammed him out of $100,000. I did what a good sister was supposed to do

orst mistake

an "apology" and then turned on me, blaming me for all t

I was just a paramedic. The final betrayal, the one that broke something in me forever, was when the police found my body. Matthew

I wo

e second was the date on my phone: the exact day Matthew had first con

here he was, my foolish brother, his face

to my cheap sofa. "She took every

now my reality. The rage was a cold, solid thing in

e sympathy I' d given him before, I leaned forwa

scamming yo

fused. "What? B

k about it. A woman like her, beautiful and smart, why would she choose you? Becaus

cker of stupid, hopeful

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