sedan, following the sleek, black car in front of me. My older brother, David, was inside it, leading me to th

d. Always han

s. He got out of his car, a wide, successful smile on his face. He looked every bit the high-flyin

ing to the building. "Good enough for

David. Too mu

nk like it was nothing. "You got the job at the firm. You des

een adopted by my parents a few years before I was born, had gotten a finance position there right out of business school and climbe

e was the protective older brother, and I was the adoring younger sister. He opened the door to my new

his is in

ou," he said, settin

ly buzzed to life. An unknown number. I almost ignored it, but i

I answere

harp and cold, cut

s Sarah

is. Who

ed with a strange kind of venom. "I just wanted to hear the

d at David, who was arranging a welcome basket of fr

ve the wrong number," I sai

ay from David. You got a job in his company, you moved into a building

iancé? David was enga

're talking about," I stamm

e you do. You play the innocent little sister, but you' re just a h

ne wen

s absurd, disgusting. David and I were siblings. We were raised under the same roof by the same loving

ng my expression. "Everything okay?

said, trying to keep my voice

just a second. "Oh. C

things. She accused me of t

dn't sound genuine. He walked over and

he can be a little... intense. She' s just a bit ch

lled me a homewrecker. S

s just fiercely protective of me. She loves me so much, and when she sees anyone new come into m

voted, a woman who loved him so much it sometimes spilled over into irrational j

" I said, feeling helples

rtment's deposit and got worried. She' s just being sil

n. A text message from the same

t what

t, a promise of more to come.

"God, she' s being so dramatic. I really am sorry, S

This was a serious accusation." I was trying to explain the violation I felt, the sh

handle it. I promise. Let me cal

ke into his phone. I couldn't hear the words, but I could see his posture.

later, he ca

forced smile. "She feels terrible. She sa

feel terrible. But what could I do? This was David' s fiancée. This was the woman he was going to ma

said, my v

et' s forget about this. Let me tak

d been ruined. And as David talked about restaurant reservations, a heavy