Chapter 1

Dad always claimed he had a connection in the admissions office at Sunshine University.

My younger brother, Gavin, barely scraped by with a GPA that would get him into a third-rate college. But Dad insisted Gavin should apply to Sunshine University, the best university, saying his "connection" could pull some strings.

As someone who worked in the local education department, I thought Dad’s plan sounded ridiculous. Connections like that rarely worked the way people thought.

So, I went through every college admissions guide I could find and helped Gavin apply to a second-tier university abroad—one that matched his grades and seemed like a good fit.

Years later, Gavin graduated but couldn’t find a decent job.

Dad wouldn’t let it go. “If Stella hadn’t stopped me from getting you into Sunshine University, you’d have companies lining up to hire you by now!”

The more Gavin thought about it, the angrier he got. He stewed over it for weeks. Then, one evening, when I came home for dinner, he snapped. He poisoned my food with pesticide.

I didn’t even see it coming.

The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes—and I was back on the day of Gavin’s college application deadline.

This time, I didn’t argue.

“Dad’s the expert, right?” I said with a smile. “Let him handle it.”