Chapter 4

My body deteriorated daily; often, I wasn't fully conscious for an entire day.

I knew I could die at any moment.

But I still hadn't paid the remaining balance for the burial plot.

As I fretted, a passerby on the street handed me a flyer.

“You might want to check this out. There’s a mystery CEO throwing a yacht party tonight. Shining shoes for the rich is easy money, hundreds of dollars a night.”

“And the best part? These rich folks give out generous tips, sometimes a huge amount in one go.”

I looked at her extended fingers, then took the flyer.

At this point, any work was good work. I wasn't in a position to be picky.

I boarded the bus for workers and arrived at the yacht.

From the moment I stepped on board, my knees never left the floor.

I knelt by the entrance, shining shoes for every guest who arrived.

The passerby hadn't lied; some wealthy kids casually tossed me tips worth hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.

I don’t know how long passed, but suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers.

“Here he comes! Tonight’s guest of honor!”

I still didn’t look up. As I prepared to shine the next pair of shoes, my polishing cloth was kicked clean out of my hand.

Then, a familiar voice filled my ears.

“Stella! What the hell?! You’d stoop to anything to get my attention, wouldn't you?!”

“There are only three days left until you come home! You can’t even wait that long?”

I finally looked up, realizing this entire party was something Albert had arranged just to make Isabella happy.

He stared at me, red-faced with fury.

His fists clenched tighter and tighter, but in the end, he just cursed under his breath and stormed inside the yacht.

Listening to the wild party inside, I just counted the cash in my hands, bill by bill.

Realizing I had exactly enough to cover the remaining balance, I quickly called the cemetery owner.

But as I gave him my details and asked him to register it, he sounded puzzled.

“Stella? I can’t find any information for you. You’ve been deregistered; you can’t buy anything.”

“How is that possible? Sir, did you make a mistake? Please check again, okay?”

Seeing my frantic, incoherent words, the owner kindly made an inquiry for me. Finally, he spoke softly.

“The staff at the bureau said it was Mr. Albert, the billionaire CEO, who forced your identity to be revoked…”

My phone slipped from my grasp and clattered to the floor. My eyes burned red, completely shattered.

Why? Why can’t I even die in peace?

Was he truly going to drive me, his own sister, to rock bottom, all for Isabella?

My head buzzed, and I stormed straight into the party.

“Albert!”

My shout brought the entire room to a sudden, stunned silence.

“How dare you revoke my identity?”

“Am I not even allowed to exist anymore? To have an identity?”

Albert slowly swirled his drink, his gaze on me complex and unreadable.

“You’ll stoop to anything to get me to feel sorry for you. Who knows what tricks you’ll pull to mess with Isabella when you come back? If you don’t have an identity, you can’t do anything.”

“But don’t worry, I’m your brother. I can give you everything you want and protect you for life.”

I suddenly laughed out loud.

He’d already tormented me to death; what peace could I possibly want?

Isabella, acting all sweet and innocent, patted Albert’s back to soothe him. She glanced at the money in my hand and spoke.

“Stella, why do you insist on doing such degrading things?”

“Albert will give you anything you want, won’t he? If you hadn’t broken his heart and embarrassed him, he wouldn’t have done this.”

As she spoke, she walked over to me, snatched the money from my hand, and flung it into the air.