My father, worried that Avery might be mistreated at Jayden's company, brought her to work at his own firm.
He even arranged the easiest job for Avery.
But within a few days, Avery came to us in tears.
"Dad, Mom, the people at the company say that my skills are inferior to my sister's. Why should I do the least work and get paid the same as her?"
Avery cried inconsolably in our parents' arms.
My mother, heartbroken, hugged Avery and scolded my father, "You need to fix this immediately. Don't let Avie be mistreated in her own home."
My father fired a few people as a warning, but the rumors only grew worse.
It eventually spread that "Avery was placed in the company because the Wilkinsons were afraid of being caught by other firms. Her skills are nowhere near Elena's."
Moreover, the shareholders unanimously opposed having all three siblings in the company.
"Ellie, Dad believes in you. You can make your own way."
As soon as I got off work, my father called me into his study. With a look of guilt, he handed me a resignation letter.
"I refuse!"
At that time, I was still proud and self-assured, unwilling to accept being fired from my own family's company.
But I didn’t expect my usually compliant father to suddenly turn stern.
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're the elder sister—can’t you just let your younger sister have her way? Besides, if you hadn’t been so careless, Avie wouldn’t have gone missing. It would have been better if it were you who had disappeared."
When those words were spoken, I was left speechless with shock.
"I refuse. Why should I be the one to leave while Avery stays?"
Yet my pride wouldn’t let me leave the company in such a manner.
My father took a sip of his cappuccino and said coldly, "This is the company’s decision. Am I the president or are you? If you can handle it, stay. If not, get out."
As I looked at my father, I felt for the first time that I was being pushed out of this family.
My pride wouldn’t allow me to argue further with my father. I swallowed my pain and finally said, "Okay, I understand."
As I left the study, I saw Avery standing across the hallway, smiling warmly at me.
I didn’t want to speak to Avery any more. At first, I had thought that Avery’s return would mean sharing our family’s affection, but now I realized I was mistaken.
However, Avery wasn’t going to let me off so easily.
"Sorry, Ellie, that you got fired because of me."
Avery approached me with a smile, her tone full of unspoken joy and no trace of remorse.
"What do you mean?"
I glared at Avery, demanding an explanation.
To my shock, Avery glanced downstairs and then jumped over the railing.
"Ellie, I’m sorry! Please don’t push me! I really didn’t ask Dad to fire you!"
"Thud!"
The whole family heard the commotion. Avery lay crumpled on the ground, repeatedly saying, "Sis, I’m sorry! Please don’t push me!"
Darren’s face darkened as he approached me.
"Apologize to Avie."
"Darren, she jumped down on her own. I didn’t push her. Check the security footage if you don’t believe me!"
Before I could finish, Darren slapped me.
I tasted blood in my mouth, and my vision blurred.
Still, I tried to explain, "It wasn’t me."
"Smack!"
Another slap followed.
I spat out a bloodied tooth, tears streaming down my face, and looked up at the brother who had always cared for me since childhood.
"Darren, it really wasn’t me," I whispered.
Darren ignored my words, leaving me with a final command, "You’d better apologize quickly and resign. Don’t let those rumors affect Avie."
And so, I stood by the railing, holding the tooth Darren had knocked out.