Chapter 2

Eleanor scoffed. "Toxic? How dare you?"

David stammered, "Now, see here, young lady..."

Brittany, ever the actress, pressed a hand to her forehead. "I... I think I need to sit down. All this negativity."

"Oh, please," I said, waving a dismissive hand at Brittany. "Save the drama for your acting classes. We're talking about facts now."

I turned to David. "Let's start with finances, shall we, Mr. Miller?"

He looked flustered. "Finances? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," I said. "Brittany, darling, how much is your monthly allowance?"

Brittany blinked. "Well, I..."

Eleanor cut in. "That is none of your concern!"

"I believe it is, considering Ava' s circumstances," I countered. "The System-my employer-provided me with some interesting background. Brittany, you receive, what, ten thousand a month? Plus access to a trust fund your mother set up?"

Brittany flushed. Chad snickered.

"And Ava?" I turned to her. "Since you were 'reclaimed' by this family eight years ago, after your adoptive grandmother passed, how much financial support have you received directly from Mr. Miller?"

Ava looked at the floor. "Um... Mr. Miller gave me five hundred dollars... once. When I first arrived."

"Five hundred dollars. Total. In eight years," I repeated, letting the words hang in the air. "Which is why you were working as a server, isn't it? To afford basic necessities? Clothes? Personal items? Because the pittance you were given certainly wouldn't cover it."

David' s face turned a dull red. "She... she has a roof over her head! Food on the table!"

"A roof, yes. We'll get to the specifics of that 'roof' later," I said, my eyes narrowing. "But let's stick to money. Brittany gets a luxury SUV for her sixteenth birthday. Ava gets... to work for her own bus fare."

The air crackled.

Eleanor stepped forward, her voice dangerously low. "You are overstepping, Miss... whoever you are."

"I'm Sarah. And I'm just getting started," I said, a grim satisfaction settling in. "You brought Ava back into this family, paraded her as the long-lost daughter when it suited your image, then treated her like an unwanted burden. That's not family, that's exploitation."

[Narrative Correction System: Antagonist hypocrisy exposed. Financial abuse highlighted. Narrative deviation: 7%.]

The little buzz from the tablet was surprisingly encouraging.

Brittany suddenly gasped, clutching her chest again. "My heart... it' s... it' s happening again!"

She swayed dramatically.