Chapter 4

The exam day arrived quickly. I cruised through the SATs, my pen flying across the paper like magic.

Meanwhile, in another testing center, Brandon was staring at his test sheet, sweating profusely.

"How is this happening?" Brandon stared at the blank spaces, his fingers shaking uncontrollably. "I... I knew how to do these questions yesterday..."

Ever since I left, Brandon had felt his mind growing cloudier and slower. But he had brushed it off, too arrogant to care, still spending his nights partying.

He didn't realize he was suffering from the backlash of my departure.

As the timer ticked down to the last few minutes, a desperate, wild thought crossed his mind. When the proctor turned her back, he leaned over and peeked at the sheet of the student next to him...

At the exact same time, Arthur was drowning in corporate chaos.

His business partners were pulling out of contracts for no reason. Major projects were failing one after another.

In the past, he could solve these issues in his sleep. But now, he had no idea what to do. If this kept up, his company would go bankrupt.

Suddenly, his phone rang loudly.

"What? My son cheated? I knew that little piece of trash Ethan was no good! But you don't need to call me, he’s emancipated! He’s not my problem!"

Arthur immediately assumed it was me, letting out a stream of vile curses.

However, when the voice on the line clarified that the cheater was Brandon, Arthur felt like he had been struck by lightning.

"No way! You must have made a mistake! Brandon won math trophies! Why would he need to cheat?!"

Brandon was his pride and joy, the heir he was grooming to take over the company. Hearing this news felt like his entire sky was collapsing.

Brandon’s SAT scores were completely voided, and he was banned from taking College Board exams for three years.

This news was a fatal blow to Arthur’s already struggling company.

Meanwhile, Chloe was participating in a massive, high-stakes dance showcase.

Many top industry directors and scouts were in the audience. The future of her entire dance company depended on this performance.

The artistic director had put all his hope on Chloe.

But when the music started, everyone was horrified.

The backup dancers moved gracefully, but Chloe just stood there like a statue, tears welling up in her eyes.

She realized that every single dance move had vanished from her brain. Even her proud muscle memory was completely gone.

"What are you doing? Dance!" Victoria screamed frantically from the wings, her voice cracking. This threw the backup dancers off, ruining the entire formation.

Chloe tried to move, but she was as clumsy as a lame duck.

"This is the prodigy you bragged about?" a prominent director in the front row asked, his voice dripping with disgust.

Victoria rushed to explain, "She... she’s usually not like this! She’s just nervous..."

"Her movements have zero technique. She’s worse than a beginner," a famous choreographer said, frowning. "Victoria, I highly doubt your professional credentials as an instructor."

"And people call you a master teacher? I don't see a single trace of talent here."

Victoria’s face went paper-white. She knew better than anyone that once these words spread, her career as a celebrity dance coach was over.

The director of the dance company looked like he had lost his mind. His years of hard work had just gone up in smoke.

His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at Chloe on stage. In a sudden fit of psychotic rage, he rushed onto the stage, grabbed a heavy metal prop from the set, and slammed it violently into Chloe’s legs.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

A horrific shriek echoed through the entire theater.

"You useless bitch! You ruined me!"

The director screamed hysterically, his voice shaking with mad desperation. "My life's work... gone! All gone!"

Victoria stood frozen, all color draining from her face, her soul seemingly sucked out of her body.

The director was eventually tackled by security and hauled away by the police.

Chloe was rushed to the ER. To Victoria’s horror, the diagnosis came back: Chloe’s legs were shattered beyond repair. She would never stand again.

Arthur rushed to the hospital with Brandon. Even though he was divorced, he still loved his daughter.

He held the medical report with trembling hands. The stress of the past few weeks had aged him by ten years. His eyes were red and wet.

"Why... why is this happening..."

"My company is ruined, Brandon is banned, and now Chloe..."

Arthur collapsed onto the hallway floor, sobbing hoarsely.

"Oh God! What did our family do to deserve this?!"

Victoria was crying uncontrollably, looking incredibly disheveled.

Suddenly, she shuddered, as if struck by a terrifying realization. Her lips trembled as she whispered:

"Could... could Ethan have been telling the truth? Is he really a luck charm? Was our wealth all because of him?"

"Since we kicked him out, the company, Brandon, Chloe, and me... all of us..."

She grabbed Arthur’s arm tightly, her eyes wide with terror and regret. "When he was home, nothing like this ever happened!"

Arthur sat frozen on the floor. He connected the dots of everything that had happened recently. His face went dead white, and he felt a wave of regret so strong he wanted to beat his head against the wall.