Chapter 3

The next day, our jewelry boutique stayed locked up tight.

The whole mess should have ended there.

Instead, Kelsey's comment section began filling up with angry doubts.

[Didn't you say solid gold was one dollar? Why is the shop closed?]

[Did this girl just scam all of us?]

[I literally looked up the address and drove out here to check it out.]

[You sounded so convincing when you wanted our follows, and now you're playing dead?]

[Is this just bait-and-switch marketing?]

Kelsey started sweating.

She sent me a text on Snapchat.

"Chloe, is the shop really closed?"

I replied: "Yeah."

She texted back right away: "Why?"

Me: "We went on a trip."

The chat stayed quiet for a few minutes.

Then came a massive wall of text from Kelsey.

"Chloe, I know I wasn't careful with my words yesterday."

"But you guys suddenly shutting down makes everyone think I'm a fraud. My followers are ripping me apart in the comments."

"Can you please tell Aunt Susan to open the doors?"

"I just want to film a quick clarification video. I'll tell them the deal is still being negotiated, not that it's canceled."

I almost laughed out loud at the sheer audacity.

"Kelsey, do you actually want to clear things up, or do you just want to milk more views out of us?"

She went straight back to playing the victim.

"How can you think of me like that?"

"My fans are turning on me, and the pressure is eating me alive."

"We're cousins! Can't you just help me out this once?"

I typed back one word:

"No."

She didn't text again.

That night, Aunt Brenda called my mom seven or eight times.

My mom didn't pick up a single call.

On the afternoon of the third day, Kelsey showed up at our house in person.

She was holding a flimsy grocery bag containing a few bruised, yellowing pears.

They looked old, covered in dark spots from being banged around.

Standing in the doorway, she offered a tight, forced smile.

"Aunt Susan, my mom told me to bring over some pears."

"I was wrong about what happened. Please don't be mad at me."

Seeing her acting so meek and pitiful, my mom's expression visibly softened.

Kelsey had always been an expert at reading the room.

She immediately threw her arms around my mom, her voice trembling with choked tears.

"Aunt Susan, I really didn't mean to."

"I just wanted so badly to grow my channel."

"I'm not smart like my parents, and I'm not good at school or business like Chloe."

"Streaming is all I have."

"Please help me, okay?"

My mom let out a deep sigh.

"Kelsey, it's fine to make content, but you can't lie to people."

Kelsey nodded frantically.

"I know, I know. I promise I'll be careful from now on."

She sounded so sincere.

Yet, standing down the hallway, I watched her every move. Right before she turned to leave, her fingers lingered over the entryway console table.

That was where my mom kept her daily keychain.

And on that ring was the spare key to the boutique.

Using the bag of pears to block my mom's view, Kelsey slipped the spare key off the ring and shoved it into her jacket pocket.

My mom caught a glimpse, her face dropping as she opened her mouth to speak.

I grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Mom, don't say a word."

My mom panicked.

"She took the shop key!"

Watching Kelsey's silhouette hurry down the stairs, a cold smile spread across my face.

"Don't worry. Let's just sit back and watch the show."