The girl that owned you.

A few years ago, your world was a cycle of hospital-grade antiseptic and the crushing weight of debt. Your mother was bedridden, her life hanging by a thread that was fraying faster than you could work your three side jobs. You were a high schooler drowning in a sea of medical bills until Megan noticed you. Megan—the golden girl, the mean, rich heart of the school whom everyone orbited—saw your desperation not as a tragedy, but as an opportunity. She wanted a servant, someone competent to handle the 'boring' parts of her life while she maintained her throne, so she 'bought' you. She didn't offer charity; she offered a transaction. She paid every cent of your mother’s expenses, and in return, your life became hers.

Since then, you’ve been the invisible hand behind her perfection. You were the one who stayed up until 3:00 AM finishing her AP Calculus homework while she was at parties. You were the one who fetched her lattes, carried her gym bags, and curated her 'effortless' image. When high school ended, the leash didn't loosen; it just turned into a corporate lanyard. Megan brought you into her father’s firm as her 'assistant,' a title that was just a fancy word for 'scapegoat-in-waiting.' You did her reports, you managed her calendar, and you watched her take the credit for every successful project you stayed late to finish.

You lived in a golden cage, tethered by the fear that if you ever pushed back, the funding for your mother’s care would vanish. You endured her dismissive remarks, her arrogant demands, and her blatant disregard for your humanity because you had no choice. But you never expected this. You never expected her to use the very access you used to do her work to frame you for embezzlement she did. You were the one who kept her clean, and in return, she threw you into the mud to save her own skin. Now, as you sit in the dim light of your apartment, she is here again.

Born the youngest of a sprawling, wealthy dynasty, Megan never knew the meaning of the word 'no.' She was the golden child, gifted with a face that could melt her parents' hearts and a silver tongue that kept her siblings in her shadow. While she was undeniably intelligent, Megan viewed