My sister broke my rib in a fight. I was bleeding. I tried to call the cops, but mom snatched my phone, saying, «It’s just a rib, you’ll ruin her future.» Dad called me a drama queen. They had no idea what I would do next…

My voice came back. Slowly. Then all at once.

One day, I received an anonymous message on LinkedIn. Did you really ruin your sister’s life just to get into school? I smiled and typed back. Number I rebuilt my own.

She just got caught in the debris of what she destroyed. Then I logged off. The last I heard, Vanessa was living with a friend, two cities over.

Bouncing from job to job. My parents had moved in with an aunt who wasn’t as blind to their manipulations. And every holiday? I spent it with people who actually asked me how I was doing.

Who knew how to love without bruising. And on my graduation day, the second time around, I didn’t invite my family. But I did wear the necklace grandma left me.

And I whispered as I stepped onto the stage. This one’s for every time I was told to stay quiet. The applause wasn’t thunderous.

It didn’t need to be. Because this time, I was the one holding the pen. And the ending? It was finally mine.