Sue’s jaw worked. “H— How—”
“How did I figure it out?” I tsked. “See, this is the problem with narcissists. You get so hopped up on your own supply, deluding yourself into thinking you really are smarter than everyone, that you seriously underestimate your opponents.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sue, I was onto you since three days after you killed Omma—when the call from the lawyer sent me into her office armed with her password. I found quite a bit tucked in the many files on her computer. Quite a fucking bit. But still,” I said, “I probably still might have been fooled if you hadn’t told me your motive straight to my face, and put the proof in my hands.”
“What? What the fuck are you talking about! I never did anything like that!”
“But of course you did.” My airy tone didn’t waver. “Don’t you remember? It was on the very day that we were reunited for the first time in ten years. You handed me the reason Omma had to die—her will. The will... that disinherited you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “So what? Fuck that will, I didn’t care about that. What’s ten thousand dollars, a shit car, and some rotting furniture mean to me? SueNaturals is a global brand. I make ten thousand dollars in a week.”
No, bitch,you literally don’t! Hera in heaven, you can’t stop lying for ten seconds.“Whether or not that’s true—and we both know it’s not—”
“Yes, it is!”
“No, it’s not!”
“Is,” she shrieked. “Is, is, is!”
“Agh, you’re such a fucking child,” I exploded—losing my cool, chillgotchavibe fast. “I know ShitNaturals is in the toilet—pun intended. Bird-shit face cream, anyone? What the hell were you even thinking?”
“It’s not my fault!” Incensed eyes burned me over the mask. “Asian cultures have been making face creams from bird droppings for centuries. How was I supposed to know people would get a fucking rash?”
“Because they were using the droppings from aspecificspecies after it had been sterilized! They didn’t just scrape Polly Wanna Cracker’s shit off the newspaper and dump it in a jar!”
“Well, I know thatnow!”
“Ugh!” I screamed, throwing up my hands. “Enough of this. It doesn’t even matter except it’s probably one of the many reasons Omma decided to disown you. You’d become a massive embarrassment that made Omma the joke of the charity clique. The real reason she started hiding away in the last year is because of you.” I scoffed. “Not that you gave a shit about that or her feelings.
“You only started to care when you discovered what it truly meant to be disowned by Omma. What she personally had to leave didn’t matter. It was all about Appa, and the estate.” Holding up a finger, I gestured for her to wait while I fished my phone out of my robe and pulled up the photo I took three days after losing my mother. “I, Jong Woo Kim, leave the entirety of my estate to my daughters, Sarang Kim and Soo Min Kim, to be transferred to them upon the death of my wife, Ha-eun Kim—”
I raised my eyes, my grim sneer returning. “Upon the condition that my wife hasn’t disinherited one or both of them. If she disinherits one, the entirety of my estate is to be bequeathed to the other. If she disinherits both, my entire estate is to be liquidated and donated to—
“Blah, blah, blah,” I finished, turning off my phone. “We both get the gist. When Omma cut you out of her will, she didn’t just rob you of ten thousand dollars and some rotting furniture. She snatched over eighthundred and seventy-two million dollars out of your greedy little grasp, and you couldn’t have that.”
“No.”
I raised a brow. “No?”
“That’s right. No.” Sue straightened, ripping off her mask. “You think you’re so clever. Think you’re going to get me to incriminate myself? Ha! Nice try, but you’re not recording some big, blubbering confession from me on the other phone you’re hiding underneath that incredibly unflattering robe.” She gave me a nasty smile. “I didn’t touch Omma, and I never even knew Appa’s will had that clause in it. None of this had to do with me. You’re making this up like you make up scary clowns and secret plots against you. It is just another ploy in your endless bid for attention.”
I weathered her speech patiently. “Fine. If you don’t want to explain how we got here, then I’ll do it for you. When Omma decided to change her will and cut you out, she didn’t go to her friends and ask them to witness the new will. She couldn’t. She was still isolating out of pride, and she didn’t want our family drama to be the main topic trending on the Ajumma Gossip Network.
“So, she did what many people do, she called the post office and set an appointment with the notary, and during that appointment, one of the postal employees offered to sign her will as Omma’s second witness”—my gaze sharpened—“Tracy Williams.”
If I expected Sue to gasp or give some kind of reaction to my reveal, I was sorely disappointed.
“The other witness,” I went on, “was Mrs. Prado. Of course she was. Omma trusted her. She ran our house with an expert hand for years. She was also a good, honest woman. She would make sure Omma’s wishes were carried out. That’s why it was always your plan to kill her, but when Reynard heard that we were hiring her back, the first thing he did was call and warn you.
“You didn’t want Mrs. Prado back in this house. You didn’t want her figuring out I wasn’t you and asking too many questions about where the real Soo Min was. You didn’t want her explaining just how massive my coming inheritance was. That’s why you,” I hissed, “called Mrs. Prado back the night before and changed the time of our meeting.
“She had no idea she was talking to you instead of me. So when you told her to come a little earlier, she did it,” I said. “You ran up on her as she was getting out of the car and stabbed her in the back before she could think to fight back. Then, you dragged her into the fountain and covered her with leaves.
“That done, you drove her car away, waited for Christie and her fleet of vans to show up, and then parked the car back on our property to make it look like she arrived later and therefore died later than she did. You wanted all the people running around the manor to confuse and flood the suspect pool,” I said. “You wanted me, Rhodes, Micah, and Alex to have solid alibis for her death, because Mrs. Prado’s death wasn’t the main event, and you needed all your pieces in place for the main event.”
“Hmm, no,” Sue sang. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. As always, you’re rambling on about nothing and making a complete fool of yourself, Sarah. Gods, it’s so embarrassing sharing a face with you. Imagine what it’s like waking up every morning and seeing a complete loser staring back at you.”
“You’d be seeing that even if I didn’t exist, bitch.” I flipped her off. “At least until your reflection runs away from your stank-ass breath.”
