“Dad’s inheritance is for my wedding,” my sister screamed from behind. I felt hands on my back, then falling. Fifteen concrete steps. My head hit every third one. the spine specialist marked “ᴀssᴀᴜʟᴛ-related vertebrae fracture.” The emergency scan went to administration. “Hospital CEO admitted with ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀᴛɪᴄ ɪɴᴊᴜʀɪᴇs.”

Three days later Olivia appeared at my front door without warning, stepping into my modest house in suburban Mapleton, Colorado as if she owned it. Her fiancé Kyle Bennett followed behind her looking uncomfortable and nervous, holding a paper coffee cup as if it were protection.

“I calculated the wedding budget again,” Olivia announced the moment she entered the living room. “The total is three hundred forty thousand dollars.”

I blinked in disbelief. “You are saying that number like it is normal.”

“It is normal for our social circle,” she insisted confidently.

I folded my arms slowly. “What exactly do you want from me?”

Olivia stared directly at me with determination. “I need your inheritance.”

“No,” I said immediately without hesitation.

Her face twisted with anger. “It is Dad’s money.”

“It is Dad’s estate and he divided it equally,” I replied firmly.

She took a step closer toward me and lowered her voice. “You do not even need that money because you have a boring hospital job and you will be fine.”

Kyle shifted awkwardly beside her. “Maybe we could consider something smaller,” he suggested quietly.

“Please stop talking,” Olivia snapped sharply.