Chapter 156: The Real Deal

Aveline's POV

I sat down at the dining table while my mother served the food. I watched her set the plates down between us, and I noticed everything she made was my favorite meals. There was no special food for Asher.

There was no low-salt soup. It was everything I used to ask for back when I was just the shadow living in the bedroom down the hall.

The awkwardness lingered between us for a long time. The steam rose from the food, but neither of us picked up a fork. I kept my eyes fixed on the tabletop, my hands flat in my lap. I didn't know what to say to her.

"How was your trip to Minnesota?" my mother asked suddenly. She looked across the table at me, her voice calm. "Do you like it? Is it somewhere you are thinking of applying to?"

I didn't reply. I picked up my fork and ate in silence. She had never asked about my dreams before. She had never cared where I wanted to study.

Why did it matter now?

Besides, the school fees for a place out of state like Minnesota or Michigan are highly expensive. It was not something my mother could afford on her own without a scholarship. We both knew that.

The silence came back, heavier this time. I could hear the sound of my fork hitting the plate. It felt completely fake sitting here acting like a normal family. When I finally found the courage to drop the cutlery, I stood up from the chair to leave the room.

"Aveline," my mother said, her voice stopping me before I could walk away. "Don't lose yourself trying to avenge your brother. Whatever happened... don't destroy your own future chasing it."

That sentence pissed me off completely. The anger hit my stomach, and I spun around to face her.

"Why now?" I snapped, my voice shaking. "Before Asher died, it had always been about him. Every single day was about keeping him safe and making sure he had everything. Even after his death, it is still about him.

I'm glad therapy helped you, Mom. Really. It is great that you are standing up and cooking again. But it doesn't erase everything."

"Yes, yes, I have been a bad mother," she said, her shoulders dropping as she looked at me. "But I'm here now, aren't I? I am trying to amend my ways.

I have always loved you, Aveline, just like a mother would. But giving birth to a child with a heart defect made me channel all my attention to him. I was so afraid of losing him that I forgot how to look at you.

I'm sorry. Just give me a chance in your life."

I stood there with tears in my eyes. My chest ached with a dull, heavy pain. It took years for me to hear those words. It took my brother dying for me to know my mother actually loved me and cared about me. But the pain from all those years of being invisible did not just go away because she apologized.

I turned around and headed towards the stairs, wanting to get away from her.

"Don't you want to know how I cleared the debts?" she shouted after me.

I stopped in my tracks, my back turning stiff on the first step.

"The betting app," my mother said, her voice dropping lower as she walked out of the kitchen. "My therapist said you asked about our financial records. You wanted to know where all the money came from."

I turned around slowly, looking down at her from the stairs. "What are you talking about?"

"After Asher died, I couldn't think straight," she whispered, walking closer. "The hospital bills kept coming. The funeral bills came next. I didn't know how we were going to survive."

She swallowed hard, looking up at me.

"When I cleaned his room, I found another laptop hidden in one of his drawers. I almost threw it away with his old school things. When I opened it, I found an illegal betting platform. Asher had built it himself.

There was more money in that account than I had ever seen. Enough to clear everything we owed."

I stared at her, my mind spinning fast.

"At first I wanted to report to the police," she whispered, looking up at me with wide eyes. "But that won't solve the problem. It would just ruin his memory.

So I shut the site down afterward because I was terrified, and I made sure it wasn't available to those people who use it anymore."

She looked at me with teary eyes."I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she whispered. "I was afraid. I didn't want you to stop seeing your brother as a good person.

"But what I didn't know is why Asher did what he did," she added, shaking her head. "Why would he build something like that?"

"His funding was cut," I answered quietly, the cold truth hitting my brain. "He needed money."

My mother was completely shocked. Her mouth opened, but she couldn't say anything for a long time.

"Yes," I continued, my voice shaking with anger as I walked down the steps toward her. "And right now, he is being blamed at school for hurting a teammate. Everyone thinks he poisoned Oliver Thorne"

"No," my mother disagreed quickly, shaking her head. "Don't say that, Aveline. Don't judge his memory with your emotions. He loved hockey, but he wouldn't hurt someone."

"I don't know what to believe anymore," I whispered. "Every answer only gives me more questions." Maybe everyone was right," the tears finally spilling down my face.

I didn't wait for her to answer me. I turned around, ran up the stairs, and went straight into my bedroom. I slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside, burying my face in my hands.

After crying for some hours, I finally fell asleep. Waking up sometime after midnight. Something sat on my desk.

I frowned and pushed myself up. It was Asher's laptop. I stared at it for a long time, the laptop catching the pale light from the window.

Was my mother trying to tell me to open it? Or was she trying to tell me to stop looking?

I lay back against my pillow, unable to close my eyes, and I ended up asking myself a question I never thought I would.

Was my brother really innocent?