"Wake up, Grace. You'll be late for school," said my aunt. I woke up slowly before bringing my clothes with me to the bathroom.

  It was a usual Monday morning. Well, except for the fact that I felt a bit empty. It was like a chunk of my mind flew away. I ate breakfast and walked to school. School went as per normal. The first lesson was Mathematics. For most people, it would be a torture. For others, it was a blessing. For the rest, like me, I didn't actually care. I sat at my desk and did word problems whilst our teacher, Ms Ann, patrolled us. The bell rang. Just before I was getting ready for the next lesson, Ms Ann came up to me and asked,

  "How's the search for Gale? Have you found him yet?"
  "Who's Gale?" I asked. She gave me a shocked look.
  "Why, Grace, you don't remember? He's your elder brother," she told me.
  "I don't remember having any sibling," I said.
  "Okay, then," she said.

  The rest of my time at school went as per normal. When we were dismissed from school, which was past two o'clock in the afternoon, I walked home. I decided to stop by Carl's Candy Store, which was a candy store that was a brisk walk from my house. I popped in and prepared a five-dollar bill in my hand. I walked up to the cashier, the aging man named Carl Selby waiting for another customer.

  "I would like a chocolate-coated fruit bar," I said. He snatched a piece of it from the shelf and slid it into a paper bag.
  "That would be four dollars," he said. I gave him the money and he gave a dollar as change.
  "Say, have you found Gale yet?" he asked.
  "Gale? Who's he?"
  "Your elder brother," he said.
  "I don't have a clue of who he is," I told him. He stifled a face of slight shock.
  "I need to go home, anyway. Goodbye," I said.
  "Goodbye," he waved.

  I walked out of the shop and strolled back to my house. Gale. I think I've heard that name. Gale. Who was Gale? I had reached my house and my aunt opened the door for me. I kept my school bag on top of my bed before I ate the candy. Whilst doing so, my aunt came inside the room to check on me. She brought in a box of puzzle pieces and set it on my desk.

  "How's your day?" she asked sweetly.
  "It was nice, auntie. But a bit weird," I said.
  "Weird?" she questioned.
  "There were a few people asking about Gale. They said he was my elder brother. But I'm an only child, right?" I asked.
  "Those people might be playing a prank on you. But anyhow, I brought you a puzzle to solve. It's more fun than reading The Hobbit for the twelfth time," she said.
  "But I only read it six times," I corrected her. She exited the room.

  I washed my hands at the bathroom before I sat at my desk and got to work. I did my homework before I checked my list of chores. There was only one task to do: bringing down the laundry. I gathered all my dirty clothes in a hamper and brought it downstairs. Once I had finished that, I sat at my desk and tried solving the puzzle. It was relatively easy for me. I reached for the very last piece when it fell. The puzzle piece stumbled on the wooden planks and landed under the bed. I crouched and reached for the puzzle piece and saw a suitcase. I picked up the puzzle piece and completed the puzzle promptly before I snatched the suitcase. It was the suitcase that I hid from my aunt. I opened it to find a folder and a set of documents. And all of them were related to Gale. Gale Summers. The person that had been haunting my mind since that morning. Who was he, really? I was about to read through the papers when I heard thumping footsteps. I kept it quickly under my bed and pretended to work on the jigsaw puzzle. My aunt opened the door.

  "I'll be doing some shopping, Grace. Do you mind if I leave you here alone?" she asked.
  "Not at all. Our doors and windows have locks," I said.
  "Okay, then. Take care," she said.

  She walked out of the house and to the mall, carrying her purse. I then reached for the suitcase and began reading the documents about this boy named Gale Summers. As I read through, a strong sense of déjà vu resonated within me. This strange feeling. What did it mean? I shrugged it off and stowed it under my bed. I'd have to deal with that later.

  I skipped downstairs and lounged around. I was going to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water when I noticed the door to my aunt's bedroom. She never let me in, nor let me take a short peek. Should I trespass? I took a deep breath and held the doorknob, twisting it. The door creaked open. I took a glimpse of the room. It was relatively messy for a bedroom of an adult woman. The wallpaper was a dull, sickly green. A queen-sized bed rested in the center and its wooden headboard leaned comfortably against the wall. The floor was carpeted with teal-colored, fur-like material. I crept inside and closed the door. I glanced to the left and a Victorian mirror hung on the wall, next to an old wooden cupboard. On my right was a calendar and a large chest of drawers.

  I pulled the top most drawer. Inside it was a picture of a boy and a girl. I was the girl, while the boy was Gale Summers. I placed it on the floor and rummaged through the drawer. I then retrieved a pocket knife, which I recognized as a possession of my late father. I also retrieved a tiny flashlight, which I bought the year before during a school charity bazaar. Last but not least was a handful of coins and banknotes that was kept in a little envelope. I knew it was mine, for I was the only one in that house that kept money in an envelope. The rest had their wallets and piggy banks. I held them in my arms and hastily made my way to the attic. I then kept them under a set of wooden floorboards, for I wasn't sure whether my chest of drawers was a safe storage box. I then hurried to my aunt's bedroom to explore more of it. I wondered why my aunt would hide me from her room. It didn't look suspicious at all. That was what I thought before I saw a sheet of paper which she folded and kept in her chest of drawers.

Amount of inheritance before ridding targets: $10,000,000 - $6,200,000 = $3,800,000
Amount of inheritance after ridding targets: $10,000,000 - $0 = $10,000,000
Targets:
• Carter Summers (brother)
• Abigail Summers (sister-in-law)

  I couldn't believe what was written. Did she murder my parents for the sake of getting her hands on the money? What a greedy scoundrel! I thought she loved her family. I desperately wanted to tear it apart and watch it burn, but my aunt would find out. She'd probably put me on her list. I placed the note back to where I found it. I took a step and heard creaking. The floorboard. I crouched and removed the loose plank to reveal my aunt's diary. I knew it would be a bit invasive if I read her thoughts, but I couldn't help but snoop. After all, I wanted to know if she had another motive, other than money, to kill my parents. I flipped through the pages and proofread.

Dear Diary,

You've no idea how much I hate my brother. Yes, I've stated in previous entries that I've envied him, but this is a different story. Oh, how he would mock me. How he would point out my flaws. This was the last straw and I want you to be the only one to know.

It started off when both of us grew up. Since little, he was the star of the family. Our parents favored him over me. They denied it, but even strangers could see the favoritism. He had all the best things in life. He was the popular kid in school and had the best grades. And oh, was he talented! He was like a bright star outshining all the light that I had left to give. Whatever I could do, he could do better. My parents ruthlessly compared me to him. They wouldn't even do that to Tom (he was the eldest of us three)! But of course, Tom had a university scholarship and was sent to a foreign country (Australia, if I remember correctly). But then again, poor Tom died from food poisoning just a week after he returned home. He had been eating at some restaurant near our house that unintentionally served him uncooked food.

Even into adulthood, the burden of being the overshadowed one haunted me. My brother Carter was becoming more successful in life. He graduated with honors. He landed a good job. He had a good house. He had a wife named Abigail. He even had two children: Gale and Grace. He was even better than me to the point that he would insensitively mock me. Our parents favored him so much that he was given a much bigger inheritance than me. When I asked why, they pointed out that I deserved what I got. They said I was just a lazy bum that didn't work at all. I did work, but not as much as my brother Carter. Oh, how I hated him even more.

If they think he's more important than me, let's see how they handle it when I burn down his house. Of course, I wouldn't want to kill him and his family, though it would make me feel better if Carter died in that 'accident.' But he's not the only one I dislike.

Carter's son, Gale, was much like his father. He seemed 'perfect' to everyone, but they didn't know what he did to me. He was a young lad and he had humiliated me in public. How? I was just shopping whilst babysitting the kids Gale and Grace. Grace was as tame as a lamb, but Gale was a wild animal. He was mischievous beyond control. When I was about to exit the mall, I saw someone dropping their wallet by accident. I picked it up and wanted to give it to the owner when little Gale shouted,

   "Thief!"

He accused me of stealing the wallet. I was apprehended and charged with theft. I was punished and my family shunned me. No one would listen to me. When I had served my sentence, Gale came to me to apologize for his 'prank.' I pretended to forgive him. But that was not all. Before Grace was born, I had to look after him every once in awhile. During one session, he broke my prized tea set (which I bought in London). Another time he trampled all over my flower bed whilst chasing my neighbor's pet cat. He even blotched the walls with paint and vandalized my painting (which took me three months to finish) with permanent marker. I couldn't stand him at all.

Carter and Gale have done terrible things to me, and I shall give them a taste of it.

From,
Madeline

  I was disappointed with my aunt. But at the same time, I pitied her. It must have been horrible. But even then, it shouldn't justify her act of burning my house. I kept her diary. I was about to go back to my room when my aunt caught me red-handed. I froze in spot and paled as she glared at me.

  "I knew you would break into my room! This deserves punishment," she said.

  She dragged me towards the basement door. If there was one thing about the basement that I terribly disliked was the darkness that loomed there. Lock me inside a room, or make me clean up the neighbor's cat's litter box, but don't send me to the basement! Woe was me as she hurled me down the stairs and I rolled to the basement floor. The fear haunted me and my aunt closed the door, locking me in complete darkness. The cold and the dark were taunting me. They were torturing me.

  I curled up on the floor and prayed for a light.