No one seemed to care where I had gone. Only my sister, Isabel, looked restless, with dark circles shadowing her eyes.
She stood beside Winona, watching the stream of guests pour into the hall. “Has my brother messaged you lately?”
Winona didn’t speak. She just handed over the phone. The moment Isabel saw the video, her face hardened.
“Winona,” she called out, stopping her. “Don’t tell Mother and Father…”
She replied coldly, “Of course.”
“Today is Justin’s birthday and Nathan still isn’t back?” My parents, dressed elegantly, looked displeased.
“He disappears all the time, but on Justin’s birthday, too? Does he think the whole world revolves around him?”
My mother sounded impatient. “Just forget about him.”
The party began. She raised her glass high and announced proudly, “Today is my son’s birthday!”
“My son-in-law, Justin Meyer, is the only true heir of the Miller Family. The treasure of our home.”
Someone in the crowd said, “Then what about Nathan?”
Mother smiled faintly. “Him? He doesn’t even count as one of us.”
Just then, the giant LED screen behind them flickered.