Chapter 4 Edith came down the stairs . The moment she stepped into the living room , the place went oddly quiet . Her eyes landed on Joseph, calm and steady , as she studied her brother closely . Joseph stared back at her . He'd grown up knowing he had a sister who'd been sent away to a small town for treatment because of some serious illness . People said all kinds of bad things about Edith , but he'd always been curious what she looked like . Now that he'd finally seen her in person , he thought she looked a lot prettier than he expected . Standing off to the side , Hallie frowned . She'd talked trash about Edith to Joseph more times than she could count , so she'd assumed he'd tell Edith to leave the second he saw her . She didn't get why he was just standing there , staring . Hallie took a deep breath and said , " Joseph , don't be like this . Your mom died in a car crash - it wasn't Edith's fault . That day was her birthday . She really wanted your mom to come home and celebrate with her , so she called to ask . No one could've known there'd be an accident . " Just a few words , and Joseph's face darkened . He remembered - it Edith hadn't made that call asking Mom to come back and blow out candles , maybe their mom wouldn't have died in that crash . It was Edith's fault . She killed their mom . And now he had come all the way home only to see her face . Joseph shot Edith a cold glare , grabbed his backpack , and turned to leave . Edith glanced at Hallie . Since Hallie dared to plant seeds in her brother's head right in front of her , she'd make sure to settle the score- soon . But for now , there was something more important to take care of . " Stop ." Edith said coolly . Joseph didn't stop . He walked even faster . She caught up in a flash and grabbed his shoulder . A seventeen - year - old girl overpowering a nine - year - old boy wasn't hard - even more so with the System's strength backing her . Joseph froze , unable to move . He was furious . " What are you doing ? Let me go ! " " Where are you going ? " she asked , still calm . " None of your business ! " Joseph snapped . Im gonna count to three . If you don't let go , I swear I'll destroy you ." Edith smiled coldly . " Let me help you count. One . Two . Three ." Josephi tried with everything he had , but he couldn't break free . His face turned red with rage " Edith , it's one thing to pick on me , but Joseph ? He's just nine , Hallie said , stepping in with a fake tone of concern . " Joseph , stop being so stubborn and just apologize to your sister . You're family . What's there to hold a grudge about ? " " I didn't do anything wrong ." Joseph growled . " Why should I apologice ? " Edith grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him back inside . " You can do whatever you want - after you finish your homework " Joseph nearly exploded . He was already in fourth grade , but he'd never once known what his assignments were . He never did homework . No one in the family made him , and the teachers didn't dare . He never had to answer to anyone about school . " Mom , Hallic , Help met Joseph screamed . The second Edith heard him shout for help , her hean clenched like it'd been stabbed with a needle . But she couldn't blame him . After all , from the moment he could remember , everyone around him told him Karen was his mons , and Hallie was his sister 1/3 4 - DR PM Chapter 4 Edith only hated that she hadn't come back from her previous life sooner . Karen and Hallie's voices echoed behind her , chasing after her . Edith pressed her lips together and dragged Joseph upstairs without a word . She marched to the third floor , slammed the door shut , and blocked out all the noise from outside . She threw Joseph onto the floor , unzipped his backpack , and dumped out all the books inside . What's your homework today ?" she asked coldly . Joseph clenched his jaw . " Why do you care ? Who do you think you are ? What gives you the right to boss me around ? " Edith bent down slightly , placed a hand on his shoulder , and said slowly , I'm your sister . Since Mom's gone , I'm in charge of everything that has to do with you . Tell me what homework your teacher assigned . If you don't , I will call your teacher . After six years of Karen's hands - off parenting , Joseph had started to go down the wrong path . Without a firm hand , there was no way he'd listen . Joseph's fists tightened . He snapped , ' I was asleep in class . I didn't hear what the homework was , " Edith flipped through his books . They were all brand - new , barely touched . Even if she found out what the homework was , he probably wouldn't do it anyway . " Let's keep it simple today ," she said calmly . " Write ten vocabulary words from memory ." Joseph didn't want to do it , but he knew if he didn't listen , he wouldn't be allowed to leave the room . So he sat down in the chair with a scowl . Edith asked , " After all that yelling , are you thirsty ? Want some water ? " Joseph wanted to say no just to be difficult - but his throat really was dry . He said coolly , " Yeah . Edith smiled faintly . " Get it yourself . " Every room had its own water purifier and disposable paper cups . Joseph shot her a hateful glare but still got up to pour a cup . Just as he finished filling it , Edith snatched it out of his hand . She downed the whole thing in one p go , then smiled . Thanks , Joseph , " Joseph stared at her in disbelief . If he were stronger , he'd have kicked hor across the room . Edith asked silently in her mind , ' Mission complete - where's my reward ? " The system stayed silent , it wanted a sweet sibling moment , not Edith stealing Joseph's water. Edith chuckled inwardly . ( System , don't be so petty ! System : [ Mission complete . Reward unlocked : Basic Escape Skills - an essential survival tool for every heiress . Please use responsibly i Edith frowned , unsure what basic escape skills were . System : [ Sixty percent of heiresses around the world face kidnapping attempts every year . Over half die in captivity or have their reputation ruined . If you're ever kidnapped , Basic Escape Skills will let you unlock any door or lock.Į Edith's lips curled into a smile . Being able to unlock any door was quite a useful skill . She could try it out tonight . Jusepli saw the weird smile on her face and shrank back . He had planned to just scribble out the words and be done with it , but now he was too nervous to slack oll . He kept writing Under Edith's strict watch , it took him half an hour to finish all ten words . As soon as he opened the door . Hallie rushed in and asked with a worried face . " Joseph , are you okay ? Did she hun you ? "