Chapter 22: An Excuse

The forty thousand dollars had been converted into credit slips by the time I got down and met the manager.

I tucked the credits inside my hoodie pocket, Edgar’s contact card in my cap, and the private training pass safe in my grip, and then I made a swift B-line for the casino’s main exit.

I was nearly at the glass double doors when my assassin senses flared.

A familiar figure was standing near the lounge area, holding a tray of empty cocktail glasses. Jayden. His gaze was sweeping the crowd, likely drawn by the fading murmurs of the forty-thousand-dollar win.

Before his eyes could lock onto my oversized hoodie, my body moved on pure, raw instinct. I ducked behind a pillar, spun on my heel, and slipped through the side exit like a phantom, my heart hammering against my ribs as I sprinted down the alleyway.

"Phew..." I leaned against the brick wall three streets over, panting heavily as cold air burned my weak lungs. "Thank the goddess he didn’t see me."

If Jayden had caught me coming out of the high-stakes floor with forty grand in my pocket, he would have dragged me home by my ear. Jordan would have been informed within the hour, Bradford and Valerie would have had collective heart attacks, and I would have been interrogated until dawn.

But then I suddenly paused, staring down at my hands as my breathing slowed.

Why did I run?

In my past life, if someone cornered me, I eliminated them. I didn’t run from a young adult boy serving drinks. Yet, the instant Jayden looked in my direction, an automatic, almost visceral surge of panic—a deep-seated sibling intuition embedded in Brianna’s very DNA—had hijacked my muscles.

I scoffed, shaking my head. It seemed this body’s residual memories were fusing with my consciousness whether I liked it or not. I was really starting to act like their little sister.

Well, first things first.

My first stop was the pawn shop two streets down. I tossed the folded fifty-dollar bill onto the dusty glass counter, reclaimed Jordan’s silver necklace. At first, the pawner wanted to make a fuss, but I gave him one quick glare and he spat out, deciding he wasn’t going to gain anything from bullying a young girl anyway and let it go.

Next was an absolute necessity: shopping.

I couldn’t stand the rags stuffed inside Brianna’s closet another day. I hit the local market district, purchasing durable, high-quality dark athletic wear for myself—simple, practical clothes suited for training rather than showing off.

Then, I bought clothes for the rest of them. Bradford, Valerie, Jordan, and Jayden wore faded, threadbare rags that made them look even more pathetic than their financial situation dictated.

Bradford, in particular, worked as a janitor at my academy, and his worn-down, stained uniform practically begged the arrogant noble students to make him a laughingstock. I picked out a sturdy, slate-gray work suit for him, along with warm, decent outfits for Valerie and the twins.

I didn’t spend extravagantly. Every single credit was calculated down to the decimal. I set aside a substantial chunk of the forty thousand to begin paying off the local loan sharks in controlled installments—not to be generous, but to ensure debt collectors stopped barging into the house and disrupting my daily meditation.

Afterwards, I went to do my hair. Seriously, did Brianna never wash her hair? It felt so thick and undergrown at the scalp. So, I had a hair do, change of clothes, and just from these little changes, I became an entirely different person.

On my way back, I stopped by a licensed apothecary, using a portion of the funds to purchase basic muscle-strengthening elixirs and vitality tonics.

Combined with Edgar’s requisition token for high-grade recovery serums and access to his private lower-district training facility, my plan to condition this weak shell and awaken my latent wolf was fully laid out.

Finally, I stocked up on actual, nutrient-dense food—fresh meat, grains, and proper ingredients—filling three massive canvas bags.

Unable to carry the weight of the haul in this fragile body without exhausting myself, I hailed a taxi, directing the driver straight to the slum district.

The cab pulled up in front of the run-down Wells residence. I hauled the heavy bags out of the backseat, paid the driver, and stepped up to the front door.

I pushed the door open, the heavy scent of fresh bread and roasted meat instantly flooding the small, dim living room.

Sitting at the wooden table, staring at the sudden mountain of grocery bags, brand-new clothing boxes, and an obviously well-fed, cap-wearing Brianna, were Bradford and Valerie.

The room fell dead silent. Bradford dropped his cup of water, and Valerie’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Brianna...?" Bradford choked out, his voice trembling as he looked from the grocery, the brand-new janitor’s uniform peeking out of a canvas bag to my face, that looked remarkably different. "Where... where did you get all of this?"

Valerie slowly set her wooden spoon down, her eyes wide with mounting panic. "Brianna, answer your father. What is all this?"

Think. Telling them I won forty thousand dollars in a casino under the nose of Edgar Morningstar was a one-way ticket to getting locked in my room until the Tournament of Power. They would have my neck.

I took a deep breath, forcing my face into a picture of wide-eyed, innocent wonder. "I... I won a lottery," I lied smoothly.

"A lottery?" Bradford blinked, his forehead creasing into deep furrows. "What lottery?"

"Well, I went on a walk earlier," I said, putting a slightly dramatic, animated spin on my tone to sound convincing. "I was passing by a shop in the middle district, and a man called me over. He told me to pick a card from a box. I was super cautious, of course! I asked him what kind of trick it was because I didn’t want to get scammed and put you guys through more trouble. But he said it was completely free! Just pick a card, and if I was lucky, I’d win a grand prize. I thought, it’s a scam, it has to be a scam, right? But since I didn’t have to pay a single penny, I figured... what was there to lose? So, I picked one. And... it gave me credits, Mother! Father! A lot of credits! We can finally pay off some of the debts!"