Chapter 4

The impact left me with numbing pain on my tailbone.

I did not know what was happening.

“Daphne, what money?”

Daphne looked anxious, as her voice kept shaking.

“I’ve spent most of my savings from my work these few years to pay for your medical bill. But the fifty thousand dollars that I saved up was meant for my further studies overseas.

“It’s all gone now!

“I can give you whatever you want, but please give me back my fifty thousand dollars.”

By the very end, Daphne sounded like she was begging.

Upon seeing that, Mom and Dax immediately went to comfort Daphne.

Dad forcefully dragged me to the side with a darkened expression.

It seemed like he was suppressing his anger, but he still sounded calm.

“Jude, the last time your mother said to stop your physiotherapy. No matter how angry you are over it, you can’t take Daphne’s money.”

Sweat broke out on my forehead from anxiety.

“Dad, I didn’t. I really didn’t take Daphne’s money.”

I could hear Daphne’s sneer.

“I didn’t tell anyone about my savings. I carefully hid it under the couch.

“You’re the one who has been sleeping on the couch these past few days.

“Tell me, if it’s not you, who would it be?”

My mind whirled.

I could not recall anything related to fifty thousand dollars.

I was just about to ask Daphne if she had mistaken the wrong place when Mom spoke with a cold voice.

“Alright, there’s no point for you to be anxious about it. He won’t give you the money back.”

She turned to look at me.

It did not seem like she was looking at her son; instead, she was looking at me as though I was a filthy rat.

“Jude, I won’t ask for fifty thousand dollars from you.

“I’ll treat it as repayment for all that you’ve done for Dax and Daphne.”

I was dumbfounded as I sat on the ground.

As I gaped at Mom, I understood the emotions in her eyes.

At that moment, I felt my heart had completely gone cold.

Dad sighed and looked extremely disappointed.

“Let’s go home.”

The four of them got into the car.

None of them came to ask me.

Mom’s hand hesitated when she held the car door handle.

However, her hesitation only lasted a second.

The car door slammed loudly and left me behind.

I sat on the ground with my bad leg.

The passersby looked at me with strange gazes.

I did not know how long I was sitting there.

The sky slowly brightened up.

I looked at my phone.

There was a notification popping out at the same time.

Dad had removed me from the family group chat.

I blinked. Tears trickled down my cheeks.

I finally regained some strength in my leg.

I helped myself up by propping against the wall. Then, I limped toward the direction of the airport.

That night, none of them slept well.

They flipped through my bedroom, but they did not find that fifty thousand dollars.

Mom cursed me for being a scheming thief, but she kept glancing at the door.

After the whole night, no one appeared before that door.

When Mom thought of that, she was even more infuriated. She cursed through gritted teeth.

“Jude’s such a rascal. How dare he be so stubborn when he’s stealing?”

At that moment, Daphne walked over with a ghastly expression. She held the bank card in her hand.

“Mom, I found the money.”

Earlier, Daphne had recalled that because of her unease, she had deposited the money a few days earlier.

The four of them stared at that bank card for a long while before they realized that they had misunderstood me.

In the end, Dad coughed dryly.

“Let me call Jude and tell him to head back for dinner.”

No one mentioned apologizing to me.

It seemed like they were giving in by asking me to return home.

However, when Dad called me, he could not get through. The robotic voice claimed that my number was no longer in service.