Chapter 3

"Have you lost your mind again, Raven Carter? We don't have that kind of money, and you know it!" Dad yelled.

I didn't want to waste my breath arguing with them anymore. I just tore up the receipt they got for the car purchase yesterday instead. Then, I threw the pieces in their faces.

"How much longer would you have hidden it from me if I didn't find out by accident?"

Mom and Dad were stupefied when they caught sight of the receipt. They never thought that I would find out about their little secret that quickly.

Mom was so infuriated that she wanted to slap me. "You freaking brat! Did you stalk us all the way there?"

I grabbed her arm and stopped her midway. "And how could I possibly do that? I'd never have found out if I hadn't happened to be working a shift at that car dealership when you walked in!

"How could you do this to me? You've been telling me that we were poor since I was young, and that was the reason why I had never received new clothes but only ever wore hand-me-downs from my other cousins!

"Even the best food in the house has to be left for Randy! Do you know that I've never even tasted beef before, at my age? I never dared to go to university, even though I got in! I even took up even more shifts because I wanted to buy you that gold pendant you'd been eyeing to make you happy!

"But what did you do? How have both of you been treating me? You couldn't afford to pay for my university fees, but you could afford to send Randy abroad for his studies! And you even bought him such an expensive car!

"Why is that so? Is it just because I'm a girl?"

I immediately aired out all of my grievances at once.

However, Mom and Dad didn't seem the least bit remorseful or ashamed after hearing my little rant. They just got even more frustrated and chided me in return.

"You brat, you think you're all that now, don't you? We've been feeding you and giving you a roof over your head for years! Do you really think that we still owe you anything else?

"And don't you dare bring up the subject of us spending half a million dollars on Randy's car. He will be inheriting all of our money! This is not something you should ever question as a good-for-nothing leech!"

Randall chimed in as well.

"That's right! Mom and Dad gave birth to you and raised you till now! You already owe them big for the rest of your life! How dare you question their financial choices so shamelessly like this? Did you think that the money belonged to you?"

So, this was my family's true colors after all, even though I had loved and respected them for years!

I got so mad that I couldn't even breathe right. I pointed my finger at them and yelled, "Fine! Since you all look down on me that much, then I'll just leave! Happy?"

Once I was done talking, I immediately went straight to my room to pack up all of my belongings. Dad flew into a rage and yelled back, "If you dare to set foot outside the door tonight, then you can forget about ever coming back! We will never acknowledge such a disrespectful daughter like you!"

I found it even more ridiculous and just said, "I couldn't be happier with that!"

…

I cut off all contact with Mom and Dad since then. I even told my best friend, Sarah Parker, about my family lying to me about being poor for years, and she got even more furious after hearing everything.

"Don't you think you just did something dumb? How could you just cut them off? You wouldn't get a penny from them anymore, and they'd probably still make you pay for their retirement!"

I chuckled coldly.

"You're too naive. Did you really think that I would get a single penny from their inheritance if I continued staying with them? They'd already made it clear that everything was going to Randall, that good-for-nothing scumbag. It's not something that I, as a 'leech', could ever question."

Sarah frowned hard. "You've got a point. So, what are you planning to do next? Are you really going to let them off the hook that easily?"