Chapter 1 Bought and Paid For

The balance in my mobile banking app showed only 3.56 dollars.

Ten minutes earlier, it should have shown the full scholarship of 200,000 dollars. Now every last cent was gone.

I called my parents more than a dozen times, but neither of them answered.

In the end, it was Connor who drove me around, anxiously helping me search until we finally found them in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.

This was the place they always called their music dream headquarters.

The moment I pushed open the rusted metal door, the stench of cheap cigarettes mixed with stale beer hit me in the face.

Empty beer bottles and takeout containers were scattered across the floor.

My parents were sprawled across a battered couch, dead asleep.

"Maya, Liam, wake up!" Connor stormed over and angrily yanked the blanket off them.

My dad blinked awake, bleary-eyed. When he saw Connor and me, he casually rubbed his messy hair.

"Oh, Lucas, you're here? You could've at least given us a heads-up. Your mom and I got pretty wasted last night celebrating the new equipment—"

"Where's the money?" I stood in the middle of the trash, my voice low and cold.

My dad froze for a second. He followed my gaze to the brand-new sound system, then grinned. "Oh, that. Our old equipment was garbage. Your mom and I talked it over and borrowed your money to upgrade our gear."

"Borrowed?" I stared at him, my fists clenching on their own. "That was my tuition. I have to report to college next week."

My mom finally woke up too. She rubbed her temples as she sat up, looking thoroughly annoyed. "What are you making such a fuss about? My head's splitting."

She glanced at me and spoke as if it were no big deal. "This sound system was a limited edition. If we didn't buy it now, we'd lose our chance.

"Your dad and I aren't getting any younger. If we don't chase our dream now, when will we? We're your parents. What's wrong with using a little of your money?"

Connor could not take it anymore. He pointed straight at them and shouted, "Have you lost your minds? That was his scholarship! Lucas practically grew up eating meals at our house. Did either of you ever take care of him for even one day?

"He finally got into college, and now you're stealing his money? You're trying to ruin this kid's life!"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" My dad frowned. "Stealing? Come on. We're family. Since when do we keep score? Once our band makes it big and we start getting paid for gigs, we'll pay him back double."

"Exactly," my mom said, without the slightest trace of guilt. "In other countries, kids get kicked out at eighteen."

As I watched them back each other up, I suddenly realized that every bit of pain I had endured over the past eighteen years had been nothing more than a joke.

I grabbed Connor's arm, signaling for him to stop arguing.

Then I looked at the two people who had brought me into this world and said calmly, "Fine. If chasing your dream matters so much that you don't even care about your own son, then starting today, we're done. I want nothing more to do with either of you."

The warehouse fell silent for a moment.

My parents exchanged a surprised look. But that surprise quickly disappeared.

My dad shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. "Sure. The kid's grown up. Thinks he can make it on his own now. Then go ahead. Fly the nest. That's the kind of freedom we've always believed in."

My mom curled her lip, looking almost relieved. "Good. Go make your own way in the world. Stop expecting to live off your parents."

I nodded and said coldly, "Consider this 200,000 dollars the price of repaying you for raising me these past eighteen years. From this day forward, we're nothing to each other."

With that, I grabbed Connor, who was still standing there in shock, and walked out of the decaying warehouse without looking back.