Chapter 1

The moment those words left my mouth, the room fell silent.

For a split second, Mom's expression froze, and then tears began rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s because your father and I are useless… We just wanted to earn some extra money and take some pressure off you. We never thought we’d get scammed…”

Normally, I would have rushed to comfort her. However, for some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Reddit post I’d read earlier that day.

“Mom, how much do you owe?”

Something flickered in her eyes. She lowered her head and twisted her fingers together.

“Six… Sixty thousand dollars…”

Sixty thousand. That was more than everything I owned. Yet strangely, I felt relieved. The number was different from the fifty thousand mentioned in the post.

“Harper.” Mom looked up, her eyes red. “The fifty thousand you have in your savings account… could you transfer it to me tonight?”

I froze. I’d never told anyone how much money I had saved.

"Mom, how do you know how much money is in my account?"

Dad slammed his fork onto the table. “So what if your mother knows? Are you really hiding something that small from your own family?”

I lowered my voice. “Dad, that’s my money.”

His voice instantly rose. “Your money? Your mother and I raised you! Your money is the family’s money!”

Mom quickly grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? Can we talk about this calmly? She never said she wouldn’t help!”

Then, she moved to sit beside me and whisper reassuringly, “Harper, I’m not trying to force you into giving us your money, but we really don’t have any other choice. Since we can’t rely on your brother anymore, you’re the only support your father and I have.”

I remembered how, after my brother cut ties with the family, Mom spent months calling him an ungrateful child. She kept saying that from then on, I was all they had. However, the money I’d saved was for a house. If I handed it over, years of hard work would disappear overnight.

“Mom, it’s all tied up in fixed-term investments. I can’t withdraw it immediately.”

Dad's face darkened. “If you can’t withdraw it, then get a loan! Call your boss right now. Tell them there's an emergency at home and ask for an advance on your salary!”

My patience was beginning to wear thin. Still, knowing my parents didn’t understand how workplaces operated, I forced myself to explain it.

“Dad, that’s not how it works. I can’t just do that.”

“What kind of nonsense rule is that? It looks like the Grey family is cursed. My son is useless, and now my daughter is no help either!”

Ever since my brother cut ties with the family, Dad's temper had become increasingly unpredictable.

Not wanting to provoke him further, I swallowed my frustration. “Dad, what platform did you borrow the money from? If the interest rate exceeds legal limits, we can take legal action. We only have to repay the lawful amount.”

Dad suddenly slammed his hand onto the table. “You ungrateful girl! Stop changing the subject! I only want one answer. Are you paying back this debt or not?”

Mom tightened her grip on my hand. “Harper… you're our only hope…”

Sixty thousand dollars.

I clenched my teeth. At worst, I’d just have to work more overtime. However, this time, I didn’t agree outright. I only said I’d try to figure something out.

The moment Mom noticed my attitude softening, she quickly piled food onto my plate. I looked down. The table was filled with vegetables, and for the first time, I had no appetite.

My thoughts drifted back to the first day I’d invited my parents to move in with me. Mom had prepared an elaborate vegetarian dinner. At the time, I’d assumed she was trying to save money, so I secretly gave her an extra two hundred dollars.

She’d accepted the money and told me that young people already ate too much takeout during the day, so dinner should be lighter and healthier. I'd been deeply touched by her thoughtfulness, but now that I thought about it, when my brother still lived at home, there had always been meat on the table.

After dinner, I returned to my room. I pulled out my savings book from the drawer. I was still ten thousand dollars short of being able to buy a house. In the end, I opened the same app I'd been browsing earlier, intending to apply for a loan.

The screen was still on that Reddit post, but to my surprise, after only half a day, the comments had exploded.

[I’ve seen parents play favorites before, but I've never seen parents this heartless!]

[That poor girl. Her entire family is manipulating her.]

A few comments were supporting the original poster, but they were instantly drowned out by criticism.

I refreshed the page. The thread showed that the original poster had updated it two minutes ago.

[My daughter actually asked today whether I was in debt. Could she have figured something out?]

My heart dropped.