Chapter 2

[There’s no way. With how gullible she is, I’m probably just overthinking it. Still, her father and I have always been good at playing our parts, but this time, our daughter didn’t transfer the money right away.]

The comments section was filled with people praying that the daughter would finally wake up and see what was happening.

I stared at the screen, my fingers slowly tightening around my phone. Then, another update appeared.

[When my daughter asked how much debt we owed, I added another ten thousand dollars on the spot. Now we've got my son's wedding covered too!]

My breathing hitched. Fifty thousand plus ten thousand was exactly sixty thousand dollars.

As I scrolled back to the top, one comment had been upvoted to the top of the thread.

[Check out the OP's profile. That's where the real drama is.]

My finger hovered over the screen, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to tap it.

Just then, there was a knock on my bedroom door, and Mom walked in with a smile.

“You barely ate anything tonight, sweetheart. I made you a cup of hot chocolate.”

After everything I’d just read, I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Mom, has Will contacted you and Dad at all over the years?”

She immediately shook her head. “No! That ungrateful brat can rot for all I care!”

Then, instead of leaving, she stayed where she was.

“Harper, have you figured out a solution for the money yet?”

“Mom, that's not a small amount. How could I come up with it that quickly?”

Mom started to panic. “Just transfer the fifty thousand you have in your account to me first. That’ll pay off most of it, and then your father and I can help you figure out the rest.”

I met her gaze and asked, “Mom, what about all the living expenses I've been sending you every month?”

Her expression stiffened. “Sweetheart, what are you trying to say?”

“Maybe we could all contribute a little, Mom. That way, if something happens, we'll still have some savings for emergencies.”

Mom’s tone suddenly turned accusatory. “Harper, you don’t run a household, so you don’t understand how expensive life is. Everything costs money. It looks like your father was right. Sons and daughters are all the same in the end…”

I’d heard variations of that speech more times than I could count. In the past, I always felt sorry for everything Mom had gone through, so I would transfer the money without a second thought. However, this time, after reading that post, I hesitated.

When she saw that I wasn’t responding, Mom let out a heavy sigh and returned to her room.

Sometime after midnight, I got up for a glass of water, only to hear the muffled voices of my parents arguing coming from their bedroom.

“What’s wrong with you tonight? Why did you lose your temper like that?” Mom asked.

Dad’s voice came back low and sharp. “How is this my fault? Did you hear the way she talked to us? Asking what happened to our money? I raised her for over twenty years. Was that all for nothing?”

“Keep your voice down!” Mom shot back. “She’s already suspicious. Tonight she even asked whether Will has contacted us.”

“It’s all because of your stupid idea!” Dad snapped. “You insisted on having Will pretend to cut ties with the family because you wanted Harper to feel sorry for us and to hand over money willingly! And now look at us. We have to sneak around every time we see our own son. Figure out a way to get the money from her already. Once we do, we’re moving in with Will.”

My mind went blank, and my legs nearly gave out beneath me. I had to grab the wall just to stay standing. As it turned out, Will's cutting ties with the family was fake!

“She’s behaving as if we’re asking for her life over a little money. I’ve spoiled her too much. The old saying is right. Daughters need to be raised tough.”

Mom’s words were filled with contempt. It felt like a dull knife sawing through my heart. The woman speaking sounded nothing like the mother I thought I knew.

“Enough,” Dad said with a sigh. “We’ll try a different approach tomorrow.”

I stood frozen. My entire body felt cold to the bone. With the remaining strength I had left, I managed to drag myself back to my room.

My hands trembled as I opened the profile page I hadn't dared to click earlier. The moment I saw what was on the screen, my phone almost slipped from my fingers.

The page was filled with screenshots of private conversations, and I recognized the profile picture attached to those messages. It was Mom.