Chapter 2

I was young then, and Dad's words scared me into believing I'd have no money for school if I weren't careful.

So I wore that torn puffer jacket through the entire winter, surviving on nothing but sheer stubbornness. My hands broke out in chilblains so bad that even holding a pen sent a stabbing pain through them.

The memory brought a wave of angry betrayal flooding through me. I pulled out my phone and called Mom.

The phone rang for a long time with no answer. At that moment, I recalled something.

A week ago, Mom and Dad had left on a trip overseas with Joseph. They'd deliberately chosen to leave on the day Grandma called me over to help her clean, just so I wouldn't tag along. The three of them were probably having the time of their lives right about now.

I called three more times before Mom finally picked up.

"What is it now?" Mom's voice carried a thin edge of irritation.

"Mom," I said, fighting to keep the trembling and the tears out of my voice, "I went to the bank and checked.

"That card has been empty since the day it was opened six years ago. There was never 100,000 dollars in it."

The other end of the line went dead silent. After a long pause, Mom cleared her throat. Her tone turned evasive, tinged with guilt.

"Oh… You went and checked.

"Well, the thing is, back then your dad and I had some business expenses, and we were short on cash. We owed some debts.

"We didn't have a choice, so we used your share first. We were planning to pay it back once things picked up, but then we got busy, and it just slipped our minds."

The moment I heard that, the tears came pouring out, streaming down my cheeks and hitting the ground. I choked out the words, practically begging as I asked her, "Mom, if the family was in debt and you needed money to pay it off, then why did you only take mine?

"Even if you and Dad had taken 50,000 from each of us, even if you'd split it down the middle, I would've accepted that!

"Why did you use an empty card to lie to me for six years? Why does Joseph's card actually have 100,000 dollars in it?"

By the end, I'd completely lost control, and my voice rose to a shout.

They'd lied to me for six years. How could they do that? If they'd just told me the truth back then, I wouldn't be this angry.

Instead, Dad's voice came through, furious.

"Simon Steele! What the hell are you screaming about?

"Your brother has been raised as the one who'll carry this family forward. He needs money for networking and socializing. How's he supposed to get by without it?

"You're tough. You barely spend anything anyway, so we used your share. So what? Are you really going to sit there and feel sorry for yourself?

"We raised you, fed you, and put clothes on your back. Now you have the nerve to nickel-and-dime your own father over some money?"

I cried into the phone, "But you said that was my college fund! You took the money, so how am I supposed to pay for school now?"

"How? Figure it out yourself!" Dad scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt. "You're almost 18 years old, and you still expect this family to carry you forever? You're nothing but a selfish, ungrateful little leech.

"I'm telling you right now, from today on, we're not spending a single cent on you. Go get a job and earn your own tuition."

Then he hung up.

I stood there, frozen in place, cold all the way through.

That was when my phone lit up with a notification. Joseph had posted on Instagram.

In the photos, he was wearing an expensive arctic parka, standing under the Northern Lights in Velmark.

The caption read, "Shoutout to the best parents in the world for giving me my travel fund. 100,000 was enough to see the whole world! Love you guys!"

I looked at Joseph's beaming smile in the photos, then down at the bank card in my hand with its zero balance. I couldn't even cry anymore.

For six years, I'd believed that being good and being frugal meant I was doing my part for this family.

But it turned out my parents never saw me at all.