Chapter 4

The room erupted into murmurs, and every relative turned to stare at me with open contempt.

"My God, he blew through 100,000 dollars? He looks so well-behaved, but he's rotten to the core!"

"So what if he got into a good school? With character like that, who'd ever trust him with anything?"

I was shaking with anger as I shouted, "I didn't! There was never any money on that card! It was empty the whole time!"

"Enough!" Mom slammed her hand on the table.

"You do something wrong, then have the nerve to lie about it? How did this family raise such a shameless bastard?"

Joseph stood up and walked over to me, putting on the act of a concerned older brother. "Come on, just stop making Mom and Dad angry.

"They worked really hard to save that 100,000 dollars, and you burned through every cent. Can you blame them for being upset?

"Besides, you've never worked a day in your life. You're probably just getting in the boss' way."

As he spoke, he stepped in close, blocking most of the relatives' view with his body, and dropped his voice so only I could hear.

"You idiot. You still don't get it? Mom and Dad don't love you.

"Those two cards only exist because I asked for my own savings account when I was a kid, and they put on that whole show so nobody could say they were playing favorites.

"They lied to you so it'd look fair. It's been six years, and you're only figuring this out now."

Then he reached down and dug his fingers into the soft flesh at my waist, twisting hard.

The sharp stab of pain made me gasp and flinch backward. The instant the gap opened between us, Joseph threw himself to the ground in an exaggerated fall.

"Joseph!" Mom cried out and rushed over, dropping to her knees to help him up.

Before I could even open my mouth to explain, Dad's palm cracked across my face.

"You animal! Your brother tries to talk some sense into you, and you put your hands on him?"

I held my stinging cheek, my ears ringing.

"Where's the manager? Get your boss out here right now!" Mom propped up Joseph, who was still putting on his act, and screamed toward the door.

Rick came running in at the commotion.

"What kind of people are you hiring? A server who assaults your guests? I want him fired immediately!

"And the bill for tonight, plus my son's medical expenses, all of it comes out of his paycheck! Don't you dare pay him a single cent!"

Rick looked terrified. He apologized over and over, then turned and glared at me. "Simon! I'm so disappointed in you. Do you have any idea what it means to offend a VIP client like this?

"Take off that uniform and get out! Your entire month's pay is gone. Every cent of it goes toward compensating the guests."

I didn't say a word. I just stared at my parents.

They were truly ruthless. Not only had they strung me along for six years with an empty card, but they'd also smeared my name in front of every relative we had. And now they were hitting me and taking the wages I'd been killing myself to earn for tuition, without even bothering to hear my side.

Whatever attachment I'd still had to this family vanished completely.

I slowly straightened up, reached into my pocket, and pulled out the empty bank card along with a printed transaction statement from the bank.

"Before I go, let's settle this six-year tab once and for all."

My calm demeanor threw Mom off. Her face tightened, and she snapped at me, trying to keep her composure. "What are you waving an empty card around for? You already spent all the money! Stop embarrassing yourself!"

I let out a cold laugh, walked right past her, and handed the statement to Great-Aunt Martha, the most respected person in the room.

"Great-Aunt Martha, would you read this bank statement out loud for everyone?

"Let them all hear exactly how much money was ever deposited into this card over the past six years."