Chapter 2

I was young back then, and her words scared me straight; I was terrified I'd end up with no money for college someday. So I spent that entire brutal winter in the broken-down jacket, gritting my teeth and toughing it out.

By the time it was over, my hands were covered in chilblains, so bad that even holding a pen sent a stabbing kind of pain through them.

Thinking about it now, a wave of betrayed fury rose in my chest, and I grabbed my phone and called my dad.

The phone rang for a long time before anyone picked up.

That's when I remembered my parents had left for a trip to Europe with my sister a week earlier.

They'd made a point of leaving on the exact day my grandmother had called me over to help clean her house, clearly hoping I wouldn't tag along.

I imagined the three of them were probably having the time of their lives right about now.

It took three calls before someone finally answered.

"What now?" My dad's voice carried a note of impatience.

"Dad," I said, fighting to keep the tremor and the tears out of my voice, "I went to the bank.

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

The line went dead silent.

After a long moment, my dad cleared his throat. His tone turned evasive and guilty.

"Oh... so you checked.

"Well, the thing is, back when the family business needed cash, we ran into some debt. We didn't have a choice, so we used your share first.

"I meant to pay you back once we made more money, but things got busy, and I forgot."

Hearing his excuse, tears spilled from my eyes at once, falling in fat drops onto the ground.

Choking on my own voice, I asked him, almost beggingly, "Dad, if the family owed money and needed it to pay off debt, why did you only touch my share?

"Even if you and Mom had split it and taken 50,000 dollars each from me and Bridget, even if we'd each lost half, I could have accepted that.

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

By the end, I couldn't hold back anymore, and my voice rose.

How could they have lied to me for six years?

Even if they'd just told me the truth back then, I wouldn't be this furious now.

But through the phone, my mom's voice suddenly cut in, sharp and shrill.

"Penny! What are you screeching about?!

"Bridget has always been weak, and she's been spoiled since she was little. How's she supposed to live without money?

"You're tough as nails, you barely spend anything anyway. What's the big deal if we used your share? Did it really wrong you that much?

"We raised you, fed you, clothed you, and now you've got the nerve to come at your father over a little money!"

Crying, I shouted into the phone, "But you told me that was my college tuition! You spent it, so what am I supposed to do about college now!"

"What are you supposed to do? Figure it out yourself." My mom let out a cold laugh, her tone biting.

"You're eighteen. Are you still expecting us to support you your whole life? What an ungrateful little parasite.

"I'm telling you right now, starting today, we're done paying for anything, no matter what happens to you. Go get a job and earn your own tuition."

With that, she hung up with a sharp click.

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

Just then, my phone screen lit up. My sister, Bridget Rhea, had posted to her social media.

The photo grid showed her in an expensive arctic parka, standing beneath the northern lights in Iceland.

The caption read: [Thanks to the best parents in the world for the 100,000-dollar travel fund and giving me the freedom to see the world. Love you guys!]

I looked at my sister's radiant smile in the photo, then down at the zero-balance bank card in my hand.

I couldn't even cry anymore.

Six years.

I'd thought that being obedient and frugal meant I was doing my part for this family.

But it turned out my parents had never once had a place for me in their eyes.