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Semua Bab No More Family: Bab 1 - Bab 9

9 Bab

Chapter 1 Bought and Paid For

The balance in my mobile banking app showed only 3.56 dollars.Ten minutes earlier, it should have shown the full scholarship of 200,000 dollars. Now every last cent was gone.I called my parents more than a dozen times, but neither of them answered.In the end, it was Connor who drove me around, anxiously helping me search until we finally found them in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.This was the place they always called their music dream headquarters.The moment I pushed open the rusted metal door, the stench of cheap cigarettes mixed with stale beer hit me in the face.Empty beer bottles and takeout containers were scattered across the floor.My parents were sprawled across a battered couch, dead asleep."Maya, Liam, wake up!" Connor stormed over and angrily yanked the blanket off them.My dad blinked awake, bleary-eyed. When he saw Connor and me, he casually rubbed his messy hair."Oh, Lucas, you're here? You could've at least given us a heads-up. Your m

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Chapter 2 The Reason They Came

After that, I said goodbye to Connor and left for the city where I would attend college.Other than going to class, I spent every spare moment working part-time jobs and internships.I never went home once, and I never contacted those two people.By working my way through school, I made it through all four years of college and landed an early job offer from a major company before graduation.In this unfamiliar city, I had finally found a place where I belonged.…I was in my apartment, scrolling through the news on my phone, when urgent knocking shattered the silence.I frowned and looked through the peephole. The frown on my face deepened.There were two people standing outside.The man wore a studded leather jacket. His hair was dyed silver-gray and tied into a little topknot.The woman wore tight leopard-print pants and heavy smoky eye makeup.They were my rock-and-roll parents, whom I had not seen in four years. They did not look any older. If anything, they looked even

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Chapter 3 They Came for My Money

I froze for a moment.I looked at the man in front of me, dressed like an old rocker who refused to grow up. This was someone with late-stage liver cancer?"The doctor said he needs surgery and chemotherapy. It'll cost at least 500,000 upfront."My mom sighed, and for the first time, I caught a glimpse of genuine worry on her face."You know we've been keeping the band going these past few years. Art isn't cheap. We've been strapped for cash, racked up some debt, and now we can't even afford the hospital bills."Lucas, you work for a major company. I heard people in your field get year-end bonuses worth hundreds of thousands. You have money, don't you?"So all that concern had just been building up to this. They wanted money.I let out a cold laugh. "500,000? I made myself perfectly clear four years ago. That 200,000 ended our relationship. Getting sick is part of that freedom too. You're on your own."Just like when I had a high fever and you told me to figure it out myself. N

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Chapter 4 Served With a Lawsuit

A crowd had gathered around us, pointing and whispering."Are those Lucas' parents?""Oh my God. I never imagined he was that kind of person.""He looked so honest. Who would have thought he could be so heartless?"The blood rushed straight to my head.They sold their house and car to put me through school? They skipped medical treatment just to save money for my tuition?What a load of lies. They were twisting the truth without a second thought.My director's expression turned grim, his brow deeply furrowed. "Lucas, what's going on here? The company values your abilities, but this is a personal matter. Make sure you get it handled."I looked at the two of them. They were secretly watching me out of the corners of their eyes.At that moment, my last bit of hesitation disappeared. If they were willing to throw away all shame, then I had no reason to hold back.I pulled out my phone and called the police. "Hello, 911? I'd like to report a disturbance. Two people are causing tro

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Chapter 5 The Truth on Trial

I pulled up social media. My father's account, which had tens of thousands of followers, had just posted a new video.In the video, he lay in bed with an oxygen tube in his nose, breathing weakly at the camera.Beside him, my mother tearfully pleaded, "Everyone, we've run out of options. Our son works for a major company, but he's blocked us everywhere."His father can't afford the surgery he needs. He's just waiting to die now. We don't blame him. We only blame ourselves for not being successful enough to leave him a fortune."The video had already racked up over a million likes, and the comments were filled with people cursing me."Someone needs to expose this piece of trash!""So what if he works for a big company? He won't even take care of his own father!""His company should fire him!"Reading those vicious comments, I found myself growing calmer instead. I was no longer the timid kid they could push around four years ago.I took leave from work and hired a lawyer.…T

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Chapter 6 The Truth Came to Light

A wave of shock swept through the courtroom.My father trembled with rage as he pointed at me and shouted, "You ungrateful bastard! The evidence is right there, and you still dare deny it?"I let out a cold laugh and pulled out the USB drive I had prepared in advance.After the judge gave me the green light, the video on the drive was promptly displayed on the courtroom screen.I'd recorded it back when I was a sophomore in high school. After months of malnutrition, I had come down with acute appendicitis. Of course, working myself to the bone with my part-time jobs didn't help either. The pain had been so unbearable that I had rolled around on the dorm floor.The teacher who took me to the hospital had recorded the video for me.The video showed my deathly pale face as sweat poured down my forehead. I was clutching my phone as I weakly begged my mother for help."Mom… I need surgery for appendicitis. The doctor says someone has to sign the consent forms, and I need a 2,000-do

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Chapter 7 The Forged Debt

The second piece of evidence was a set of bank transfer records, along with an audio recording from an abandoned warehouse four years earlier."This was the 200,000-dollar full scholarship I earned after ranking first in my department. And this receipt was dated the very next day. However, all of that money was gone. Every last cent had been transferred out to buy a limited-edition sound system."The recording began to play. My parents' casual voices echoed through the courtroom."Lucas, don't get so worked up. We only did this to help you become more independent.""We'll pay you back double once our band makes it big and we start getting paid for gigs.""Just because we had you doesn't mean we don't get to have our own lives."My father suddenly clutched his chest and broke into a violent coughing fit the moment he realized that things were going very badly for them.My mother immediately rushed to his side, wailing. "Please don't scare me like this!"Then, she turned to me. "

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Chapter 8 The Last Performance

The moment I finished speaking, the courtroom doors swung open. The man who walked in was my father's former band drummer, Dylan.The color drained from my parents' faces the instant they saw him.Dylan took a moment to steady himself before stepping up to the witness stand."Your Honor, I was Liam Hunter's former drummer. I can testify that Liam and his wife never gave Lucas one million. In fact, the so-called proceeds from selling their house were actually funds they had fraudulently raised from their relatives back home five years ago."They claimed they were going to produce an album, but instead they spent it all pursuing their music and squandered every penny. These are the accounting records from back then, along with the promissory notes for the high-interest loans they took out."Dylan pulled out a ledger before shooting my father with a look of disgust.A thick stack of evidence was submitted to the court. My father slumped back against his wheelchair, his face ashen.

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Chapter 9 Free at Last

Soon, my father's real medical report appeared on the big screen.The report listed the diagnosis as alcoholic liver cirrhosis in the compensated stage. It recommended that he stop drinking, get plenty of rest, and follow a prescribed course of medication. There was even a note that stated that his condition could be kept under control.The courtroom fell silent for a moment before angry voices erupted around us."Unbelievable! They pretended he had terminal liver cancer just to scam their son out of his hard-earned money.""They're con artists, is what they are!"My father collapsed back into his wheelchair, too weak to even sit upright. Meanwhile, my mother stood stiff in complete shock.Jake ducked his head and tried to slip away when he saw that his house of cards had been blown to bits, but a bailiff stopped him before he could get far.My voice rang through the courtroom again. "You were so determined to force me to give you money, so determined to destroy my reputation, t

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