Chapter 11

"Impossible..."My father stared at the money in front of him and muttered, "We raised you for 18 years. It can't be this little..."I laid every request I'd ever filed for expenses over five dollars in front of him. His eyes reddened.My mother's hands shook as she picked up one of the denied requests from the floor.It was a medical bill she'd refused to pay ten years earlier. Her own signature was on the denial.She stared at the cold word "denied," and her knees gave out. She collapsed onto the couch, covered her face, and sobbed.My brother clutched another dusty slip.It was a rejected request for a five-dollar asthma inhaler.He was probably remembering that winter: I'd coughed so hard it felt like my lungs would tear open. All I could do was kneel in the snow and gasp for air.Maybe that was when it finally hit them. In 18 years, they'd spent less on me, their own daughter, than on a single birthday party for Sophia.The hypocrisy in the room made me sick. I put my backpack on

Chapter 12

After I left the estate, I changed my number and blocked all contact from the Bennett family.Over the next few weeks, my parents and brother kept driving out to wait outside the Ivy League prep building with bags of food.Every time, I walked straight past them like they weren't there.A few days before the early-decision results came out, Julian cornered me in the library.He looked nothing like the self-assured heir I remembered. His eyes were sunken, and he held a beautiful box.His hands shook as he opened it, revealing an expensive designer necklace."Renee, please. Give me one more chance."His voice was pleading. "I'm done with Sophia. You don't know what happened. She's in the ICU at a hospital in Manhattan right now, and no one knows if she'll make it."I went still and stopped turning the page.Julian rushed to explain."After you left, we kept trying to find you."I could always tell she was faking, honestly. I just believed you'd taken the money that was supposed to save h

Chapter 13

Ivy League early-decision results and the official SAT scores happened to come out on the same day.Jasper and I stared at the score page, holding our breath. On the other end of the video call, Mr. and Mrs. Voss did the same.1,590!I drew in a breath. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.That was a full 1,000-point jump from his previous garbage score!"Oh my God!" Mrs. Voss put a hand over her mouth on the screen.At the $10,000 per point we'd agreed on in the contract, I was about to get ten million dollars on top of the advances!I turned to look at Jasper, stunned."If you're this good, why were you turning in blank answer sheets before?"He smiled and told me straight, "I decided a long time ago that those bullshit old-money rules and that whole world were boring."He looked at me."Until I met you. A lunatic willing to take on everyone in the room."He put a hand on my head."This is my gift to you."Use it to put all of that behind you for good. Renee, welcome to my world

Chapter 14

I did have travel plans. I just hadn't expected Jasper to be coming along.The calls from that house didn't stop for two months.I blocked every call.On the day of my flight, a few familiar figures turned up at the airport.My mother hurried toward me, her eyes red."Renee, I've sent Sophia away..."Forgive your father and me. Come home."I looked at them coldly."Move."My father and brother broke down, almost dropping to their knees."Renee! Come back, and every resource, every connection, every overseas asset the Bennett family has will be yours alone to command!""Too late."I had stopped needing any of it a long time ago.Their love or their money.If they'd done this sooner, I might have turned back.But some chances, once missed, are gone for good.I would never be a Bennett again as long as I lived.I turned around and got on the plane with Jasper.On board, Jasper leaned in the way he always did and handed me a glass of champagne. Then he clinked his glass against mine.I too

All Chapters of My Family Cut Me Off Over $200, I Left: Chapter 11 - Chapter 14

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14