Estelle's POV"You have a mouth, don't you? And a brain?"My mother blinked at me, confused. "No, honey, I didn't mean...""I'm not talking to you, Mom." Cassius stepped forward, his arms crossed. He looked at me like I was a stain on his white shirt. "Estelle, you have a mouth and a brain. If you needed money, you could have just asked.""Cassius is right," my mother said quickly, holding onto his arm. "You should have said something, sweetheart.""We have billions," Cassius went on. "Do you honestly think we're so heartless that we wouldn't give you a little cash if you needed it?"I looked at him for a long moment."I did ask," I said. "You just didn't care enough to listen."---*Three and a half years ago...*"Mom? Dad? Can I have two hundred dollars?"I stood at the door of the dining room, holding a crumpled paper in my hand. My whole family was having dinner. Nobody had called me to the table."It's for school," I said. "It's the registration fee for the National Math Olympiad
Last Updated : 2026-10-18 Read more