An Unfounded Debt
Just because I refused to help my nephew, Albert Wesley, pay for his wedding, my very own sister took me to court.
When my sister, Jocelyn Guthrie, appeared in court, she wept as she spoke.
"I worked myself to the bone, taking every job I could find just to support your college education. I endured endless humiliation, and it even ruined my health."
"You have an annual income of a million dollars, yet you won't even spare a fraction to help me! You're even talking about cutting ties with me? Do you even have a conscience?"
Seeing me sitting in the defendant's seat, unmoved, she trembled as she revealed the grotesque scars covering her body, even pulling out a disability certificate.
"I was even injured because of you. I was struck by a falling object at a construction site, leaving my leg permanently disabled. Now... I can't support my son anymore, so I'm asking you to repay the tuition. Isn't that the least you should do?"
My mother, Samantha Lawrence, and my brother, Andrew Guthrie, nodded along, backing Jocelyn up, condemning me for my ingratitude.
The entire courtroom erupted in anger, voices rising against me.
"What a monster! Her education has gone to the dogs!"
"Don't insult dogs! She's even worse than an animal!"
"Three hundred thousand dollars is too little! Your Honor, she must repay it with interest!"
Watching their righteous fury, I could only feel a bitter sense of irony.
She claimed she had sacrificed everything to put me through four years of university.
But the truth was... I had never even been to college at all.