ner table with a heavy, deliberate thud,
mother and I have decided, you're the most capable one in th
symbol of trust, it felt like a trap. My older bro
al breadwinner is," he said, no
wasn't about trust, it was about making it ea
ke it, Chloe. It's easier for us this way, you know
daughter, the brilliant professional, but in their eyes, my succ
icked up the card, the pl
pay for groceries and things, I'll link it to my phone. You can jus
ughter, but I was just setting a boundary, creating a digital trail
asted less
when Liam and his wife, Sarah, showed up unannounced. They sat down at
e said, as casually as if
my fork.
, puffing out his chest. "It's a sure
artificial sweetness. "It's a fantastic o
g" businesses, all funded by my parents and, indirectly, by me. The
aid, my v
ell. "What do
$50,000 to spare for anot
it? You're a senior manager at a top firm! And what
You're hoarding the family's money, Chloe! We know they gave
nsion, which I carefully managed, was some huge fortune I was keeping from them. They ignored the fact that I w
to Liam with a pained expression. "Now, now, let's not
my voice rising. "Because he spends more th
y' voice on full display. "Chloe, that's enough. You
the same old bias, the same old dismissal of my hard w
dry eyes. "If we can't get this business off the ground, I don't know what will happen
ulation so blatant it was almost co
on't say that! Chloe, do you hear that? You could
pushed my chair
ness, or his marriage," I said, my voice shaki
lunged forward and grabbed my a
bitch! You're going to give me that mone
y, but his grip was like i
er cried out, but she ma
iam to back off, he looked at me. "Chloe, st
assaulting me. The unfairness of it all burned throug
ed marks on my skin. I didn't wait for a response. I grab
start the engine, my phone rang. It was my mother. I ignored it.
is to your brother? You're
assenger seat, my eyes sting
urity camera app on my phone, the one I had installed in my parents' livi
the sofa, while Sarah sobbed dramatically into h
ugh the phone's speaker. "She's just being difficult. She has
he bone. They weren't just biased, they were co
ccounts. I changed the password to their online banking and set a daily spendin
gain, another tex
amily is like this. You ha
They blamed me. After everything I had done
iet, cold clarity of a final decision being made. They had drawn the bat
-