Chapter 3
2 AM.
I opened that encrypted file.
Every month on the 15th, two hundred thousand came in from Mom’s company account, clockwork.
And every month on the 16th, $199,200 went out just as regularly.
The recipient: Jaxon’s brother, Mason Holloway.
That uncle Dad always described as “chronically ill” and “bedridden”!
Turned out, my eight-hundred-dollar allowance was scraped from the leftovers between Dad and his brother.
No wonder my cousin was driving Benz and wearing Gucci while barely out of his teens.
No wonder Grandma and Grandpa looked at me with contempt and disdain every time I visited.
They must think…
I’m just a key to cash machine, a complete and utter fool.
While my Dad was the family hero.
A hero willing to be a house husband, scamming wealth and glory for the Holloway family from his “vicious” wife!
My heart feeling like it had been thrown into an ice cellar.
I dragged the file to the trash and permanently deleted it.
Next day was the 16th.
The day the “parasites” collected their money.
I opened my cousin’s TikTok.
Latest post: him grinning smugly in a brand-new Porsche Cayenne.
Caption: [Thanks to my uncle for closing another big deal! Beast!]
A string of gross flattery from our Holloway relatives below.
Aunt Grace: [Jaxon’s really the backbone of our family! So successful!]
Uncle Pete: [Our family’s so lucky to have Jaxon! Suffering for all our sakes!]
The rage I’d been suppressing erupted like a volcano.
I immediately called Dad.
“Dad, the school… the school has an exchange opportunity to Oxford, really great, but needs a three hundred thousand dollar deposit.”
I made my voice tremble.
“If I come back after studying there, my future will be limitless, we’ll never have to grovel and take Mom’s humiliation again! I don’t
want to miss this chance!”
I sniffled, playing up that desperate, helpless tone perfectly.
Sure enough, just as I expected.
He exploded right on cue:
“Three hundred grand?! River, has college made you lose your mind?”
“Where the hell am I supposed to get three hundred thousand? That woman would murder me! She wouldn’t give us a single cent!”
I dug my nails into my palm, fighting to keep my voice steady.
“But… I heard from classmates that for stuff like this, if it’s good for their kid, most moms would be supportive…”
I paused deliberately, then added:
“Oh, and Dad, when Mom visited campus, she gave me her new private number. Said I could contact her directly for emergencies.”
“Maybe… I should just ask her myself? She might say yes if she’s in a good mood?”
Dead silence on the other end.
One second.
Two seconds.
Even his breathing disappeared.
Then came Dad’s panicked, voice-cracking hysteria:
“Don’t! River! Absolutely not!”
“Don’t humiliate yourself like that! You don’t know what your mother’s really like! Her words can destroy you!”
“Don’t worry about the money! I’ll figure it out! I’ll sell everything I own! I’ll get on my knees and beg her!”
“Wait for my word! Do NOT contact her yourself!”
I listened silently to his incoherent ranting until he hung up.
Half an hour later, my phone buzzed.
Text from Dad:
[River, I’ll handle the money. Do NOT contact your mom, or we’re both screwed.]
I stared at those two words-“screwed”-and smiled.
No, Dad.
You’re the one who’s screwed.
