Chapter 3The Power Outage

"Hurry up and transfer the money to me."

"I am under absolutely zero obligation to transfer you another dime. You two ate the food, not me."

"Furthermore, isn't David right there? He's a thirty-year-old grown man. Surely he isn't so pathetic that he can't afford a single meal!"

"You... you ungrateful little bastard..."

There was absolutely no reason to continue this toxic, miserable conversation. I hung up the phone directly.

A bitter ache bloomed in my chest. Despite my best efforts, my mood was heavily impacted.

And the ugly, traumatic memories of the past flooded back into my mind.

My mother, desperately trying to help her beloved older brother, had recklessly drained the savings my father had worked himself to the bone to accumulate.

When they eventually had a massive fight about it, my mother ran away from home.

Her family showed up at our house, cornering my father, screaming at him and accusing him of abuse, leaving him completely unable to defend himself.

Later, my father, working ungodly amounts of overtime to recover the lost money, died of a sudden heart attack on his way home from work.

I was still young then. I didn't understand how a healthy man with no illnesses could just suddenly drop dead.

It wasn't until I became an adult that I finally understood.

Years later, my uncle passed away, and my mother brought David to live with us.

She forced me to constantly yield to David. During the holidays, David got brand-new clothes, while I was forced to wear faded, hand-me-down shirts.

When it was time for college, she only paid for David's tuition, forcing me to drop out and get a job.

Fortunately, my grades were excellent, and I managed to secure enough scholarships and grants to finish my degree.

Looking back on it now, I should have cut ties with my mother a very long time ago.

When I got home, there were three people waiting for me in the living room.

Not because they were worried about me, but because they were ready to interrogate me.

My mother picked up a heavy ceramic teacup from the coffee table and hurled it directly at my head.

"So you finally decided to come back?!"

"Do you have any idea how completely humiliated I was today?!"

"My friends from my book club were sitting at the very next table! You suddenly freezing my card and leaving me unable to pay the bill made me a laughingstock in front of all of them!"

I was done playing the role of the patient, understanding son.

I raised my hand and pointed directly at David.

"Let me ask you something. Is he a legal adult?"

David instantly jumped up from the sofa.

"Liam, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I turned and glared at him.

"You are a fully grown adult man, and you sat there while an elderly woman paid for your meal? And you have the audacity to act like you're the victim here?"

"I don't care to waste any more words on you people. I'm only going to say this one last time."

"From this moment forward, I will not give you another dime, and I will not lift a finger to help you."

I turned back to my mother, her face dark with fury.

"If you have a problem with that, we can legally sever our relationship right now."

Chloe and David were stunned. They never imagined I would actually threaten something as severe as severing ties with my own mother.

"Liam, it was just asking you to pay for a meal! Do you really need to threaten your own mother with cutting ties?"

"Hurry up and apologize to her..."

"Do you honestly think I'm this angry over the price of one meal?"

It was the decades of blatant, suffocating favoritism. And the fact that she nearly maxed out my entire life savings today to buy David a condo.

David quickly stepped between me and my mother, his face a mask of perfectly crafted guilt.

"Auntie, Liam, please stop fighting."

"I think Liam is right. I'll be more mindful in the future."

My mother looked at David with absolute admiration.

It was always like this in the past. Whether he was right or wrong, as long as he lowered his head and offered a fake apology, my mother would praise him for being so mature and understanding.

Meanwhile, my "maturity" was entirely predicated on how much money I provided.

I finally understood. No matter how perfect I tried to be, it would never compare to a single, manipulative sentence from David.

"Liam, because of David's intercession today, I will forgive you this one time."

"Get the hell back to your room."

"I can go back to my room right now. But first, I want the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars you stole from me returned immediately."

"If you do not return the money, I will call the police."

After saying that, I didn't speak another word. Holding the black duffel bag containing my remaining fifty thousand dollars, I walked silently back to my bedroom.