Chapter 3The Price of a Piano: Erasing the Illegitimate Sister

I didn't have classes in the afternoon, so I went to a bank downtown.

I had two cards under my name.

One was the supplementary card my dad gave me for monthly living expenses.

The other was the one my mom left me.

As soon as I walked into the VIP wealth management room, I got a call from the bank manager.

"Ms. Davis, your father just called the bank and froze your credit card ending in 8888."

I wasn't surprised at all.

This was Dad's usual trick. He thought that by cutting off my financial source, I would obediently listen to him.

"Understood."

"What about the other card?"

The manager's tone became even more respectful: "Ms. Davis, the gold card your mother left you has the highest clearance. No one has the right to operate it except you personally. The current balance on the card is..."

He read out a long string of numbers.

Enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life.

"Okay, thank you."

Hanging up, I transferred a large sum of money from the gold card to my regular debit card.

Coming out of the bank, I received a message from my second brother.

[Chloe, Dad stopped your card. If you're out of money, come home early and admit your mistake. Don't be stubborn out there.]

Annoying.

That evening, Mia sent me a message on WhatsApp.

[Chloe, please don't be mad at Dad and your brothers anymore. They are just too worried about you. Where are you now? I'll ask Arthur to go pick you up and bring you home, okay?]

A photo was attached at the end.

It was my family's living room. The four of them were eating fruit together, a picture of harmony. Mia leaned against Dad, smiling radiantly.

On the coffee table, there was an opened gift box containing the latest gaming console.

That was the one my eldest brother had promised to buy for me a few days ago.

Now, it belonged to Mia.

I curled my lips and replied: [Thanks, but no thanks!]

The next day, I went to class as usual.

As soon as I entered the classroom, I felt the atmosphere was off.

Everyone was looking at me with strange eyes.

My desk mate, a girl I usually had a decent relationship with, hesitated before coming over.

"Chloe, did you... see the post on the campus forum?"

I took out my phone and opened the forum.

A red-hot trending title immediately caught my eye.

[Massive Tea! Chloe Dumps Campus Heartthrob Boyfriend out of Jealousy over New Transfer Student, Runs Away from Home Overnight!]

The post vividly described what happened on the night of the school anniversary.

It painted me as a jealous, petty, and unreasonable mean girl.

Mia, on the other hand, was an innocent, pitiful, and endearing little white flower.

Arthur was portrayed as a "good man" who valued friendship and loyalty, willing to anger his girlfriend to help a friend's daughter.

The post also included several photos.

One was Mia crying her eyes out backstage.

One was Arthur on the phone, looking extremely anxious.

And another was my back as I coldly turned and left.

The angles were well-captured, making me look exceptionally cold and heartless.

The comments below had already reached hundreds of threads.

"I always thought Chloe was pretentious. Turns out this is what she's really like."

"Tsk, tsk. Arthur really has the worst luck, ending up with a girlfriend like this."

"Feeling sorry for Mia. Getting bullied as soon as she arrives."

"Person above, I heard she's even living at Chloe's house. She's in for it now, definitely going to get targeted."

My desk mate asked me cautiously, "Chloe, maybe you should go explain? You can't just let them talk behind your back like this!"

My nails dug deep into my palms. For a moment, I wanted nothing more than to drag out the person who posted this and rip apart their lying mouth.

But eventually, the surging emotions turned into a numb wasteland.

I put away my phone, my voice calm.

"There's nothing to explain."

The facts didn't matter at all.

They only wanted to believe what they wanted to believe.

And it didn't take a genius to figure out who made the post.

Who else but Mia would have those "perfectly timed" photos?