My Sister Controlled My Life with Pocket Change Chapter 04
Mom flung me through the front door.
I stumbled a few steps and hadn’t even regained my balance before Rhea held up her phone and waved it in front of my face, gloating.
The screen showed a single message—twenty-eight hundred dollars.
My eyes burned red as I stared at it. That was my paycheck.
It was the first money I’d ever earned—a full month of waking up before sunrise, coming home after dark, and talking until my throat was raw.
It was supposed to be the foundation for my new life.
“Give me back my money.”
My voice came out hoarse and broken.
Rhea acted like she hadn’t even heard me. She opened her shopping app right in front of my face.
“These shoes look great, this bag’s not bad either, and this dress is cute.”
She talked to herself as she checked out, one item after another.
The payment confirmation sounds kept pinging one after another from her phone.
When she was finally done, she let out a dissatisfied sigh.
—
“Twenty-eight hundred is nothing. I barely got a few things and it’s already gone.”
I stood there, the world spinning around me.
“Give me back my money!”
Rhea lifted her chin and spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Give it back to you? All these years, the money you used was saved for you by me, using my coupons.”
“Now that you’ve earned money, you should give it to me. It’s my money.”
I broke down completely and lunged at her, trying to snatch the phone away, but Mom shoved me back with brutal force.
My lower back slammed into the corner of the table. The pain was so intense my vision went black and I could barely stand up straight.
“Have you lost your mind? You’re going to attack Rhea over two thousand dollars? You’re completely obsessed with money!”
Rhea slipped the phone into her pocket and pulled out a single dollar bill.
“Almost forgot.”
She let out a laugh.
—
“I was going to use a few more coupons, but then I remembered you’re only getting one dollar next month. Makes no difference whether I use them or not.”
“Here. I’m giving it to you early.”
She shoved the dollar into my hand.
I grabbed her wrist and screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Give me my money back!”
Dad marched over and slapped me across the face, his face hard and cold.
“You’re still talking back? You think you’re above the rules now? Sneaking around, making money behind our backs? And you lied about going abroad?”
He spun around and marched into my small room, dragging out the cardboard box where I kept all my awards and trophies.
He lifted one of my trophies right in front of me and smashed it against the floor.
“Lying! I’ll show you what happens to liars!”
He grabbed a handful of my certificates and tore them apart with his bare hands.
“You bought fake junk to fool us before. That was bad enough. But now you’ve got the nerve to go out and lie to strangers? You’ve
—
humiliated this entire family!”
Rhea stood off to the side and nodded along eagerly.
“Outsiders never really become family—she’ll just drag us all down eventually. So why wait? Kick her out now and give me back my room.”
Mom frowned, putting on a look of the deepest disappointment.
“Rules are rules. You like making money? Great. Everything in this house just went up tenfold, plus a hundred-dollar entry fee. No cash, no doorstep.”
Rhea rushed to add her piece.
“And you’re not allowed to use what I save anymore! From now on, I’m not using a single coupon for your sake!”
The pain was still pulsing through my body, but I forced myself to speak calmly.
“I won’t be coming back.”
Dad’s face turned ashen with rage.
“Good! That’s just perfect! Get out. Right now. And don’t even think about taking anything from this house with you.”
I looked down at myself.
The small bag I carried was a hand-me-down from Rhea.
—
My phone was one Mom had thrown away.
Even the socks and shoes on my feet had once belonged to Rhea.
In the end, the only things that truly belonged to me were the clothes on my back and my state ID.
Barefoot, I was driven out the door by my father.
The moment the door slammed shut, I heard him calling a renovation crew.
“Come over today. We’re knocking down the wall between the two rooms. Turn the small one into a walk-in closet.”
Rhea’s delighted laughter rang out clear as day.
“Yes! I’m finally the only child!”
Back on the table, my old phone buzzed nonstop.
Mom reached out to grab it, but it shut off on its own before she could pick it up.
She didn’t bother with it after that and went back to helping Rhea pack up her things.
Mrs. Hartley found me sitting at the entrance to the apartment complex, barefoot, clutching my ID.
She didn’t ask a single question. She simply rebooked me onto the earliest flight to London that same day.
—
I stayed silent the entire time.
It wasn’t until I had passed through security and was standing just before customs that I finally looked back.
Behind me was the city where I had lived for eighteen years. Somewhere in it was a family that had no place for me.
Ahead of me was the future I had spent so long hoping for.
I drew in a deep breath and stepped through customs.