Chapter 1

After working for ten years, I sent money home every single month. The amount grew from $500 to $5,000. All of it went down the drain to feed my useless brother.

At the end of the year, my mom called to give me an order. "Your brother is buying a house. Prepare $150,000 for his down payment."

I pretended to be put on the spot. "Mom, where would I get $150,000?"

She screamed instantly.

"Stop lying to me! Your boss told me your year-end bonus was exactly $150,000! Isn't that perfect to pay for Leo’s new house?"

"The Miller family legacy depends on your brother. If you delay his marriage, you, Chloe, are a disgrace to the family!"

In the background, I heard my dad letting out a heavy, dramatic grunt in agreement.

I smiled softly.

"What a coincidence. I just put down a deposit on a house. And the deed is under my name."

My mom went absolutely ballistic, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"You ungrateful bitch! How dare a woman own her own house? Your father is fainting from anger!"

I spoke again, my voice dead calm.

"Tell him to wait a minute before he faints. Arthur's medical report just came back. He is completely infertile."

On the other end of the line, there was a dead, suffocating silence that lasted for half a minute.

Then, my mom let out a twisted, high-pitched shriek.

"Chloe, what rubbish are you talking about! Have you lost your mind? Just to avoid buying Leo a house, you’d make up such a disgusting lie? Are you trying to kill us?"

In the background, I heard my dad gasp loudly. After the heavy thud of a chair hitting the floor, there was no more sound.

Whether he actually fainted or was just too ashamed to face the truth, I didn't care.

I hadn't planned on telling anyone about this year-end bonus.

But I accidentally overheard my cousin mentioning that my mom had been bragging all over our hometown. She was telling everyone that I was going to buy a house for Leo with my bonus.

At that moment, the ugly truth finally hit me.

She had been sending nice messages to my boss and digging for information under the guise of "caring" for me. It was all to spy on my income. They treated me like a personal ATM.

Well, not a single penny of this money was going to them. I had already bought my own place.

"Mom, last year you begged me to take Dad to that high-end diagnostic center. I got the report a long time ago. The word 'Azoospermia' is written right there in black and white."

"You're full of shit!" her voice cracked.

"I carried Leo for nine months! He is a Miller through and through! If your father couldn't reproduce, where did Leo come from? You ungrateful leech! I should have thrown you out the day you were born!"

"He came from whatever side piece you were sleeping with! Did you really think you kept it a secret? The way Arthur looks at Leo... he never had the warmth of a real father."

She screamed like a maniac. "Shut up! Shut up!"

But I only grew calmer.

"Mom, I send you $5,000 every month. That’s more than enough for you two to live comfortably. But you’re never satisfied. You want my bonus for Leo’s house just because I’m the daughter? Am I supposed to be your milk cow for the rest of my life?"

"Of course you are!" She sounded shocked that I would even ask, her voice dripping with entitlement. "You’re the older sister! Supporting your brother and buying him a house is your duty! If you don't help him, who will? Who are we supposed to rely on when we get old?"

That sentence extinguished the very last spark of affection I had left for them.

"Rely on your precious golden boy. Rely on the lazy parasite you raised with my money. Rely on his fake Miller blood."

In the background, Leo’s impatient voice piped up.

"Mom, why are you wasting your breath on her? If she doesn't give us the money, we’ll go to her office and make a scene! We'll cry at her doorstep and ruin her reputation!"

I gripped my phone tight and spoke with cold determination.

"Go ahead. Try me. I’d love for everyone to see how you're forcing your daughter to pay $150,000 for a bastard son’s house. Let them see how you drain my blood to feed a parasite."

With that, I hung up and blocked every single one of their numbers.

I didn't have time to mourn my dead family relationships. I went right back to replying to my work emails.

Just a few minutes ago, the million-dollar project I was managing had successfully passed the client's final review. The contract extension was confirmed.

All my past grievances vanished in that moment of professional victory.