Chapter 1

My dad is the richest man in New York, but my monthly allowance is only fifty dollars.

My mother always told me that my dad abandoned us. She said he despised me for being a girl, left a divorce agreement when I was six, and vanished into thin air.

I never saw him again after that day. That was until I saw him on the news, spending a hundred million dollars to buy a skyscraper for his new son.

For years, my heart was filled with bitter hatred. I am his child too. Why did he treat me like garbage?

Until one day, I ran into his new son. The very first words out of the boy’s mouth were:

"Where have you been all these years? Dad has been looking for you everywhere."

"Sweetheart, your meal card has been declined."

The lunch lady, Mrs. Higgins, leaned out from behind the counter after the card reader beeped loudly, flashing a red error light.

I suddenly realized this month had thirty-one days. The money I saved from my part-time jobs was only enough to feed me for thirty.

I squeezed out an embarrassing smile and looked at Mrs. Higgins.

"It’s okay, Mrs. Higgins. I’m on a diet today. I don’t need any sides. Just a scoop of plain white rice, please."

Mrs. Higgins saw right through my lie. Deep pity flashed across her face. "You poor child, you’re already skin and bones! What do you mean, a diet?"

Without another word, she scooped a massive ladle of rich, savory meat gravy and poured it all over my rice.

"Next time you’re short on cash, just whisper to me. I’ll sneak you a whole roasted chicken leg, okay?"

Looking at her kind gesture, a wave of bitterness rushed to my throat.

Even a complete stranger knew how to pity me. Yet, my own biological father had never once checked on me in over a decade.

My best friend, Chloe, came back with her tray. When she saw only white rice and gravy on my plate, she slammed her fist on the table in a rage.

"I’m telling you, Elena! You need to go protest right outside your dad’s corporate headquarters! He’s a freaking billionaire, and his own daughter is literally starving!"

"I want the whole world to see what a monster this famous 'philanthropist' really is behind closed doors!"

Though I had long grown used to this miserable life, Chloe's words still made my heart ache.

If our college cafeteria didn't offer cheap white rice, I probably would have starved to death by now.

Ever since my dad left, my mother had completely given up on life. She spent every single day getting wasted in our cramped trailer. She squandered every penny of our remaining savings on cheap whiskey.

Once, a kind neighbor, Mrs. Gable, couldn't stand it anymore and tried to talk some sense into her.

"Sarah, you can’t keep living like this. Your daughter is still so young. You need to pull yourself together and raise her!"

"Look at how thin Elena is! I’m terrified a strong gust of wind will just blow her away!"

But my mother just sprawled on the mattress, screaming profanities at Mrs. Gable.

"If it weren't for this useless piece of trash, my husband would have never abandoned me!"

"She’s a girl! A worthless girl that even dogs wouldn't look at! And you want me to raise her? In your dreams!"

Back then, I was too young to understand why my mother was so furious. But I could read her expression.

She had degenerated into this pathetic, broken state entirely because of me.

If I hadn't been born, or if I had been born a boy...

Her life would have been completely different.

During the rare moments when my mother was sober, she would pull out old, yellowed photographs and show them to me.

"Look, look how much your father used to adore me. He took me traveling all over the country."

"He wouldn't let me lift a single finger. He did all the cleaning and dishwashing himself!"

"Even when he worked until midnight, he would still go into the kitchen to cook me a hot meal. He was like a machine that never got tired!"

Looking at the deeply-in-love couple in those photos, a seed was planted in my young heart.

It was all my fault. I had to do everything in my power to make it up to her.

From the moment I was old enough to work, I helped the local farmers clear fields and mow lawns to earn spare change. They took pity on me and often let me take some vegetables and potatoes home.

That was how I barely survived, raised by the pity of strangers.

After getting into college, I worked multiple part-time shifts every day after classes. But I had to send almost all my earnings back home to support my mother. I only kept fifty dollars a month for myself.

I was barely keeping my head above water, relying on the university's financial aid for impoverished students.

I had accepted this as my destiny—until the day I saw my father on the TV news.

[Vance Group CEO William Vance spends a hundred million dollars to construct a luxury high-rise named after his six-year-old son, Leo Vance.]

For the first time, a massive, painful void tore open in my chest. With tear-filled eyes, I asked my mother.

"Mom... if Dad has so much money, why has he never come back to see me even once?"

"Does he not have a single shred of love for me?"

My mother let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Why ask the obvious? He hates you more than anything in this world."