His Celebration Left Me in Debt

Rage bubbled up in my chest, but I forced myself to stay calm. "I'll say this one more time—I did not take your money. Five thousand dollars truly is the entirety of your share of the life insurance payout."

"How could it be that little? Dad told me Mom's life insurance payout was two million dollars!" Alvin blurted out.

All at once, he thought of something and immediately forced some tears out. He launched into another bitter tirade about my domineering ways until the crowd couldn't stop empathizing with him.

"I pity him so much. His mom is gone, and his sister ignored his feelings, forcing him to study just to bring honor to the family. I can't even imagine the pressure he's under."

"This sister of his is absolute trash. She doesn't like studying either, yet she can't empathize with how difficult it is for her brother. And now she's even withholding the money meant for his education abroad."

As the voices of condemnation grew louder, Alvin seemed to gain confidence. "Give me the money, Sandy."

The crowd began waving their banners and punching their hands in the air, pressing closer as they chanted, "Give him the money! Give him the money!"

Some even started getting physical with me, grabbing at me and shoving me.

"Fine. You want the money, right? Don't touch me. I'll tell you where it is!"

The moment I said that, I saw Alvin's eyes light up. He pushed through the crowd to stand in front of me. "See, Sandy? Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd just done this from the start?"

"You're not entirely wrong." I looked at him. "At first, your share of the payout was a million dollars."

The figure made his eyes sparkle, but before he could celebrate, I went on, "But after covering all your expenses until you became of age, only five thousand dollars remain."

"Don't be ridiculous!" he shouted. "I barely had any money growing up! I ate bland, simple meals and wore cheap clothing. It couldn't have cost much at all! Don't think you can fool me!"

It was true that we'd always lived frugally. Aside from saving money for his medical treatments, I'd also been saving money to buy back the house we had to sell off previously—the only thing I had left to remember Mom by.

In order to do that, I had to cut down on everything. I didn't even allow myself to have the "bland, simple meals" Alvin was complaining about.

"You're right. Your living expenses don't add up to much," I said, my lips curling into a mocking smirk. "But have you ever wondered why we had to live so frugally this whole time?

"It's because of your health condition—because you suffered from a serious heart defect! All the money we had was spent on your treatment!"

The moment I said that, I caught a flicker of evasiveness in Jimmy's eyes. But before I could think much of it, Alvin cried out, "That's impossible!"

He immediately refuted my claims, "I'm perfectly healthy. You've just been using that ridiculous excuse to control me this whole time!"

"Go ahead and see for yourself."

Sneering, I reached into my handbag, got my phone out, and pulled up the transaction records.