Five Thousand Dollar Betrayal

all apartment my father and I shared. Everything in it was a memory. His half-finished coffee cup on the

ged by a bigger company that stole his core mechanics. I found out later that company' s lead investor was Rob

et, Ethan," she' d said, not even looking up

vin a brand-new sports car

tuition help for a communit

a real investment, Ethan," she' d r

end a summer coding camp in Switzerland th

I was only now beginning to see. My mother hadn' t just neglected us, she' d actively

alking about her at the grocery store while I was bu

ged another million to the child

"And so devoted to her new family. It' s wonderf

d-dollar surgery bill. About the death certificate she called a

two hundred dollars. The funeral home director was a kind, tired-looking man who gave me a quote with

yment," he said gently. "But we ca

g in a cold room somewhere

the address listed for Rob Hayes' new company, the one my mot

a few other guys his age. It was a custom-built machine, glowing w

lip curled. "Wh

funeral," I said, keeping my voice

h. "Are you serious? You' re comin

him," I said, my voice getting

ing," he sneered. "And Sarah knows a winner wh

the way. His dad was some failed video game desig

burning with humiliatio

onvenience. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cas

Go buy yourself a bus

arts of food. Champagne on ice, trays of appetizers, a massive

lebrate his SAT score and his new company.

wrong, that I couldn' t even feel the anger

in his hand. I looked at the cake.

he twent

devoid of emotion. "Tha

e settled back into a smirk. He thought he' d wo

et in my palm. It wasn' t just an insult, it was a down payment. It

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