Spent All 99 Favor Cards, The Unwanted Daughter Escaped Chapter 05

Spent All 99 Favor Cards, The Unwanted Daughter Escaped Chapter 05

By the time the new school year started, Mom and Dad finally realized I was gone.

They asked around. They searched everywhere they could think of.

But no one knew where I’d gone.

By then, I’d already arrived in Boston and started my new life at Royal Ashbourne Academy.

My full scholarship covered most of my tuition.

A freshman scholarship from the academy, along with my part-time job, covered the rest of my

expenses.

It wasn’t much.

But at least I never had to swallow my pride and ask my family for a few dollars again.

If I came back late from training, my roommate would leave the door unlocked for me.

My professors actually read my research proposals and took the time to tell me how I could improve them.

For the first time, I knew what it felt like to be treated with kindness.

Life was simple and peaceful.

I stopped thinking about the years I’d spent being the one my family always sacrificed.

Only Nessa would occasionally text me and tell me with updates from the Pack.

Sabine ended up going to an expensive private college.

But once she got there, no one was around to keep her in line.

She skipped classes.

Blew through money.

Went to party after party.

Before her freshman year was even over, she got pregnant.

The werewolf she’d been dating disappeared the moment he found out.

Sabine panicked and went home crying to our parents.

Mom took her to a clinic and helped her deal with it.

Then she spent most of the family’s savings helping Sabine recover.

But Sabine didn’t learn a thing.

As soon as she was back on her feet, she went right back to spending money like crazy.

Before long, she’d racked up more than a hundred thousand dollars in online loans.

Desperate to pay them off, Sabine waited until Mom and Dad were out.

Then she stole the deed to the house.

She worked with a real estate agent and sold the house for far below its value.

By the time Mom and Dad found out, the sale was already final.

The home they’d lived in for decades was gone.

The whole family had to move into a tiny rental apartment in Spokane.

Sabine blamed them for everything.

She complained that they didn’t have enough money to support the life she wanted.

And when they were finally out of options, Mom and Dad remembered they had another daughter.

Our Pack relatives started calling me one after another.

Unknown numbers kept lighting up my phone.

At first, I hung up every time.

Then Mom somehow got my academy email address.

The messages started pouring in.

[Tavia, we’re out of options. Sabine has gotten herself into serious trouble. Please come home and help us pay off her debts.]

[We raised you for 18 years. Now that we’re in trouble, can you really stand by and watch us end up homeless?]

[Sabine was born with a disability. Can’t you sacrifice a little and help her?]

I laughed.

All 99 No-Refusal Cards were already gone.

There wasn’t going to be a hundredth.

For half a month, the messages kept pouring in.

They invaded every part of my life.

One night, I had just walked out of the lab when Mrs. Calloway called.

“Tavia, your mom is here with me. She’s been crying for a long time. She wants me to convince you

to come home.”

I sighed.

“I’m sorry to put you through this. Let me talk to her.”

A second later, Mom’s sobs came through the phone.

“Tavia, you finally picked up.”

“We really don’t know what else to do. Sabine’s debts keep piling up. The house is gone. And your

dad hasn’t been doing well lately…”

“Please, just stop school for now.”

“Come home and work for a few years. Help Sabine pay off her debts. Then we can start over as a family.”

I listened until she was done.

¡Then I spoke.

“Mom, Sabine’s deafness wasn’t caused by me, was it?”

Her crying stopped.

The line went completely silent.

I kept my voice calm.

“I saw the medical report.”

“That block only brushed against her ear when we were kids. But you made up a lie and told

veryone I was the one who made her lose her hearing.”

“You made 99 No-Refusal Cards. You used them to justify favoring Sabine and making me pay for it

for 18 years.”

“Then you wanted me to give up college and work to support her.”

“Now that she’s made a mess of her life, you suddenly remember you have another daughter?”

Mom’s voice trembled.

“That’s not true, Tavia.”

“I… I just felt like I owed Sabine. She was born with hearing loss. I was afraid she’d feel different. I

used you as an excuse.’

“I never meant to treat you so badly…”

“Feeling guilty about her doesn’t give you the right to hurt me.”

“All 99 cards are gone.”

“And I’ve already paid back everything I ever owed this family.”

I ended the call.

Then I blocked the last number that could still reach me.