Chapter 3: The Canceled Wire
Before I stepped into the leather-upholstered bucket seat of the Bugatti, I pulled my phone from my scrub pocket.
Mia was hyperventilating, stumbling down the porch steps. "Lauren, wait! Stop! Mom! MOM, COME OUT HERE!"
I ignored her panicked screaming. I opened my banking app and dialed the premier customer service line. Because my account now held a ten-figure balance, a private wealth manager answered on the first ring.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Parker. How can I assist you today?"
"Hi," I said, staring directly into Mia's terrified eyes as she reached the edge of the driveway. "Two hours ago, I initiated an eight-thousand-dollar wire transfer to a local landlord and a community college. It should still be in the clearing window."
"Yes, ma'am, I see it right here. It is pending."
"Cancel it," I ordered smoothly. "Reverse the funds back to my account immediately."
"Lauren, NO!" Mia screamed, lunging forward, only to be effortlessly blocked by Mr. Sterling’s imposing figure. "You can't do that! My tuition is due tomorrow! They'll drop my classes! The rent!"
"Done, Ms. Parker," the banker confirmed. "The wire is canceled."
I hung up the phone.
The front door banged open. My mother stormed out, a scowl on her face. "Mia, why are you screaming like a—"
My mother stopped dead. Her eyes locked onto the matte-black hypercar, the man in the bespoke suit, and me, standing completely composed despite the coffee stains on my scrubs.
"You told me I was a burden, Mom," I said, my voice echoing clearly across the quiet suburban lawn. "You told me you were done waiting for me to figure my life out. So, I figured it out."
"Lauren..." Mom whispered, her arrogance instantly replaced by sheer, suffocating confusion and panic.
"The rent money is canceled. The tuition is gone," I stated, delivering the final blow. "You're on your own now. Nothing comes for free, right?"
May you like
I slid into the Bugatti. Mr. Sterling closed the butterfly door, cutting off the sound of my mother's sudden, hysterical wailing.
The massive W16 engine roared to life, and the Bugatti shot down the street like a bullet, leaving my parasitic family choking on the exhaust fumes of the life they had just thrown away.
