“Where’s the money?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“None of your business.”
“You stole it from my account.
It is literally my business.”
Brittany looked at him.
“You told me you had money saved.”
Liam’s head snapped toward her.
“I do.”
“You said your streaming money paid for everything.”
Nobody laughed this time.
I finally understood why Brittany had seemed so pleased about moving in.
Liam had apparently presented himself to her as someone on the edge of success.
The upgraded equipment, the plans for a gaming studio, the sudden ability to spend freely—she had believed those things came from him.
Now she was looking at the blue ATM card in my hand.
“Did you use her money for my stuff?” she asked.
“It’s family money,” Liam said.
“You told me it was yours.”
“It basically is.”
“No,” I said.
“It isn’t.”
Dad slapped his palm against the kitchen table.
“Enough.
This is my house.
I decide what happens here.”
That had probably worked on me a hundred times before.
That night, it didn’t.
“You decide who sleeps in your house,” I said.
“You don’t decide who owns a bank account.”
His face reddened.
“Get out.”
I nodded.
“I will.”
I gathered my bags again.
I wasn’t going to spend the night arguing with people who had already shown me exactly where I stood.
Before leaving, I downloaded the full security clip instead of relying only on the cloud copy.
I also photographed the ATM card, the bags on the porch, and the banking transactions visible on my phone.
Liam watched every movement.
“You’re being dramatic,” he said.
I zipped my suitcase.
“You took forty-two thousand dollars.”
“We’ll give it back eventually.”
That was the first time he admitted there might be something to give back.
I looked at him.
“Where is it?”
He didn’t answer.
I left.
A coworker named Maya let me sleep on her couch that night.
I told her only that I’d had a family emergency.
I was too tired, cold, and humiliated to explain the rest.
But I barely slept.
Every few minutes I replayed pieces of the evening in my head.
My belongings by the door.
Mom laughing.
