The money didn’t make me happy, but it gave me back the truth of my own life. Chloe and I still have a lot of work to do to repair our relationship, but we are finally speaking to each other without any secrets.

I haven’t spoken to my parents since that day at the estate. The lesson in independence they tried to force on me actually worked, but not in the way they planned.

I left their world with nothing but a suitcase and a grudge. I returned with the truth, and I am no longer the spare part they can simply throw away.