Chapter 3 · I Packed, They Panicked

Early the next morning, just before sunrise, Logan was still fast asleep, his snores shaking the room.

Sasha's room was completely silent. She probably stayed up late binge-watching shows or out clubbing again last night.

No one came to say goodbye. Not a single person even bothered to look at me.

All by myself, I hauled my two big suitcases out of the place I once poured my heart into and called "home".

My phone buzzed on the way to the airport.

It was a voice message from Sasha.

The background was noisy, and she sounded half-asleep, her words slurred. "Julie, don't forget my Hermès. Make sure it's got the gold buckle. If there's no gold, silver will do, but don't mess it up."

She didn't even say goodbye. She was just grabbing for more.

I stared out the window at the city flashing by, and posted a private Instagram story. The photo was of the airport departure hall.

The caption read: [Goodbye, losers.]

Once I got to the departure lounge, I found a quiet spot and called the bank's VIP hotline.

"Hi, I need to cancel the secondary credit card ending in 8899 and the family card ending in 7766," I said.

"Of course, Mrs. Perkins. May I ask the reason for the cancellation?" the rep asked.

"Someone has been making unauthorized charges," I replied calmly.

Those were the cards I'd linked to Logan and Sasha. Logan's card had a 15 thousand limit, and I'd set Sasha's family card to a monthly cap of 7 thousand.

After hanging up, I called Jayden's elite preschool.

"Hi, this is Julie Perkins, Jayden's guardian. I need to withdraw him from your school," I said.

"Why? Money is tight. We can't swing tuition anymore, so we're moving him to a public kindergarten," I explained.

The teacher sounded genuinely shocked because I'd always paid up front, no questions asked. "Mrs. Perkins, the tuition for this semester has already been paid. If you withdraw now—"

"Just process the refund as usual. Put the money back on my card, please. Yeah, today if possible. Thanks," I said.

The tuition for this preschool was 25 thousand per semester.

Sasha had thrown a fit, insisting Jayden absolutely had to go; she kept saying he couldn't fall behind. And naturally, I was the one paying for everything.

In the end, I sent a quick text to Iris, the house owner.

I'd rented this apartment in the school district just for Jayden's sake. The rent was 5 thousand a month, and I paid every cent.

I texted: [Iris, I'm not renewing the lease. There are three months left. Please just take the place back when it's up.]

Once I finished everything, the boarding announcement came over the speakers.

Just then, my phone lit up with a message from Logan.

Logan: [Are you there yet? Send me 3 thousand now. Sasha is taking friends out tonight to celebrate your trip abroad. She's in charge now.]

Celebrate? What a joke.

I replied: [I'm already on the plane. Bad signal.]

Then I blocked Logan, Sasha, my mother-in-law Bethany, and cut off their access to my mobile payments.

I was finally relieved.

As the plane soared into the clouds, I gazed at the rolling sea of white outside my window and finally couldn't hold back a smile.

Revenge had officially begun.

It was the first weekend after I left.

Sasha had gathered a group of rich girls for a get-together at the fanciest restaurant in the city center.

She was wearing that designer trench coat she'd swiped from my closet, sitting in the center of the table, soaking up all the envious looks from the crowd.

"This one is on me. Order whatever you want," she said, waving around the card I'd given her, acting like a queen who spent money like water.

The bill hit 6 thousand.

Sasha handed the card to the waitress with a flourish, chin held high.

Three seconds later, the waitress smiled and handed the card back. "Sorry, this card is invalid."

"What?" Sasha's eyes went wide. "No way. This is Julie's card. It's got no limit. Try it again."

The waitress tried again, but it made no difference.

Sasha's face flushed. And the women around her went from envy to scornful laughter.

She panicked and called Logan. "Hurry up and send me 7 thousand. This damn card is busted."

Logan was drinking with his crew. He paused, confused. "I don't have any left either. My card has been frozen, too."

"What?" Sasha shrieked. "What am I supposed to do now? I'm stuck here at the register. This is embarrassing."

In the end, Sasha had no choice but to pawn the designer bag she'd just snatched from my closet two days ago to the restaurant manager, leave a promissory note behind, and run off under everyone's jeering eyes.

However, this was just the beginning.

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, just before sunrise, Logan was still fast asleep, his snores shaking the room.

Sasha's room was completely silent. She probably stayed up late binge-watching shows or out clubbing again last night.

No one came to say goodbye. Not a single person even bothered to look at me.

All by myself, I hauled my two big suitcases out of the place I once poured my heart into and called "home".

My phone buzzed on the way to the airport.

It was a voice message from Sasha.

She didn't even say goodbye. She was just grabbing for more.

I stared out the window at the city flashing by, and posted a private Instagram story. The photo was of the airport departure hall.

The caption read: [Goodbye, losers.]

Once I got to the departure lounge, I found a quiet spot and called the bank's VIP hotline.

"Hi, I need to cancel the secondary credit card ending in 8899 and the family card ending in 7766," I said.

"Of course, Mrs. Perkins. May I ask the reason for the cancellation?" the rep asked.

"Someone has been making unauthorized charges," I replied calmly.

Those were the cards I'd linked to Logan and Sasha. Logan's card had a 15 thousand limit, and I'd set Sasha's family card to a monthly cap of 7 thousand.

After hanging up, I called Jayden's elite preschool.

"Hi, this is Julie Perkins, Jayden's guardian. I need to withdraw him from your school," I said.

"Why? Money is tight. We can't swing tuition anymore, so we're moving him to a public kindergarten," I explained.

The teacher sounded genuinely shocked because I'd always paid up front, no questions asked. "Mrs. Perkins, the tuition for this semester has already been paid. If you withdraw now—"

"Just process the refund as usual. Put the money back on my card, please. Yeah, today if possible. Thanks," I said.

The tuition for this preschool was 25 thousand per semester.

Sasha had thrown a fit, insisting Jayden absolutely had to go; she kept saying he couldn't fall behind. And naturally, I was the one paying for everything.

In the end, I sent a quick text to Iris, the house owner.

I'd rented this apartment in the school district just for Jayden's sake. The rent was 5 thousand a month, and I paid every cent.

I texted: [Iris, I'm not renewing the lease. There are three months left. Please just take the place back when it's up.]

Once I finished everything, the boarding announcement came over the speakers.

Just then, my phone lit up with a message from Logan.

Logan: [Are you there yet? Send me 3 thousand now. Sasha is taking friends out tonight to celebrate your trip abroad. She's in charge now.]

Celebrate? What a joke.

I replied: [I'm already on the plane. Bad signal.]

Then I blocked Logan, Sasha, my mother-in-law Bethany, and cut off their access to my mobile payments.

I was finally relieved.

As the plane soared into the clouds, I gazed at the rolling sea of white outside my window and finally couldn't hold back a smile.

Revenge had officially begun.

It was the first weekend after I left.

Sasha had gathered a group of rich girls for a get-together at the fanciest restaurant in the city center.

She was wearing that designer trench coat she'd swiped from my closet, sitting in the center of the table, soaking up all the envious looks from the crowd.

"This one is on me. Order whatever you want," she said, waving around the card I'd given her, acting like a queen who spent money like water.

The bill hit 6 thousand.

Sasha handed the card to the waitress with a flourish, chin held high.

Three seconds later, the waitress smiled and handed the card back. "Sorry, this card is invalid."

"What?" Sasha's eyes went wide. "No way. This is Julie's card. It's got no limit. Try it again."

The waitress tried again, but it made no difference.

Sasha's face flushed. And the women around her went from envy to scornful laughter.

She panicked and called Logan. "Hurry up and send me 7 thousand. This damn card is busted."

Logan was drinking with his crew. He paused, confused. "I don't have any left either. My card has been frozen, too."

"What?" Sasha shrieked. "What am I supposed to do now? I'm stuck here at the register. This is embarrassing."

However, this was just the beginning.