The Bank Card That Broke Me

My parents gave me a bank card and transferred twenty thousand dollars into it every month for living expenses.

Everyone envied me for having such a good family.

But they never told me the PIN.

At school, I could not even afford meals, so I applied for financial aid.

My mom stormed into the school and slapped me across the face.

We give you twenty thousand dollars every month and you still arent satisfied, so who are you pretending to be poor for, you ungrateful brat?

Later, I starved myself into a perforated stomach ulcer and lay in the operating room waiting for money to save my life.

I begged them to tell me the PIN.

But my mom sneered over the phone.

We told you the PIN ages ago, and you forgot it yourself, so you want to take the money and fool around outside? No way!

I hung up the phone and finally gave up on them at the edge of life and death.

Until three years later, my younger brother offended the untouchable heir of the capitals elite circle and urgently needed that money to save his life.

My mom knelt on the ground, crying as she begged me to withdraw the money from the card.

I threw that bank card onto the ground and smiled.

Mom, you forgot that you never told me the PIN, so this money cant be withdrawn.

Ms. Parker, Emma Hales financial aid application cannot be approved.

Ryan Brooks, the class monitor, stood at the podium and shouted loudly.

The eyes of the entire class instantly landed on me.

I clutched the completed application form, my fingers tightening little by little.

Ryan pointed at me, his tone full of contempt.

Her parents transfer twenty thousand dollars to her every month for living expenses, and she even posted screenshots on Ins, but now shes here pretending to be poor to scam financial aid. Shes shameless!

My homeroom teacher, Ms. Parker, frowned as she looked at me.

Emma, what is going on?

I took a deep breath, my voice dry.

Ms. Parker, I really dont have any money on my card, and I dont even have money for food today.

As soon as I finished speaking, the classroom door was shoved open.

My mom rushed in on high heels.

She walked up to me in a few steps and raised her hand.

A crisp slap rang out.

My head was knocked to the side, and half of my face went numb instantly.

How did I give birth to such an ungrateful brat like you?

My mom pulled a bank card from her bag and slammed it hard against my face.

We transfer twenty thousand dollars to you every month for living expenses, and you still came to school to apply for poverty assistance. Are you deliberately trying to embarrass the Hale family?

The bank card fell to the ground with a sharp sound.

The whole class erupted.

Oh my God, twenty thousand dollars a month and shes still pretending to be poor?

This girl is way too vain, right? She would even throw away her dignity just to steal a financial aid spot.

Thats disgusting. If I had parents that good, Id wake up laughing from my dreams.

As I listened to the whispers around me, a smug sneer flashed across my moms face.

I stared hard at the bank card on the floor, my eyes stinging.

Yes, she did transfer twenty thousand dollars to me every month.

But she never once told me the PIN.

I bent down, picked up the card, held it in front of her, and said in a trembling voice.

You transfer twenty thousand dollars every month, but did you ever tell me the PIN?

My moms expression changed, and her eyes dodged for a moment, but she quickly raised her voice again.

I told you the PIN ages ago, and you were the one with the bad memory who forgot it! Now youre blaming me instead?

You told me?

I stared at her and pressed closer step by step.

I tried my birthday, your birthday, and the home landline number, but every single one came up wrong! Do you dare say the PIN again in front of the whole class?

My mom was forced back a step by me, then pointed at my nose in furious embarrassment.

You still dare talk back! The PIN is your brothers birthday, and I told you so many times!

Emma, youre just used to spending money like water, and once you spent it all, you came here to act pitiful. How did I raise such a useless thing like you?

After saying that, she turned to the homeroom teacher and put on a heartbroken expression.

Ms. Parker, this child was spoiled rotten by us, so please dont approve any aid for her. We cant afford this shame.

Ms. Parkers gaze toward me turned completely cold.

Emma, you have truly disappointed me, so take your application form back.

I stood there and watched my mom leave with her head held high, my chest feeling as if someone had clenched it hard.

She was lying.

I had tried my brother Tyler Hales birthday.

It was not right at all.

This card was just a leash around my neck.

In outsiders eyes, I was a rich girl with twenty thousand dollars in living expenses every month.

But only I knew that I could not touch a single cent of that twenty thousand dollars.

At noon, when I went to the cafeteria to get lunch, I had only three dollars left on my meal card.

I bought one plain dinner roll, carried a bowl of free broth, and sat in the corner.

Before I had even taken two bites, a bottle of ice water suddenly slammed onto my table.

Soup splashed all over me.

I looked up and met Tyler Hales mocking face.

Standing beside him was Chloe Hale, the fake heiress my parents had adopted.

Chloe wore designer clothes from head to toe and covered her mouth with a delicate laugh.

Emma, why are you eating something like this? Doesnt Mom give you twenty thousand dollars every month?

Tyler snorted coldly, snatched my dinner roll, threw it on the ground, and even ground it under his foot twice.

Stop acting pitiful! Mom said you caused trouble at school today, so she told me to come teach you a lesson.

I stared at the crushed dinner roll on the floor, and anger flared inside me.

I shot to my feet and stared at him hard.

Tyler, tell me the PIN.

What PIN?

He froze for a second, then laughed with disdain.

How would I know the PIN? Mom said youre a wasteful loser who never knows when to stop spending, and the money on the card is being saved for you, so theyll naturally give it to you when you need it.

I need it right now!

My voice went hoarse, and I was almost shouting.

I cant even afford food, and my dorm fees have been overdue for a week, so how am I supposed to live?

Chloe sighed and pretended to look sympathetic.

Emma, dont pressure Tyler. If you really have no money, I can lend you a hundred dollars.

As she spoke, she pulled a red bill from her bag worth more than twenty thousand dollars and tossed it onto the table as if she were giving charity to a beggar.

The students around us began pointing and whispering.

Chloe is way too kind, right? She still treats her ungrateful sister so well.

Emma really doesnt know whats good for her. She has such a great sister and still walks around with that sour face every day.

I stared at that hundred-dollar bill, and my fingers tightened little by little.

I did not take the money.

I turned around, straightened my back, and walked out of the cafeteria.

That afternoon, my advisor called me to the office.

Emma, if you dont pay your dorm fees, youll have to move out of the dorm tonight.

I opened my mouth but could not say a single word.

SnapChat wallet, one dollar and fifty cents.

PayPal, two dollars and thirty cents.

Added together, it was not even enough to rent a bed.

I stood in the hallway and called my parents more than a dozen times.

No one answered.

I opened my moms Ins.

She had updated it just one minute ago.

A new necklace for Chloe. Girls are meant to be spoiled.

The attached picture was of a diamond necklace worth thirty thousand dollars.

I stared at that post, and my eyes began to sting little by little.

So it was not that they had no money, nor that they could not bear to spend it.

They just could not bear to spend it on me.

That night, the dorm supervisor kicked me out of the dorm.

It was raining heavily outside.

I dragged my suitcase down the empty street.

A burst of sharp pain twisted through my stomach.

I crouched by the roadside, and cold sweat instantly soaked my back.

The pain in my stomach felt like a knife stirring inside me.

I clutched my belly, hurting so badly that even my breathing trembled.

My stomach illness had come from years of going hungry.

Over the past few years, in order not to bow my head to them, I worked part-time jobs desperately and often ate only one meal a day.

I leaned against a bus stop sign and dialed my dads number with shaking hands.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered, and the sound of the TV came through.

Dad... My voice was so weak it was almost inaudible. My stomach hurts so badly, and I might not make it, so tell me the PIN because I need to go to the hospital...

The other end of the line went quiet for two seconds.

Then my dads impatient scolding came through.

Emma, are you done or not? You pretended to be poor at school during the day, and now youre pretending to be sick at night! Will you only be satisfied if you drive us to death?

My throat tightened, and my tears fell instantly.

Im not pretending to be sick... It really hurts...

If it hurts, then endure it!

My dad cut me off without mercy.

Your mom said youre just trying to scam money so you can fool around outside. Im warning you, dont even think about touching a single cent on that card!

After saying that, he hung up directly.

Listening to the beeping from my phone, I felt a chill rush from the soles of my feet to the top of my head, and all the blood in my body went cold.

These were my biological parents.

I was in so much pain that I rolled on the ground, and my vision grew more and more blurry.

I did not know how long passed before a taxi stopped in front of me.

The driver saw something was wrong with me, quickly helped me into the car, and took me to a nearby hospital.

In the emergency room, the doctor gave me a preliminary exam, and his face looked very grave.

Acute gastric perforation, so you need surgery immediately. Go pay a five-thousand-dollar deposit first.

Five thousand.

I lay on the hospital bed, in so much pain that I could not even straighten my back.

I held my phone and searched through every loan app I had.

Because I was a student without stable income, every credit limit was zero.

I gritted my teeth and dialed the home number again.

This time, Chloe answered.

Emma, what is it this late? Mom and Dad are already asleep.

Her voice was sweet and delicate, with an indescribable smugness.

I bit my lip hard, and soon tasted blood in my mouth.

Put Tyler on the phone.

There was a rustling sound from the other end, then Tylers voice rang out.

Its the middle of the night, so what are you freaking out about now?

I took a deep breath, my voice hoarse.

Tyler, Im at the hospital, and I need surgery for an acute gastric perforation. Tell me the PIN, and count it as me borrowing it from you.

Tyler scoffed.

Gastric perforation? Who are you trying to fool? Werent you still standing and yelling at me in the cafeteria this afternoon?

Im not lying to you!

I panicked all at once, trembling from the pain.

The doctor said they cant operate if I dont pay, and Im really about to die!

The other end of the phone went silent for a moment.

Then my moms voice came through, thick with impatience.

Give it to her, give it to her! Isnt she just trying to scam money? Tell her the PIN is Chloes birthday!

Take the money and get lost, and dont call back to bother us again!

The call was hung up violently.

I stared at the dark screen, and tears silently streamed down my face.

A nurse came over with the payment slip and urged me.

Have your family members arrived? Hurry and pay the money because the doctor is waiting to arrange the surgery.

I gritted my teeth and climbed out of the hospital bed.

There was an ATM in the corner of the hospital lobby.

I clutched my stomach and moved over step by step, and every step felt like stepping on the edge of a knife.

I inserted the bank card that received twenty thousand dollars every month into the machine.

I entered Chloes birthday.

A line of cold red text appeared on the screen:

Incorrect PIN. You have two attempts remaining.

My mind buzzed, and it felt as if someone had struck me head-on with a club.

Wrong?

My mom had clearly said the PIN was Chloes birthday.

My whole body went cold, and even my teeth were chattering.

I tried their wedding anniversary next.

Incorrect PIN. You have one attempt remaining.

I stared at the screen, my breathing rushed.

The final attempt.

With shaking hands, I entered my own birthday.

Incorrect PIN. Your bank card has been locked.

The machine let out a beeping alarm, and the card was swallowed directly.

At that moment, I seemed to hear the sound of my own heart shattering.

So from beginning to end, they had been lying to me.

They had never planned to let me use a single cent inside.

I leaned against the ATM and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

The pain in my stomach came in wave after wave, and I did not even have the strength to cry anymore.

Just as I thought I was truly going to die in that cold corner, the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.

I struggled to take out my phone.

It was a bank deposit text.

Your account ending in 7319 received a deposit of USD 3,200,000.00 at 02:14.

I stared at that long string of zeros, and my vision went dark.

Right after that, my professor called, his voice filled with wild joy.

Emma! The patent transfer paperwork for our project went through! The other company paid the full amount directly! Three million two hundred thousand! Did you receive it?