Shattered Rose He Held On Tight novel Chapter 57

hapter 57 The Debt

Claudia was only 18 and had nothing to her name. On top of that, she carried debt that tied her even tighter to the Lancasters.

Claudia gripped the handle of her suitcase so hard her nails dug into her palm, drawing blood -but her voice stayed calm. “Let me remind you,” she said. “I never begged you to bring me into this world. And the law says parents are required to provide for their children until they turn 18. That was your responsibility, not a favor.”

She lifted her chin, steady and unflinching. “Since middle school on, minus the camps, clubs, and extra lessons, Clarence, Zane, and Lydia each got a monthly allowance of 500,000 to 1,000,000. Mine was 1,000 dollars. If you’re not afraid of the world finding out how little you gave your daughter, and you’re actually asking me to pay you back, we can lay out the numbers for everyone to see. I don’t mind doing the math in public.”

Wilson stared at her in disbelief. “That’s because you wasted money fooling around. And it’s not like we never gave you more. Do you really have to be this petty?”

“I never got it,” Claudia said, her tone steady.

Wilson didn’t believe a word she said. “Fine. Walk out that door, and don’t expect a single penny from this family ever again.”

It wasn’t really about the money. Wilson just couldn’t stand the shame of fighting with their daughter in public over scraps.

So, in the end, he dropped his demand for repayment. Claudia turned her back on them.

“Don’t worry. If I have to fight this hard just to claim what’s rightfully mine, then I won’t take a dime that isn’t.”

Claudia saw things clearly. Child support was her right, and her life had been far from the luxury the Lancasters lived in. She wasn’t guilty, and she had no reason to go into debt just to protect her pride.

When Wilson and Lottie grew old, she’d simply repay them in nursing care.

As for the family estate, that was theirs to spend or give away. If they left her nothing, she had no complaints.

And before she turned 18, she had barely received what was rightfully hers. If she accepted more after 18, wouldn’t that chain her to them forever, nailed down by guilt?

ccepted

Claudia cut the ties clean and walked away.

1/2

UCUA

Finished

From then on, she never asked her family for a thing.

She never regretted that choice.

At first, she survived on the little she earned from part–time jobs. She stretched a single pack of ramen into two meals. Life was harsh. Sometimes she got sick, and in the middle of the night she’d cry herself to sleep, worn out and lonely.

But she made it through, didn’t she?

The tiny apartment Lottie always mocked–Claudia had bought it with her hard work. She never had to fear someone taking it away, kicking her out, or pointing a finger in her face, saying, “You owe us.”

Thinking back, Lottie touched her nose uneasily.

“Why do you hold grudges like this? We were just angry. Do you really think we’d chase our 18- year–old daughter down for a few scraps of child support?”

But then she remembered—the company shares that were supposed to go to Claudia had gone to Lydia instead. Maybe they really had shortchanged her.

Lottie hesitated. “When you marry Jasper, your dad and I will give you that five percent of the company shares.”

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