I opened my banking app expecting to see the $14,000 I’d worked so hard to save. Instead, the number glaring back at me was $4.87. (4 of 5)

“You called the cops?” Tessa shrieked.

Three heavy knocks echoed through the house. “Open up! Financial Crimes Unit!”

They thought I was bluffing. I wasn’t.

The agents walked in. Calm, professional, devastating.

Mom cried. Seth cursed. Tessa collapsed into a chair, eyes wide.

“You always helped us,” she whispered.

“No,” I said. “I was used.”

That night, I drove without a destination. I ended up outside my grandmother’s old house. Her voice echoed in my memory: If they ever turn on you, Drew, this door will always open.

It did.

Three months have passed. I’ve moved, changed my number, and gotten promoted. For the first time, I sleep without a pit in my stomach.

Then one day, a letter arrived. A check for $1,200. A note from Seth’s ex, Kelly. “I left him. Watching you stand up gave me the strength to do the same. Thank you.”