Chapter 1

The day the college admission letters were released, I was the only student in our entire small town to get into an Ivy League university.

The town mayor, thrilled by the news, personally came to our house to present me with a $10,000 scholarship check.

But right in front of everyone, my mother snatched the check straight out of my hand.

The next second, she splashed a bucket of dirty mop water right at my feet.

With her hands on her hips, she sneered loudly so the whole neighborhood could hear:

"What's the point of a girl going to a fancy college anyway?"

"Since you got into some top-tier Ivy, your monthly allowance will be exactly $211! The rest of the money is going to your brother, Tyler, for his wedding and a new truck!"

Standing next to her, Tyler's trashy friends chimed in with nasty smirks:

"Exactly. A girl like you has no business in college. Do us a favor and go work in a warehouse instead."

I didn't say a single word.

During that entire summer, I worked three part-time jobs simultaneously.

I pushed myself so hard that I ended up in the ER with a bleeding stomach ulcer, but I never went back to ask them for a single penny.

Eight years later.

I became the youngest Chief Attending Physician at the state's top hospital.

Meanwhile, my mother was kicked out of her home because of the massive debts Tyler had racked up.

Now half-paralyzed from a stroke, she was dumped right at my clinic door in the middle of the night.

Grabbing the hem of my white doctor's coat, she wept muddy tears:

"Chloe, I had a stroke... The ICU bills are too expensive. You have to pay them for me..."

I smiled faintly, pulled out $211 from my desk drawer, and stuffed the crumpled bills into her trembling hand.

"Mom, the ICU is way too expensive. I found a nice, cheap spot for you on the street corner."

"If I gave you a single penny more, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully."