The Forty-Grand Entitlement: When My Brother Crossed the Line Chapter 2

The next morning, I left for work as usual.

The moment I stepped out of my apartment building's main gate, Tyler jumped out from behind a concrete pillar, blocking the sidewalk.

"Em, what was that stunt leaving the group chat? Are you scared?"

When I didn't answer, he doubled down. "If you're scared, then wire me the money right now."

He kept aggressively demanding the transfer while pulling out a brand-new iPhone 15 Pro to check his banking app.

That iPhone was bought and paid for entirely by me. He told me he just wanted to "borrow it for a couple of days to play with the camera," but he never gave it back.

I sidestepped him and kept walking. "Move. I have to go to work."

He reached out and violently grabbed the strap of my purse.

"You are not leaving until you wire me that money."

A few neighbors walking their dogs stopped and started staring at us.

I yanked my purse back with all my strength.

"Tyler, if you keep this up, I'm calling the cops."

He let out a loud, mocking scoff. "Call them! Are the cops going to get involved in a family dispute? You're stealing my money, and now you want to silence me?"

Chloe, wearing a brand-new cashmere coat and holding a Venti Starbucks cup, looked me up and down with obvious disgust.

"Emily, everyone is watching. Do you really want to make a scene and embarrass yourself? Just wire the money, and we'll leave."

I stared at the coffee cup in her hand.

"That coffee cost seven bucks. The coat you're wearing cost eight hundred. Both of those were bought using my secondary credit card, weren't they?"

Chloe's smug expression instantly cracked.

"What the hell are you talking about?! Tyler bought these for me!"

I pulled out my phone and opened my banking app.

"I canceled the secondary card this morning. Oh, and the iPhone you're holding is mine too. Make sure you give it back."

Tyler's eyes bulged in shock.

"Em! Are you psycho?! You're taking back a phone?!"

I held out my hand, palm up.

"Yes. Give it back."

Tyler took a rapid step backward.

"No way in hell! I'm using it, which means it's mine!"

He grabbed Chloe's hand, frantically hailed a passing taxi, and the two of them dove into the backseat and sped off before I could say another word.

I watched the taxi disappear into traffic, then turned and walked toward the bus stop.

The bus rattled its way downtown, eventually dropping me off outside my office building.

I swiped my badge, walked through the glass doors, and sat down at my desk. Before I could even log in, my department manager walked over.

"Emily, can you come to my office for a minute?"

I followed him inside.

He closed the door, his expression looking incredibly strained and awkward.

"Is... is everything okay at home? Any major issues?"

"No."

The manager sighed heavily, opened his desk drawer, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to me.

"This morning, reception received a local courier package. It was a stack of these flyers."

I took it. Printed dead center was a photo of me, surrounded by bold, aggressive block letters:

[EMILY CHEN: TOXIC, CONTROLLING SISTER. STEALS BROTHER'S INHERITANCE, TRIES TO FORCE BROTHER'S GIRLFRIEND TO GET AN ABORTION. MORALLY BANKRUPT. DO NOT TRUST HER!]

It was printed on cheap, flimsy printer paper, the edges ragged.

I stared at the words, my fingers slowly clenching into tight fists.

"Reception intercepted the package," the manager said, watching me closely. "But... someone took a photo and posted it in the general company Slack channel. Now... the entire office has seen it."

I pulled out my phone and opened the company Slack.

The general channel was dead silent. Nobody was typing a word.

But the photo of that flyer was sitting right there as the most recent message, glaringly obvious and humiliating.

I placed the flyer back onto his desk.

"I understand. I'll handle it."

I turned and walked out of the office.

In the hallway, several coworkers were walking toward me. The moment they saw me, their eyes darted away. They lowered their heads and hurried past without a word.

I walked back to my desk, grabbed my purse, and turned to my cubicle mate. "I'm taking a half-day. If anything urgent comes up, text me."

As soon as I walked out of the revolving doors of my office building, I saw them. Standing on the sidewalk across the street, Tyler was holding a thick stack of flyers, and Chloe was aggressively shoving them into the hands of passing pedestrians.

I marched across the street and stopped right in front of them.

Chloe held out a flyer toward me. When she realized it was me, she froze for a second, then quickly pulled her hand back.

"Well, well. Emily, leaving work early today?"

I kept my eyes locked on Tyler.

"You printed these?"

Tyler looked away, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Chloe said this was the only way to make you back down. Em, just give me the money, and we'll leave right now."

I reached out and snatched the stack of flyers out of his hands.

With one swift motion, I ripped the entire stack in half, letting the shredded paper flutter to the sidewalk.

"Tyler, you are twenty-four years old. You graduated two years ago, and you've already quit or been fired from six different jobs. You don't even make enough to pay your own rent."

I stared directly into his eyes.

"The money you were going to use for that car? I saved it. The hoodie you're wearing right now? I bought it. Even the money you use to buy her coffee every morning comes off my credit card."

Chloe lunged forward and violently shoved me in the chest.

I stumbled back half a step, catching my balance.

"Stop acting like a pathetic victim! Tyler told me you make over ten grand a month! Why shouldn't you spend it on him?! You're just a selfish, greedy bitch!"

I looked at Chloe, my voice ice cold.

"My money belongs to me. I will give it to whoever I want. And since I don't want to give it to you, you won't see a single red cent of it."

Tyler's face flushed a furious, dark red.

"Em! Are you seriously trying to ruin my life?! Chloe said if I don't get a car, she's breaking up with me! Do you really want to destroy a four-year relationship?!"

I stared at him, completely deadpan.

"That sounds like a 'you' problem."

I turned and walked toward a nearby trash can, tossing the shredded flyers inside.

Tyler charged at me, grabbing my arm in a vice grip.

"You are going to give me that money today! Or I swear to God, I will stand outside your office every single day handing these out!"

I violently ripped my arm away from him.

"Touch me again, I dare you." In the same fluid motion, I snatched the iPhone 15 Pro right out of his hand.

Tyler stood there, totally stunned.

Chloe immediately rushed forward to grab his arm.

"Tyler, stop wasting your breath! People like her won't learn until you destroy them completely!"

I pulled out my own phone and dialed a local electronics recycling service I had used before.

"Hi, I have an iPhone 15 Pro I want to sell. Latest model, mint condition. Can you send someone to pick it up right now?"

The voice on the other end was enthusiastic: "Absolutely! Text me the address, we'll be there in ten minutes."

Tyler lunged forward, trying to wrestle the phone out of my grip.

"Emily! Are you fucking insane?!"

I ended the call and shoved both phones deep into my purse, stepping back out of his reach.

Ten minutes later, a white commercial van pulled up to the curb.

A guy in a blue polo shirt hopped out.

"Ms. Chen? You have the phone?"

I pulled the iPhone 15 Pro out of my purse and handed it to him.

Tyler charged the guy, grabbing him aggressively by the shoulder.

"Don't you dare buy that! That is my phone!"

I pulled up the digital receipt on my own phone and held it out to the tech.

"Hi, here is the proof of purchase and the serial number. The physical receipt is at my apartment; I can go get it if you need it."

The tech carefully checked the screen against the phone's settings, nodded, and forcefully shoved Tyler's hand off his shoulder.

"Buddy, the phone legally belongs to this lady. We only care about who holds the receipt."

Tyler stood frozen on the sidewalk, his face turning a mottled, furious purple.

"Emily! You're actually selling your own brother's phone?! Are you even human?!"

"I bought this phone with my own money. I can sell my own property whenever I want. What does that have to do with you?"

The tech pulled a thick wad of cash from his bag, counted out eight hundred dollars, and handed it to me.

"Here you go, ma'am. Count it to be sure."

I took the cash, counted it right in front of their faces, and slipped it into my purse.

"It's all here. Thanks."

The white van drove off.

Tyler glared at me with absolute, unfiltered hatred and roared: "Emily! As of today, you are dead to me! I don't have a sister!"

I didn't even bother turning around.

"Good."