I’m Ian, 17, and I live in a house that doesn’t feel like home anymore. It used to, back when it was just me and my dad before he died in a car accident. The only thing that kept me going after his death was knowing he had left me a college fund — money meant to secure my future. It was supposed to be locked away until I turned 18. Then one day, my mom and stepdad Ray dropped the news: we were moving into a bigger house. I couldn’t understand how they could afford it.

Ray was a substitute gym teacher, my mom worked part-time, and they barely scraped by. When I pushed for answers, the truth came out — they had used my inheritance. When I asked if that meant the house would be mine when I turned 18, Ray laughed right in my face. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s our house. We’re the adults.” That was the moment I realized they hadn’t just taken money. They had stolen my dad’s last gift to me — and turned it into something they claimed as theirs.

I stayed quiet for months, planning to bide my time until I was old enough to leave. But everything changed during a family gathering at the new house. Ray confronted me in the kitchen about not cooking breakfast for his relatives, sneering, “Don’t talk to me like that in my house.” Something inside me snapped. I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Actually, it’s my house. You bought it with money you stole from me.” The entire room went silent. My mom gasped, furious that I’d embarrassed them. But I didn’t care — for the first time, I wasn’t afraid to speak the truth.

That night, I found the letter my dad had left me. In it, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone take it from you. It’s yours. You are not alone.” His words lit a fire in me. The next morning, I called his lawyer and explained everything. He told me I had a case and that what my mom and Ray did could be considered misappropriation of funds. I don’t know yet what the courts will decide, or if I’ll get the money back. But I do know this: they thought I’d stay silent. They thought I’d feel guilty. Instead, I stood up for myself. And now, they know I won’t let it go.