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My Classic Car Collection Became a Family Battlefield, and I Had to Draw Financial Boundaries
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She’s seven years younger. She grew up as the family favorite, protected and excused in ways I never experienced. If I wanted extra money as a teenager, I did chores. Natalie seemed to receive what she wanted without effort. If I saved for something, she was gifted something better.
I worked multiple jobs through college. Natalie’s education was fully funded by our parents. She changed majors repeatedly, then left before finishing. The cost, the time, the strain on our parents’ finances was never discussed again.
Natalie drifted from job to job. Barista. Retail. Reception work. Dog walking. Personal assistant. Social media tasks. Nothing lasted. Between jobs, she traveled and lived as if money would always appear from somewhere.
Whenever I questioned it, the answer was vague. Credit cards. “Friends.” People who paid for things until the relationship ended and she moved on.
My parents called it “finding herself.”
