Chapter 1
The day my nephew, Nathan Ross, got into Hawthorne University as the top student in the state, I threw a full-blown celebration and hosted a huge banquet for the whole town.
The night before, while I was simmering the stew, I overheard Aunt Eleanor quietly talking to him in the yard. She even brought up some kind of inheritance agreement.
My heart went cold.
That night, I reached under my bed and pulled out a hardbound ledger I'd kept hidden there for ten years, then shoved it into a canvas bag.
During the toasts, Nathan pulled out a handwritten agreement.
"Aunt Lina, please return my parents' accident settlement, plus ten years of interest, 400 thousand dollars. I won't accept anything less."
Everyone in the town was floored, murmurs rippling through the crowd.
My older brother and his wife died years ago in a drunk driving crash. They never received a single dollar from the accident settlement, and instead left behind a crushing pile of debt.
I was the one who sold my city apartment, broke off my engagement, and stayed behind.
I juggled three jobs a day and took custom tailoring work on the side, hand-making fine suits just to keep Nathan fed, dressed, and in a good private high school.
I looked at my nephew standing there in front of me, then quietly put away the bankbook I had prepared for his college tuition.
*****
Nathan slid the document giving up guardianship and settling the inheritance onto the table.
The courtyard fell silent in an instant.
Everyone stared at the paper, stunned.
It was all laid out in black and white. Aunt Eleanor had someone from the town who knew nothing about the law draft it up.
Nathan was wearing the shirt I'd pulled several all-nighters to sew, every stitch made by hand.
He held his glass, eyes fixed on me.
"Aunt Lina, you've looked after me for ten years, and for ten years, I've called you Mom.
"But business is business. Even between family, things should be kept clear.
"After my parents died in that car accident, the driver paid out 400 thousand dollars, including interest.
"But considering everything you've done for me, I'll let it go."
He lifted his chin, a calculating smile spreading across his face.
"As long as you promise right here, in front of everyone, that you'll never play my elder again, and never come to Betova to make a scene.
"I'll let the money go. Take it as my way of repaying you for raising me.
"From now on, you go your way. I'll head to Hawthorne University. We don't owe each other anything."
Everyone was stunned into silence.
A few seconds later, the crowd erupted.
Aunt Eleanor tossed the sunflower seed shells from her hand onto the ground.
She jabbed a finger at me, spittle flying as she shouted.
"Lina, you heartless woman!
"I always wondered why you were so desperate to take Nat to the city back then!
"So it was all about getting your hands on your brother's blood money!
"You've been flaunting your wealth for ten years, haven't you? Living it up in the city, dripping in gold and silver, feasting on the best, all off your nephew's blood, sweat, and tears. Aren't you afraid karma's going to catch up with you?"
Uncle Benjamin stood up, banging his glass on the table.
"Lina, that's just ruthless.
"Nat's being generous by not asking you for the money. You'd better make your stance clear now. Don't make us fall out as a family."
I sat on the long bench, gripped my pant legs tightly, and kept my eyes away from all those accusing faces.
Instead, I looked at the glazed pork roast on the table.
It was Nathan's favorite dish.
To get this graduation feast ready, I stayed up until three in the morning, slaughtering the pig, cleaning it, and roasting the glazed pork.
My hands were full of cracks and chapped wounds.
No matter how hard I scrubbed, there were still traces of pig's blood stuck between my fingers.
Nathan strode over and shoved the agreement right in front of me.
"Go ahead and sign it, Aunt Lina.
"Once you sign this agreement, I won't bother you about all the crap I had to put up with these past ten years."
Crap?
I let out a sarcastic laugh, then lifted my head and stared right at him.
Ten years ago, my brother and sister-in-law were knocking back two cases of beer at a late-night food stall.
After that, they piled into their van and headed out onto the highway.
They slammed right into a semi-truck that was just minding its own business.
Both of them were killed instantly.
The traffic police issued an official report, putting all the blame on my brother.
Not only did they get zero compensation, but they also had to pay for the semi-truck driver's medical bills and the loss of his cargo.
The truck driver's family showed up with a dozen people, blocking the entrance to the Ross residence.
They threatened to chop off Nathan's hand to settle the debt.
That day, Aunt Eleanor locked the gate tight.
Uncle Benjamin packed up his wife and kids and bolted back to his in-laws' place in the middle of the night.
It was me, begging on my knees in front of the truck driver's family, banging my head on the ground until it was split open and bleeding.
I sold the apartment I'd bought on mortgage in the city, the one I'd planned to live in with my future husband.
I barely managed to pull together 250 thousand dollars to pay off the compensation.
My fiancé gave me a slap across the face right in front of everyone.
He called me crazy for throwing everything away for my brother, saying I didn't even care about my own parents.
He broke off the engagement then and there.
I dragged a big woven sack full of clothes and took ten-year-old Nathan with me to the city.
I had no degree, no connections, nothing to my name.
During the day, I scrubbed toilets at the mall.
At night, I washed dishes at a restaurant. And when midnight came, I'd be bent over my desk under the glow of a lamp, doing freelance hand-sewing for custom-tailored suits just to make ends meet.