Chapter 1

During Spring Break, my brother Eric Lynn and his wife Linda Lynn borrowed my car for a family trip.

Linda had just gotten her license but was already speeding down the mountain road. Of course, she lost control. Their whole family ended up hurtling off a cliff.

Linda's brother blamed it all on me for lending them the car, then just dumped my disabled nephew on me and disappeared.

My parents blamed me for everything and forced me to take care of my nephew.

I raised him, helped him overcome his disability, and made sure he had a future. But in the end, he killed me.

It wasn't until after I died that I realized the whole thing was a setup—they'd planned it all along just to get their hands on my property.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Eric asked to borrow my car.

*****

As soon as I came to, I heard Eric calling out to me.

"Jessie, Mom and Dad said you just got a new ride. Mind if I take it for a spin? Linda's finally got her license, so we can drive in turns."

I blinked, taking in my surroundings. I realized that I was back, right before Spring Break, the exact day Eric asked me to lend him my car.

But before I could say a word, just like last time, Aunt Martha chimed in.

"Oh, come on, Eric. You're family. Not only would she let you borrow her car. Even if you asked her to buy you one, she'd do it. She spoils you rotten. Don't you think so, Jessie?"

I glanced over at Martha, who was busy in the kitchen with my mom. I gave her a playful smile.

"Aunt Martha, you're pretty fond of Eric too, aren't you? Why don't you buy him a new ride?"

Martha's expression changed in a flash, and she replied with a mocking tone.

"Jessie, not everyone's got your luck. Straight out of college and already making a fortune. You even bought yourself a bunch of houses. Who could ever hope to compare to you?"

Back in college, I made some decent money running a social media startup, and after graduation, I ran an import business for a while. Those were good years, so I saved up quite a bit. Later, I partnered with friends on a few ventures—sometimes we lost, sometimes we won, but overall, I did all right.

To my relatives, though, the idea of buying a house right after graduation was like something out of a fairy tale.

Some of them even started spreading rumors behind my back, claiming I must've gotten my money by less than honest means.

I tried explaining it to them, but they just didn't get it. After a while, I stopped bothering.

Last time, when Martha tried to get me to buy Eric a new car, I just laughed it off and didn't really respond.

After all, Eric's car already cost over 60,000 dollars, and I'd only bought it for him two years ago. He was unemployed—the car he had was more than enough.

"Aunt Martha, if you have something to say, just spit it out."

Martha choked for a second and shot a glance at my mom. My mom had been practically counting on me to cave and buy Eric a new car, so when I shut her down, she wasn't happy. "Jessica, that's not the way to talk to your aunt. Watch your attitude."

I let out a laugh. "Mom, seriously? Aunt Martha's always got something sly to say, hinting I'm up to no good with my money, and you come at me instead of her? Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think I was just some outsider in this family."

My mom was totally caught off guard since I usually just let things slide. Flustered and trying to regain her pride, she grabbed a handful of veggies and tossed them at me.

She snapped, "What's gotten into you today? Can't you just talk like a normal person?"

I sat back on the sofa, so the vegetables didn't even reach me. I ignored her and shot a message to one of our company's lawyers, inviting him to dinner.