Chapter 3

Henry was struck on the head and burst into loud sobs, while Linda shrieked and rushed over to protect him.

Eric dashed over to console Henry, saw his forehead had swollen up, then whirled around and yelled at me.

"Jessica, have you gone insane? What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you hit Henry?"

Just then, my mom darted in after hearing the commotion and immediately swung at me.

"Have you lost your mind? He's your nephew. How could you go after him like that?"

I dodged out of the way, and she missed, ending up sprawled on the couch, totally stunned.

I took a couple of steps back. "I got him those toys, not so he could chuck them at me. Is that really how you raise your kid? If you didn't want the toys, you could've just told me. It would've saved me trouble and some cash."

At that, my mom shot up from the couch and started lashing out at me with no rhyme or reason.

"You have no right to discipline Henry in this family. Who do you think you are? I worked myself to the bone raising you—was it just so you could turn into a troublemaker and turn this whole family upside down?"

I tried to dodge, but my mom was too strong and completely out of control—she still managed to land blow after blow on my head and body.

Right then, all I could think about was my past life—she actually saw Henry shove me down the stairs. But when the cops came, she said I just slipped, even pulled out my medical records, and told them I was out of my mind.

After I died, I realized she and Henry had been poisoning my food all along. No wonder I was left depressed and sleepless for months.

I used to think my mom just preferred boys over girls and still had a little love for me somewhere. But after dying once, it hit me—her world was only about her precious son and her beloved grandson. Me? I was nothing but a walking blood bank for them.

My death meant nothing to her.

Now that I'd finally hit my limit, I shoved my mom aside and fixed my hair, glaring at her.

"You're right, I don't have the right to teach him. So, I'll just stop paying for his early education classes. And as for Eric's house and car—I'm the one who fronted all the cash, remember? If it comes down to it, taking it all back in court would be no sweat for me, don't you think?"

As soon as I said it, the house, once loud and rowdy, suddenly went quiet. Only Henry was still crying, and honestly, the silence felt blissful.

Then my mom exploded, "Oh, what did I do in my past life to deserve this? Raising such an ungrateful little brat.

"Seriously, what kind of sister buys things for her brother and then wants to sue him to take them back? Listen here, Jessie, if you so much as lay a finger on your brother's stuff, I'll drop dead right in front of you. Ugh, how could my life be so tragic?"

Eric looked pissed. "Jessie, is it really that serious? I just wanted to borrow your new car for a spin. If you don't want to lend it, fine, but why say stuff like that?"

Linda snorted, "Oh, so you think you're so important just because you've got a few bucks? Does that mean you can go around hitting people? Who made you buy all those houses and cars anyway? What are you even going on about now, acting all high and mighty?"

"Never seen anyone as heartless as you. Kids have fragile skin. Look what you did. He's all swollen and bruised. No wonder you're still single at your age."

With that, she kicked the toy I'd bought for Henry and stormed off into the room with the kid in her arms.

The funny thing was, I was the one who funded their wedding back then.

My parents had just forced me to buy Eric a house, and I really didn't want to fund their wedding. But Linda swore she'd give up the baby and break up with Eric if she didn't get the money.

She even said I had money, but I wouldn't help Eric. Eric kicked up a stink several times right in front of me, almost ruining a big business deal I had going. I honestly had no choice but to cave to them.

But Eric did sign an IOU for that money.

Soner or later, I'd make them cough every last cent back up.

As soon as Linda stormed off, Martha sidled up to me, ready to scold me again.

"Jessie, grow up. You just got home and already turned the place into a battleground. Go get your mom a glass of water and apologize to Linda."

Eric, still fuming, barked, "If you don't say sorry to Linda today, forget about walking out of here."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Martha was the closest, so she just opened it up.

My friend came in, flanked by two men in black suits. "Ms. Lane, ready to go?"