Chapter 1

My mom died of cancer, leaving behind a mountain of debt.

My dad never remarried. To help him pay off every cent, I gave up my dream of going to college and worked myself to the bone.

I never expected that years later, at a theme park, my dad and I would see her again. My mom, who was supposed to be long dead, was happily strolling with her first love and their child.

It turned out she had faked her death just to elope with another man.

My dad was devastated and went to confront her, only to be murdered by her and her lover. They didn't let me live, either.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she supposedly died.

1.

After the doctor declared my mother dead, my dad collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

I remained eerily calm, my eyes fixed on my mother's attending physician, Dr. Sterling.

She wore a mask of professional grief. "I'm so sorry for your loss. There was nothing more we could do. You should start making the funeral arrangements."

"Dr. Sterling, my mom was doing fine yesterday. How could she just drop dead today?"

I suddenly spoke up.

Dr. Sterling froze for a second before quickly recovering. "Cancer is a ticking time bomb. Sudden death is very common in patients like her. The charts and test results are all there; I showed them to you earlier."

Her reaction confirmed my suspicions. She was definitely the one helping my mother pull off this scam.

In my past life, my mother faked her death from cancer and left a massive pile of debt for my father and me.

We spent ten agonizing years working our lives away to pay it off.

On the day we finally cleared the debt, we saw her at a theme park. She wasn't dead at all.

She had faked the whole thing to run away with her high school sweetheart!

They even had a kid together and had been living a life of luxury for a decade.

Meanwhile, my dad and I were kept in the dark, living like paupers just to settle her bills.

And in the end, they killed us to keep their secret!

The hatred burned in my chest. I felt like I was drowning in it.

In this life, I won't let anyone who hurt us get away with it.

Just you wait.