Chapter 3

3

I looked at them coldly. They wanted my property and my money, but they were too cowardly to say it out loud. It was pathetic.

I stood up and raised my voice so everyone at the table could hear me.

"Today is a happy day for the twins. I want to wish Logan and Cecilia the best in raising these two children into successful adults."

Everyone clapped and offered their congratulations. The couple had the words to dump their daughter on me stuck in their throats.

Seeing them look so frustrated made me feel great. I even grabbed a few more bites of the steak.

That evening, my doorbell rang. Looking through the peep-hole, I saw Martha, Logan, Cecilia, and the kids blocking my door.

They were determined to dump Lily on me tonight.

I had brushed them off at the party, so now they were trying to corner me at home.

I was afraid they would just drop the baby and run the moment I opened the door. I stayed quiet and pretended I wasn't there.

My phone rang. Martha yelled as soon as I picked up.

"Where the hell are you? Logan, Cecilia, and the babies have been waiting at your door forever! Open up right now!"

I thought for a second and replied. "I'm taking a walk in the park. If you have something to say, come find me there."

Once I was sure they were gone, I snuck out through the back exit to the park.

Martha was holding Lily, trying to guilt-trip me about how hard Logan and Cecilia had it. She begged me to raise Lily for the sake of the family.

Logan and Cecilia chimed in, saying the child would take care of me when I was old. They made it sound like they were doing me a favor.

If I hadn't been murdered by Lily in my past life, I might have actually believed their lies.

I refused them directly. I claimed my work was too busy and my bills were too high to take on a child.

Seeing that I wasn't budging, Martha started a scene. She sat on the ground and began wailing.

"How did I raise such an ungrateful daughter? Her niece is starving, and she won't even help! How can an aunt be so heartless!"

It was evening, and the neighbors were all out for walks. They swarmed around to watch the drama.

Martha kept accusing me of being rich but refusing to help my brother raise his three-month-old daughter.

The neighbors started whispering. They talked about how pitiful the baby was and how hard it is to be a mother of twins.

I came up with a plan and cleared my throat.

"I have a mortgage and a car loan to pay. Life is stressful for me too. But if you really can't afford to raise them, give me your son, Zion. I'll make sure he never goes hungry."

The second they heard I wanted their precious boy, the Vance family heir, they all screamed no at the same time.

Martha jumped up from the ground like a cat. She stood in front of Cecilia and the boy, afraid I would actually take him.

"Look at this, everyone. Both children are family. If they want to give a child away, shouldn't the person raising them at least get to choose?"

I mocked them coldly, exposing their real motives.

Sure enough, as soon as Zion was mentioned, the three of them went into defense mode. You'd think the kid was the Prince of England or something.

The crowd realized what was happening. They saw the family only wanted the boy and were trying to get rid of the girl. The neighbors started criticizing them instead.

The three of them slunk away in shame amidst the chatter of the crowd.

After that, they stayed quiet for a while, probably afraid I'd try to take Zion again.