HUNJI: A Broken Wolf & the last witch of Andora - Book 4

The woman on the screen was still droning on about her plan.

"Honestly, I originally wanted to test my daughter right before college, see if she could spot a scammer.

"Who knew she would be dumb enough to transfer all the money? Thank God it was just a setup I ran. How's she going to survive without me around in the future? Sure, it was a bit harsh, but I was just playing along to teach her a lesson."

At her smug laughter, a sharp pain twisted through me.

But Mom, I didn't even have a smartphone back then. I spent every single day buried in my schoolwork.

How could I not believe an admissions officer who knew my exact social security number, exam registration details, and test scores?

Especially since what he said at the time was, "Ms. Mullen, our college has just set up a foundation for low-income students.

"If you pay the full four years of tuition and the housing cost upfront, a total of 40 thousand dollars, we will refund it proportionally every semester, provided your GPA stays in the top 1% of your class.

"If you can pull that off every year, college is basically free. Spots are limited, though. First come, first served."

The moment I heard I could ease the financial burden on my family, I transferred the money without a second thought.

I never stopped to wonder why, just a day after my mother, Alaina Sutton, gave me 40 thousand dollars, this person happened to ask for the same amount.

With trembling fingers, I typed out a comment. "Your daughter was only 18 when you faked your death. Did you ever think about how she was supposed to survive?"

Mom's tone grew even more animated. "Back in our day, we were supporting families at 16. If she can't survive, that's on her for being useless. And since I knew she'd have a hard time finding a job, I pulled a few strings with some people I know.

"An early morning shift at a breakfast diner, grocery store during the day, barbecue joint at night, and doing deliveries whenever she's free. That still leaves her four hours of sleep a night. That's plenty."

I let out a bitter laugh, clutching my aching stomach.

The barbecue place was always packed and never let us off until 5:00 am, which was exactly when the breakfast diner opened.

To make the transition, my fragmented sleep never amounted to more than three hours a day.

I hadn't had my period in over two years, and I was constantly battling stomach problems and low blood sugar.

Disappointment and rage boiled inside me. My fingers flew across the screen, desperate to confront her directly.

But as my eyes caught the words on her profile—"Single and looking for love"—a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

I took a few deep breaths. Once my rationality reclaimed the upper hand, I switched to my alternate account.

Dad had passed away early, and for as long as I could remember, Mom had been on a non-stop dating spree.

But her standards were impossibly high. The man had to be rich, sweet-tempered, and completely submissive.

Any decent man was immediately scared off, leaving only professional con artists willing to get anywhere near her.

I edited my alternate profile to fit her exact type, re-entered the live stream, and immediately dropped the most expensive virtual gift available.

Mom's face wasn't on camera, but the excitement in her voice was unmistakable. "Wow, thank you so much, SkyBreeze! That is so incredibly generous of you!"

Numbly, I began to type. "What you said really struck a chord with me. My wife cheated on me, so we divorced, and I was always too busy making money to raise my son.

"Now he's completely spoiled, and I don't even know if he can manage my multi-million-dollar estate. If only I had a smart woman like you by my side to help discipline him."

The chat started buzzing, and she adopted a coy tone, pretending to be modest. "Oh, stop it, sir. I'm a respectable woman. Tell you what. I'll DM you a free copy of the parenting guide I wrote myself later. It's just my way of helping you out."

It didn't take long for a direct message to pop up in my inbox.

"There were too many people in the stream just now, so I got shy. Actually, my husband passed away years ago, too. Would you like to exchange contact or Instagram details and get to know each other?"

The subway just happened to reach my station. After stepping onto the platform, I tossed the candles and bouquet straight into a trash can.

In my work chats, my boss was furiously chewing me out for taking time off during the peak season.

In the past, I would have swallowed my pride just to keep the paycheck. This time, I shot back a text. "I quit."

Then, I opened my chat with Mom and slowly typed my reply. "That sounds wonderful."