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Chapter 2
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Second Life: I Choose Guilt-Free Freedom Chapter 10
It was a year later, and I had made a life for myself in a new city. I had a new job, a new phone number, and a new place—a one-bedroom apartment with a balcony in the southern part of town. I had moved out of my old rental, and the apartment was close enough to the river that I could hear boat horns at night.Edward messaged me occasionally. He told me Declan had given up drinking and gotten a new job, moving freight at a distribution center. He woke up at 4:30 am every day and wouldn't be home until 10:00 pm. Declan had grown noticeably thinner, but he no longer hit him.Edward kept up with his schoolwork. He even sent me a photo of a certificate once that showed he ranked first in his entire grade.I merely replied, "Keep up the good work."He called me right away, his voice trembling as though he was worried I would end the call. "T-There's a parent-teacher conference at my school next Wednesday… C-Can you attend it, Mom?"I looked through my schedule and said, "I'm free next
Second Life: I Choose Guilt-Free Freedom Chapter 9
Declan's parents sold their house back in their hometown and borrowed from every relative they could. They scraped together less than 300 thousand dollars, which barely made a dent in the debt.Though the loan sharks were arrested, the promissory note was legally binding. The court still ordered Declan to repay the debt. The creditors brought in a new lawyer and used the court to seize and auction his car and house, taking most of the funds his parents had raised by selling their home.Declan moved into a cheap, rundown neighborhood with Edward. He worked odd jobs during the day and worked as an Uber driver at night.Edward withdrew from private school and moved to a regular public elementary school next to the rundown neighborhood. He stood outside the gate for a long time on his first day of school, refusing to step inside.Declan sent a single message in the parents' group chat—"He's just throwing a tantrum"—and left it at that.Edward secretly used Declan's phone to message me
Second Life: I Choose Guilt-Free Freedom Chapter 8
In the meantime, the outcome of Rebecca and Jeremy's interrogation spread quickly. It turned out that the money they'd swindled over the years through fraudulent scams had already been laundered overseas in multiple rounds, with most of it funneled through underground banks to contacts in Southeast Aetheris.In the end, less than 12 thousand dollars remained in the accounts frozen by police. Having heard the news, Declan spent the entire night sitting outside the county jail. He was told to leave twice, but he refused to budge. He just sat there on the curb, looking utterly defeated.His parents rushed over the following morning after hearing the news. His mother had barely gotten out of the car when she spotted him crouched on the curb, his face covered in stubble. She immediately suffered a spike in blood pressure and was sent to the ER.I went to visit Edward at the hospital, only to run into Declan, who was there as well. He was covered in stubble with sunken eyes, looking c
Second Life: I Choose Guilt-Free Freedom Chapter 7
Edward was hospitalized for a week. Declan stayed by his bedside through the day, then slept on a bench out in the hallway at night.I didn't stay with him at the hospital. I came in regularly, discussed his condition with the doctors, paid the bills, and then left.Edward always turned toward the window whenever he saw me. He gasped in pain during that one time the nurse changed his dressing and accidentally hurt him, so I reached out to help him. He, however, hurriedly shoved my hand away and glared at me. "I don't need your fake concern."I withdrew my hand, grabbed my handbag, and walked out of the hospital ward. I could hear Edward's sobs behind me, but I carried on as if I didn't hear it.Declan's loan sharks came after his parents on the seventh night. His parents' house had its windows smashed, with a threatening message spray-painted on their front door—"Pay your debt!" His two elderly parents were frightened enough to end up in the hospital that night. His father's bloo
Second Life: I Choose Guilt-Free Freedom Chapter 6
Declan scoured the city for Rebecca like a madman. He checked the school, her rental place, the local market, and even the salon she'd brought up before. He eventually tracked down her record at the police station and found out that she was a repeat offender racked with gambling debt. Her husband, Jeremy Hall, wasn't even dead. They had faked their divorce and spent years running scams together. He called me from outside the police station, his voice so raw that he could barely manage a complete sentence. "You knew about this all along, didn't you, Willa? You deliberately let me walk into this. You wanted to see me ruined."I retorted. "Do you remember what you told me when I tried to stop you by asking for a divorce, Declan?"Declan fell completely silent, only his heavy breathing audible. He finally spoke up after a long while. "Edward is still missing."I hung up and set out to find Edward myself. The surveillance cameras at the apartment were out of order, and the only lead
Second Life: I Choose Guilt-Free Freedom Chapter 5
Declan looked as though he were about to collapse on the spot. He kept reading the document over and over, his hands trembling so much that he could barely grip the paper. "R-Rebecca told me she only borrowed 100 thousand dollars…"The loan shark didn't waste any time talking to him. He grabbed the phone right out of Declan's hand, took hold of his thumb, and unlocked it.Declan was stunned into silence when the transaction records were pulled up. There were multiple scanned copies of the same agreement he'd signed stored on his own phone—each one of them confirming that he had guaranteed for a 5-million-dollar loan. His legs buckled right then and there, his knees scraping the edge of the concrete steps as he slid straight to the ground.In that instant, two men grabbed him by the arms, one on either side, and threw him into the van. I remained on the top of the steps without taking a single step.Declan leaned half his body out of the van window, looking deathly pale. "Save m
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