Chapter 3

I had no idea what exactly I was supposed to owe Maia for.

And there was no way I was about to hand over everything I had worked for and walk away empty-handed.

But once the system was in place, Maia acted as if she'd already won. Even though her body was still covered in festering sores, she checked herself out of the hospital, strutting around as if she'd been miraculously cured.

Meanwhile, Claire and Bruno weren't even pretending anymore. She moved straight into his hospital room, and the two of them acted as if they were married—cuddling, laughing, and playing house in the ward as if it were some kind of honeymoon suite.

They were so busy living in their little bubble that they completely forgot about Maia. On her very first day out, she went riding her bike, crashed, and tore up her skin even worse.

If this had been before, I would've freaked out, rushing to bandage her up and scolding her for doing something so reckless.

But now? Hah. If she wanted to ruin herself, I wasn't going to lift a finger to stop her.

Sure enough, Maia ended up back in the hospital, covered in wounds again. To my surprise, Bruno and Claire showed up at my door, asking for money.

"Maia's your kid, too," Bruno said. "She's back in the hospital, and the treatment costs a fortune. You need to figure out a way to pay for it."

I just stared at him. "I already bound myself to that system for her. I've done more than enough. And now you're asking me to pay her bills, too? She got herself hurt—why should I clean up her mess?"

Bruno rolled his eyes. "You're her mother. Isn't it a mother's job to sacrifice for her child? What kind of mom keeps score like this? If you're gonna be so selfish, then we're done. Let's get a divorce."

For a split second, the word "divorce" almost made me smile. Then he added, "Maia's staying with me. Don't even think about fighting for custody. And you're not getting a dime. If you try, you'll never see her again."

He actually thought that would scare me. He really didn't know me anymore.

I looked him straight in the eye. "You've got some nerve. You're living in the house I bought before we got married, driving the car I paid for—and I'm the one freeloading? You won't get a single cent. We don't even have joint assets."

Bruno froze, his face twisting with anger.

"You're trying to take back the house and the car? I won't agree to that! Maia's finally getting better—she needs a quiet place to recover. How could you throw her out to suffer?"

Oh, so now he wanted to play the sympathy card?

I almost laughed. "You really think Maia's going to live just because she's connected to that system? Why should a heartless girl like her deserve to stay alive?"

The words were barely out of my mouth before I felt a sharp slap right across my face.

Maia had shown up without me even realizing. Her once-sweet expression was gone, replaced by a look of pure hatred.

"Heartless? I've called you 'Mom' for over ten years, even though it made me sick to my stomach. I'm the nicest person alive, don't you think?"

As she spoke, she snatched the fruit knife from the table and pressed it against my neck.

"Here's the thing—I'm still a minor. Even if I kill you, they can't sentence me to death. So be smart and hand over the house and the car. If you die, I'll get them anyway."

The blade was sharp, and I could feel a thin trickle of blood sliding down my neck. My heart was racing, but not from fear of dying.

It was because Maia's wounds were gone. Her skin was flawless, smooth, and completely healed.

A cold chill ran through me. I looked down at my arm and froze. My skin was breaking out in sores, rotting right before my eyes.

But I hadn't bound myself to the system. Maia should've been dying. What went wrong?

Why was she healthy now? Why was my body falling apart instead? Had the system malfunctioned?

Was I really destined to be nothing more than Maia's sacrifice no matter what I did?