Chapter 1

The air at the dining table instantly froze.

Mom slammed her fork down onto the table so hard the porcelain bowls hummed. "Have you lost your mind, Irene Campbell? Why are you keeping score with your own brother?"

She sprang to her feet, jabbed her finger in my face, and fumed. "You're a woman. You're bound to get married off sooner or later. Why on earth are you competing with your brother?

"If you don't give this house to your brother, are you planning to hand our family's assets to an outsider? You're his older sister. Don't you know that you're supposed to look out for him?"

There it was again. In my previous life, those words, "You're his older sister. You're supposed to look out for him", weighed me down like a death sentence.

I had paid for my brother, Elio Campbell's, tuition, paid off his credit card bills, and even drained my savings to scrape together the down payment for his house. In the end, I had been bled dry until I couldn't even borrow 30 thousand dollars for my surgery.

Then, I died a miserable death in a hospital bed.

However, since I'd been given a second chance at life, there was no way in hell I was ever going to make the same mistakes again!

"Regardless if I get married or not, I'm the one who paid for this house, Mom. Since I bought it, I have every right to take it back." My tone was calm, yet it left no room for debate.

The plastered-on smile on Elio's face froze.

Before he could utter a word, Bonnie Smith, my heavily pregnant sister-in-law, who was sitting beside him, immediately burst into tears. "I know how hard you work for your money, Irene. Yet, Elio just changed jobs, and we still have to pay off our car loan every month.

"On top of that, we're about to have another mouth to feed. We really can't afford to pay you back."

After wiping away her tears, she noticed that I remained unfazed. Hence, she clutched her belly and wailed, "Mom, since Irene's determined to drive us to the wall, what choice do we have?

"I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to get an abortion. Better that than bringing a child into the world just to watch them starve with us!"

Drinking in her delicate and pitiful demeanor, I could feel a sickening, metallic tang rise in my throat.

In my previous life, when I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids, writhing in agony in bed and begging them to lend me 30 thousand dollars to save my life, Bonnie had told me money was tight and wouldn't even let me through the door.

However, the very next second, she posted a brand-new designer bag that cost 100 thousand dollars on her social media. The caption read, "This is a gift from my mother-in-law. Love you!"

Suppressing the nausea churning inside my stomach, I tugged at the corner of my lips and chuckled wryly.

"Whether you have an abortion or not is between you two. What does it have to do with me? I bought this house with my own money. Surely you don't expect me to foot the bill for raising your child, do you?"

After hearing that, Bonnie sobbed even louder.

Mom's heart went out for Bonnie. She spun around and shoved me.

My back slammed hard against the solid wood chair, sending a sharp pain shooting straight up my spine.

"Bonnie's carrying the only heir to our family, you jinx! Why are you making things difficult for them? Listen here, this house has to be transferred to your brother!"

I didn't say a word. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a stack of bank statements bearing the bank's official seal and slammed them onto the dining table. "The down payment was 180 thousand dollars, and ten years of mortgage payments bring the total to 586 thousand dollars."

I pointed at the red seal, my voice cold and devoid of emotion. "Furthermore, in the last five years, Elio has charged 113 thousand dollars to four of my credit cards. I'll round it to 700 thousand dollars with principal and interest."

I pushed the account information toward the center of the table. "Once the money hits my account, I'll go to the housing authority with you to sign the transfer agreement. Don't even think about shortchanging me by a single cent, though."

Looking at the thick stack of bank statements, Elio blanched. "Irene… We're family. How could you keep all the evidence behind our backs? Where am I supposed to get 700 thousand dollars for you? You're driving me into a dead end!"

"She's not driving you into a dead end. She's driving me into a dead end!" Mom shot to her feet and launched into a furious tirade, pointing her finger at my nose. "I raised you, fed you, and clothed you, only for you to harbor bad intentions and scheme against your own brother!

"700 thousand dollars? You're not getting a single cent! The house is in my name. I can give it to whoever I want!"

I took in the three self-righteous faces before me, crushing the last laughable glimmer of hope in my heart.

"Good fences make good neighbors, and clear accounts make good kin. I have the transfer records for the house's down payment and every payment I've made toward the mortgage. Legally, that makes this a jointly funded property, and I have every right to my share.

"I'm giving you three days. If the money isn't in my account by then, I'll petition the court to preserve the assets and have this house forcibly auctioned off!"