กรงเลี้ยงมาเฟียร้าย

"Your uncle's talking to you, yet you're zoning out? Show some respect!" Mom's impatient voice jolted me out of my reverie, as if I had been transported back in time.

The aroma from the table full of dishes and Uncle Jackson's meaningful smile brought me to my senses. I was transported back to the dinner table on New Year's Eve, where my uncle demanded that I care for my ailing grandmother.

He continued, "Is it such a big deal to take care of your grandmother? Stop pretending to be deaf! We've raised you all these years, and yet you're being this ungrateful."

When I didn't respond, Uncle Jackson erupted in anger, "Young people nowadays always use attending graduate school as an excuse to shirk their responsibilities."

His audacity left me no choice but to retaliate. I slammed the table and stood up. "It's not like the Warren family doesn't have other sons or grandsons. Why should the responsibility of caring for Grandma fall on someone who isn't even a Warren?"

Uncle Jackson's face turned pale. "You ungrateful child! I'm asking you to take care of your grandmother to show your respect for her while she's still alive. How could you not appreciate my efforts?"

He turned to Mom and said in a displeased tone, "Grace Warren, this is the fine daughter you've raised? And she calls herself a graduate student! Even Wallace, who's a college graduate, has more sense than her!"

Mom panicked and tugged at my sleeve, pleading for me to stay silent.

I ignored her and retorted coldly, "Exactly. Wallace is a college student, and he has plenty of free time at home. Let him take care of Grandma to repay her kindness to him all these years. After all, she doted on him the most when he was little and gave him so many good things!"

Hearing this, Aunt Maria—Uncle Jackson's wife and Wallace's mother—slammed her spoon on the table. "Grace, is this the kind of ingrate you've raised?"

Mom felt humiliated when she saw how fearless I was. "Rachel, we're family! Since your grandmother is sick, isn't it your duty to help care for her?"

Mom was a people-pleaser who always went along with Uncle Jackson's wishes.

If Dad hadn't insisted on transferring the house to my name before he passed, Mom would have given the house to Uncle Jackson by now.

This year, Uncle Jackson called Mom on New Year's Eve out of the blue, inviting us to celebrate the New Year at Grandma's house.

I knew it was a trap, but Mom was taken in by her family's uncharacteristically warm gesture. She ignored my protests and dragged me along.

There wasn't a single dish prepared when we arrived. Uncle Jackson and his family were lounging in the living room, while Grandma groaned in pain from her bedroom.

The moment we entered, Uncle Jackson ordered Mom to go out and buy groceries for dinner.

Delighted by his attention, Mom prepared a lavish spread of dishes for the New Year's Eve dinner. She waited on Uncle Jackson's family as they devoured the food.

Later, Uncle Jackson proposed that I should care for Grandma. To please him, Mom agreed immediately and tried to brainwash me into thinking it was a golden opportunity to show my respect to the elderly.

I ended up taking Grandma to my small apartment for the sake of the family's harmony. I had to care for my dying grandmother while preparing for the graduate school examinations.

However, the medication that Mom gave me was switched to poison by Uncle Jackson. Grandma died of poisoning, and he accused me of murder for insurance fraud.

Although I denied it, the police uncovered a huge insurance policy I took out for Grandma a month before. At the critical moment, Mom even sided with Uncle Jackson. She testified that I harbored resentment toward Grandma for mistreating me as a child, which drove me to kill her.

I had no way to prove my innocence and got sent to prison.

Uncle Jackson plastered the story all over the internet to crush me completely. The public opinion turned against me, and I became the target of widespread condemnation.

Uncle Jackson took over my house and kicked Mom out without a second thought. I was executed in the end, and Mom froze to death outside on a cold spring night.

Returning to my senses, I stared intently at Mom. "Family? You might be a family with them, but I'm not a Warren."

Mom became visibly annoyed when my gaze bore into her. "Rachel, this isn't how I raised you. Your grandmother is old, and she can't survive if no one is going to take care of her."

I suppressed the urge to flip the table. "Grandma has three children and a grandson. Why does it have to be me who has to take care of her?"

"Your uncle, aunt, and I are all busy with work. How could we possibly have time to take care of her?" Mom said firmly, as if I were being unreasonable.

I retorted, "How about Wallace? He's just a lazy college student with nothing better to do. Didn't Uncle Jackson say that young people can learn fast? He should have no problem figuring it out as a college student."

Wallace jumped to his feet in anger the moment I brought up his name. "Rachel, you're a heartless ingrate. You are always thinking of ways to shirk your responsibilities! Think about it—you're the only daughter in your family. Won't you need to rely on us in the future?

"Taking care of Grandma is an opportunity for you to prove your worth. Otherwise, don't blame us if we remove your name from the family records!"

I slammed my utensils on the table, the sharp noise startling everyone. "The issues of the Warren family are your problem. Stop expecting others to clean up your mess!

"You never thought of sharing Grandma's inheritance with her other children when her land was being bought over for airport development. But now that she needs someone to care for her, you want to dodge the responsibility and guilt-trip me into taking care of her?

"I'm going to make this clear. Children should take care of their own parents. Don't you dare to take the moral high ground and push the responsibility onto the younger generation!"

In my past life, my family was destroyed while Uncle Jackson's family earned the admiration of others through their pretentious devotion.

Now that I was reborn, I refused to be anyone's pawn.