All Chapters of Burden of Blood: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I was stabbed so many times that I lost count. Right before I blacked out, I heard my sister-in-law, Maeve Cohen, laugh manically at me."Honestly, I'm not any worse than you in looks or education. Why did you get to marry the handsome, rich brother? He's long gone, and after you’re dead, all you have will be mine!"I died unwillingly under her triumphant laughter.Maybe fate took pity on how unfair everything was. I was given one more chance.I was reborn to the day the victims' family first came to our house.As I stood outside the airport, I heard the cab drivers calling for fares. The noise buzzed around my head, and a fierce excitement rose inside me.I held my phone, waiting for Maeve's call. Sure enough, she called three seconds later."Lydia! What do I do? Someone scraped my car while it was parked!"In my last life, she had said the same thing. My brother-in-law, Richard Cohen, worked at a construction site, and they were struggling because Maeve had no income. So, I

Maeve kept calling and nagging, saying the whole family was waiting for me to have dinner.I took my time and bought a baked potato, and I paid double.As expected, the vendor chased after me. "Miss, you paid extra, and you dropped your plane ticket!""It's okay. I don't have change. And that ticket's from my recent business trip. It's useless now."I remembered the owner of this baked-potato stand very clearly. He was the one who had dealt the fatal blow to me in my last life.He was the victim's second brother, Charles Fleming.He was burly, as if he'd been in the military. Since he had chased me down to give me extra change, it showed his character wasn't all bad.I showed him my round-trip ticket, mainly to let him know I wasn't actually in Pentaston these past few days."Here's your change. I'm closing up soon. I have an emergency up in Northgate Alley," he said.I acted surprised. "What a coincidence. I live there, too. It's hard to get a cab now, and my family's waiting

Seeing the dress, Maeve lunged forward to grab it, but Charles kicked her aside.He pulled the dress out and showed it to Freddie. "Look, isn't this the outfit from that day?""No, it's not mine. Besides, one dress proves nothing." Maeve then turned to me. "A few days ago, you said you wanted to give me a dress. I was wondering why you were were being so nice, but it turns out you're trying to frame me!" Her voice trembled as she denied it and shoved the blame onto me.Maeve and I look a lot alike, and with her sunglasses on, someone who didn't know us well could easily mix us up. When she first married Richard, everyone used to joke that the brothers had similar tastes.Vanessa ran over and tossed the dress at my feet. "I remember this is the dress you forced Maeve to take! Turns out it's the one worn at the funeral. Lydia, you're so cold!"She collapsed to the ground, wailing, "My poor son! He died so young. It must be your fault! You brought him bad luck!"Her words cut me t

The bodyguards quickly formed a circle around me. Before I could fully register what was happening, my father patted my shoulder."Don't worry. This time, I won't let anything happen to you."What did he mean by that? Was he...My father handed a tablet to Freddie. " I pulled every surveillance feed from the stretch of road where it happened. Watch it yourself and see who the real culprit is."Freddie took it, still half doubtful. Maeve lunged to grab it, but a bodyguard shoved her back with a kick."Don't listen to her! She's just using her money to frame me. It's not hard to fake a video!" she cried.Freddie wasn't swayed and watched carefully.The footage clearly showed Maeve getting out by a small convenience stand and buying a bottle of water while wearing that dress, sunglasses, and a mask. A long-time smoker, she took off the mask when she lit a cigarette, and the shop's security camera caught her face.My heart finally dropped from my throat.Freddie snorted coldly. "S

In just a couple of weeks, Vanessa looked several pounds thinner, and her clothes didn’t fit anymore.But thinking of the way she’d tried to get me killed, I pulled my arm free. “We’re even. Please leave.”She grabbed me and wailed, “Everyone, look! This is my rich daughter-in-law raised by a rich family! My son’s been dead for only two years, and she won’t even take me in! She dumped me in a care home, waiting for me to die!”In an instant, a crowd of passersby and company employees gathered under the building.Vanessa groveled and begged, “For Vincent’s sake, please take me back. I’ve got nowhere else to go. They kicked me out of Northgate Alley, and I don’t wanna go back to that lousy care home!“You’ve got so much money. Can’t you afford to keep me? I don’t need you to wait on me. You just need to make sure I’m fed. I treated you well after you married in!” She whispered, clutching my sleeve. “You rich people care about face more than anything. If I don’t get up, people will