Lahat ng Kabanata ng Guilt of Burden: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

At 6:30 a.m., the front door slammed shut. The house fell back into a dead silence.To save twenty cents on the bus fare, Mother had left half an hour early, walking to the labor market.At 9:00 a.m., sunlight slipped through the poorly drawn curtains and fell across the corpse's bluish lips.My phone screen lit up. It was a reminder from the hospital. [Charles Woodburn, your follow-up appointment is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. today. Please arrive on time.]No one saw it.At 10:15 a.m., my mother returned.She collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the crumpled admission letter Stephanie had thrown away the night before, still lying on the coffee table.Then she noticed the bowl of porridge sitting outside my door."Damn it all," she muttered.She picked up the bowl meant for me, tilted her head back, and gulped it down in a few swallows.Her phone rang. She answered."Hello? Is this Charles's parent?""Yes. What has he done now?" Her hand tightened instinctively aroun

Mother's hand cracked across Jamie's face.It was a brutal blow. Blood welled at the corner of his mouth almost instantly."What do you know?" she shouted, her tears finally breaking loose. "Do you think I wanted him to die? This money… he traded his life for it—for you!""Don't touch him." She drew a sharp breath, wiped her tears, and when she looked up again, her eyes were terrifyingly steady. "Stephanie, go shut the front door. Jamie, get a towel and wipe your brother's mouth clean.""Mom?" Stephanie stared at her, horrified."There's a clause in the insurance policy." Mother's voice trembled, but every word was painfully clear. "Suicide… if it happens within two years, there's no payout. This policy's only been in place for a year and a half."I hovered in the air, stunned. I had forgotten that clause.Mother fixed her gaze on my body, as if she could see through it, through me."It can't be suicide," she said. "He took the wrong medication. Or it was a heart attack. Do you

I drifted into the furnace. The flames passed through my spirit—no heat, only a tearing sensation that felt almost like release.All the illness, the suffocation, and the despair were gone in an instant.Half an hour later, Jamie came out holding a cheap white plastic box. It was still warm."Charles is so light," he muttered.Mother said nothing. She was staring at her phone.A new message had just come in: [XX Insurance] Your claim has been received. An investigator will visit within three business days for verification.The real judgment was only just beginning.The next morning, at 9:00 a.m., a knock came, right on time. Not a frantic pounding, but three measured taps.Mother took a deep breath and smoothed the stray hairs at her temples. She had changed into the only white shirt in the house without holes.She opened the door.A man in his thirties stood outside. He wore a black suit and held a briefcase. He had eyes like a hawk."Jonathan Beller, insurance investigator

Jonathan frowned, trying to pull his leg free."Mrs. Woodburn, please compose yourself. The chain of evidence is quite complete.""What evidence?!"Stephanie rushed in, clutching a thick notebook.It was my physics problem book, crammed with dense formulas."Look at this!" She flipped to the last page and pointed to a single line written in red ink.[Goal: Tonnereine University, Department of Physics. Starting next Monday, quit gaming and go all-in!]The handwriting was mine.But I had never written those words.I leaned closer. Stephanie had imitated my script. It was a little shaky, but in the heat of the moment, no one would notice."Charles was preparing for university!" Stephanie cried. "When he said he was going somewhere far, he meant Tonnereine! He sold his account to cut off distractions! How could he have wanted to die? He just won a gold medal!"She slammed the notebook against Jonathan's chest."Look at these problems! Someone who solved over a thousand question