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Owing Her Everything, Including My Life のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

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Chapter 1

My hand had just touched the doorknob when my mother, Elisabetta Russo, spoke again from the other side. "She used to cry and throw tantrums all the time when she was little. Luckily, that little joke scared her into behaving."I fought back the hurt.What Mother called throwing tantrums had happened when I was only three or four years old.I'd been a sickly child, constantly running fevers. Some nights, my whole body ached so badly that I couldn't sleep, and I would go crying to Mother.But after learning that I'd been abandoned and taken in by the family, I never dared to bother her again. No matter how much pain I was in, I would curl up under my blanket and bite down on the corner of my pillow.I was terrified that if I caused too much trouble, they'd abandon me again.I opened the door. The living room was packed with my aunt, uncle, and several distant relatives.Christmas was just a few days away. By this time in previous years, the porch would already be decked out in Ch

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Chapter 2

The next morning, I was still in bed, having barely slept all night. My throat was so dry it hurt.The door opened, and Mother appeared, tapping her fingers against the doorframe. "Get up. Go to the new estate and help your sister get her pet room ready. She needs some furniture moved, too. She doesn't trust the men who work for us."I gripped the edge of the bed and sat up, my vision swimming as hunger gnawed at my stomach. "Mamma, can I have some breakfast first?""After that stunt you pulled last night? Your Papa and I barely got any sleep because of you, and you still have the nerve to ask for food?"She turned and walked away, her heels clicking against the floor as she headed down the hall.I got dressed and forced myself downstairs despite the dizziness, then had the driver take me to the new estate.It was on the outskirts of the city, more than an hour away. When we passed a gas station, I asked the driver to stop so I could buy something to eat.But when I reached into

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Chapter 3

I stood alone in the living room, watching them disappear from sight.That medication could have saved my life. But they wouldn't even give me a single dose.I turned toward my room. As I passed Bettina's door, I heard laughter coming from inside. "Mamma, this medicine looks expensive!""Of course, sweetheart. Your Papa had to call in a lot of favors to get it."I went back to the old estate and lay down on my little bed. I had three days left to live.I closed my eyes. My chest felt so tight that I could barely breathe.The next afternoon, Father suddenly called me into his study. For a moment, I thought he'd finally decided to check on me.When I entered, he was sitting behind his desk with a document spread out in front of him."Sign this," he said.I glanced down at the document. The title read "Transfer of Family Authority"."You're going to hand over control of the Northden's underground casinos to your sister." He spoke as though the decision had already been made."P

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Chapter 4

Christmas Day was also the last day of my life.At six that morning, Mother knocked on my bedroom door. She came in carrying some old clothes and dropped them onto my bed."We're moving today, and there's the Christmas party to prepare for. We're short on staff, so go down to the kitchen and butcher those deer. Bettina can't stand the smell of blood, so hurry up and get it done. Then we can all enjoy Christmas together."With that, she left. I sat on the bed, staring at the clothes.In the past, just hearing that I'd get to spend Christmas with the family would have been enough to make me eager to help. But now, I had nothing left to look forward to.I changed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Several deer carcasses hung in the walk-in cooler, their eyes still open. I grabbed a knife and got to work skinning and gutting them.Halfway through, a sharp pain ripped through my stomach. I braced myself against the wall and threw up a mouthful of dark blood. Clutching my chest, I w

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Chapter 5

The moment I closed my eyes, the pain stopped. The living room fell silent except for the soft crackle of the fire.When I opened my eyes again, I saw myself lying on the carpet, my cheek pressed against the cold fabric, blood still smeared around my mouth. I stood beside my body, staring in disbelief.After a long moment, I bent down and tried to touch my hand. My fingers passed right through it.There was nothing I could hold on to. I really was dead.Without thinking, I drifted toward the new estate. The Christmas party was still in full swing. Bettina stood beside Mother, sipping champagne. "Mamma, do you think Alessia's actually mad at us? She wouldn't even bring Toby a present."Mother frowned and tried calling me again. No answer.Father set down his wineglass, irritated. "What is that brat up to now?"Bettina bit her lip and put on a worried face. "I've been asking her for the casino account books all day, but she won't give them to me. What if she's run off with the r

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Chapter 6

The doctor took off his gloves and glanced at the bloodstains on my clothes. "Ms. Alessia was in the final stages of her illness. She came to me asking if there was any way she could live a few more days."Father's hand trembled. "Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't she go to the hospital?"I stood beside him, watching. I'd told them. They just hadn't believed me.The doctor hesitated. "She said she had to take care of her sister and couldn't be away for too long. She didn't want to cause any trouble for the family, either."Father froze, as if he'd suddenly remembered something.That day at the new estate, I'd barely been able to stand while carrying Bettina's things upstairs.Later, when he'd come out of the underground passage, he'd seen me leaning against the wall, struggling to catch my breath. But he'd still given Bettina the medication I needed to survive.Mother held my body tighter, her sobs growing louder. I crouched beside her and reached out to wipe away her tears, bu

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Chapter 7

Bettina stood there, tears still streaking her cheeks. Then she suddenly raised her voice. "How can you treat me like this? I didn't force you to do any of those things! I was only six when I made that joke. You're the ones who went along with it!"The living room fell silent again.Father's face darkened."You're right." He stared at Bettina, his voice hoarse. "We let you use that joke to torment her for 15 years. You said she was jealous of you, and we believed you. You said she was faking her illness, and we yelled at her."He punched the wall. "That was our fault. But you knew the truth, and you still kept using her worst fear against her because you thought it was funny."Bettina went pale. She burst into tears and grabbed at Mother's dress. "Mamma, you raised me! I'm your daughter, too! You can't just throw me away!"Mother stepped back, out of her reach. "Alessia is my own flesh and blood. And I let her die believing we could abandon her at any moment. All because of that

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Chapter 8

Mother went over to the fireplace and pulled my phone from the ashes. It was burned and twisted out of shape. The metal was still hot enough to burn her fingertips, but she barely seemed to notice."Why didn't I come back when she called?"Father closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to the doctor. "I want every medical record you have on her. And everything you know about treating this disease."His voice cracked. "I need to know how much pain she was in these last few days."The doctor hesitated before nodding.Father carried my body toward the front door. As he passed through the foyer, he gave another order. "From now on, every hospital our family owns is to provide the best rooms and medication available to children with this disease."Mother followed him, her eyes blurred with tears.I stood on the snowy front steps and watched them put my body into the car.They were finally trying to do something for me. But I wasn't hurting anymore. I didn't need those hospital roo

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Chapter 9

My funeral took place three days later. Instead of burying me in the family cemetery, Father chose a spot on the hillside behind the old estate, with a view of the city.My headstone had just my name on it—Alessia.Beneath it was an inscription Father had chosen himself. It read, "Our only biological daughter."I stood in front of my grave, staring at those words, feeling a familiar ache.When I was alive, I'd wanted nothing more than to hear my parents say them. But now, I was just a ghost without even a shadow.Mother placed a bouquet of white roses at the foot of my grave and gently ran her fingers over my name. "Alessia, I'm here to see you."I stood right in front of her. "I'm here, Mamma."But she still couldn't hear me.Father came over and set an old metal box beside the headstone.Inside were copies of my training records, paperwork from the casino transfers, and replacements for the medals I'd earned over the years. The originals I'd burned were gone for good."I th

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