Chapter 1

My mom returns my car after borrowing it for a month. The trunk is stuffed with boxes of local specialties from our hometown.

I drive it to my friend's auto repair shop for a routine inspection.

After checking underneath the car, my friend, Tom Stepney, crawls back out with a pale face.

"Henry, who did you piss off lately? Someone cut your brake line halfway through," he said in shock.

A chill runs down my spine as I immediately call Mom and say, "Mom, someone cut my brake line."

The sound of poker cards being dealt onto the table echoes through the phone.

She answers nonchalantly, "I told your brother to do that. Your old car was falling apart anyway."

My voice trembles as I ask her why, and whether she realizes it could have gotten me killed.

She responds as if it's no big deal, "Emmett's dating a young lady from the city. Her family wants an 800,000-dollar wedding gift. There's no way we can afford that. Your company bought you that accident insurance, right? It pays up to one million dollars.

"I only told Emmett to cut the brake line a little. You won't die. That million-dollar insurance payout would be just enough to cover the amount he needs to get married."

Chapter 1

I pressed the record button with trembling fingers.

"Mom, Elle's due date is next week! I took the car in for maintenance today so I'd be ready to drive her to the hospital at any moment," I said in exasperation.

Then, I gritted my teeth and hissed, "You cut my brake line. Were you trying to kill all three of us?"

On the other end of the phone, Mom let out a dismissive snort. "Women give birth to babies every day. What makes it so special for her? If she really goes into labor, she can just call a cab. Why does she have to ride in your car? It's not like she's some kind of princess."

She paused, and a calculating tone crept into her voice. "Besides, even if something happens, the accident insurance payout, including the one for the baby in your wife's belly, might be two million dollars. By then, Emmett would have more than enough for the wedding gift.

"He'd even have enough for the down payment for one of those big apartments downtown… There! I win!"

Laughter erupted from the poker table after she won a hand. "Alright, I'm busy here. Hurry up and get on the road."

The call ended.

I stared at my phone, still reeling in disbelief over the sheer absurdity of her words.

To secure a house for my younger brother, Emmett Johnstone, to get married, my own mother had wanted me dead. She had even put a price tag on my wife, who was about to give birth, and my unborn child.

Tom Stepney, my friend at the repair shop, had heard the conversation.

Stunned, he asked, "Henry… I-Is that really your mom?"

Mom.

My thoughts drifted for a moment.

When I was 12, I came down with acute appendicitis in the middle of the night. The pain was so intense that I rolled around in bed, drenched in cold sweat. I cried and begged Mom to take me to the hospital.

The sweet aroma of honey and thyme syrup drifted out from the kitchen. She stood at the stove, carefully stirring the pot.

Meanwhile, Emmett, who had done nothing more than catch a slight chill during the day and cough a couple of times, sat on the couch watching cartoons.

When Mom heard me crying out, she came out carrying a bowl, a look of disdain on her face.

She scolded, "Why are you acting like you're dying in the middle of the night? Do you think a hospital visit is free? Your brother's cough isn't gone yet. How am I supposed to get you treated now? Go back to your room and lie down. Sleep it off, and you'll be fine by morning!"

That night, I didn't even get a sip of hot water.

In the end, I passed out from the pain in the hallway. A neighbor found me, and they rushed me to the hospital. The doctor said that if I had arrived just 30 minutes later, my appendix would have ruptured, and I would have died.

When Mom finally arrived at the hospital, the only thing she asked the doctor was, "How much is this going to cost? Our family doesn't have money to treat him!"

Things like that had happened countless times throughout the first half of my life.

It had happened so many times that I'd grown used to the fact that, in that family, my life was worthless. I existed for one reason only—to pave the way for Emmett.

Snapping myself out of those memories, I declined Tom's offer to drive me home and took a cab instead.

When I pushed open the front door, the afternoon sunlight spilled across the living room couch. My wife, Noelle Weadon, sat there with her heavily pregnant belly. She was gently folding tiny baby clothes one by one.

When she saw me come in, she looked up with a smile. "Honey, look at this little yellow duck onesie. The baby is going to look so adorable in it."

The moment I saw her smiling face, I couldn't hold myself together anymore. I hurried over, but my legs gave out beneath me, and I dropped to my knees.

I buried my face deep against her waist and wrapped my arms tightly around her. I broke down in uncontrollable sobs.

"What happened? Henry, talk to me!" Noelle panicked as she tried to help me up.

Hearing the commotion, my father-in-law, Mark Weadon, and my mother-in-law, Fiona Gray, rushed out of the kitchen. They had been cooking in there.

After I explained everything in emotional stutters, the living room fell silent.

Fiona's eyes reddened with tears. She helped me to my feet and went into the kitchen. Then, she returned with a bowl of warm soup.

"My dear boy, don't be afraid. We're here for you. You're safe," she comforted.

Mark was shaking with rage as he fumed, "Your mom's inhumane. She's an animal! Call the police immediately! Leave the car exactly as it is at the repair shop so it can be examined as evidence."

Chapter 2

Mark's decisiveness gave me tremendous confidence.

After reporting everything to the police, I immediately moved Noelle into a private maternity hospital with tight security and checked her into a VIP room to prevent Mom and Emmett from doing anything desperate.

Once I settled Noelle into the room, I sat in the hallway outside and pulled out my phone. I opened my banking app and found the family credit card under Emmett's name with a 100,000-dollar credit limit.

I suspended it and froze the account.

Next, I opened the mortgage payment account for the house back in our hometown.

I had paid the entire down payment for that house myself, but the deed was in Emmett's name. For the past three years, the 6,000-dollar monthly mortgage payment had been automatically deducted from my payroll account.

I canceled the automatic payments and unlinked the account.

What Mom had said on the phone reminded me just how many years I had spent being this family's cash cow. And now, I didn't want to be one anymore.

After I'd taken care of everything, I leaned back in my chair.

Inside the hospital room, Fiona was feeding Noelle a bowl of soup, while Mark carefully checked through the baby's supplies at the foot of the bed.

Suddenly, my mind drifted back to my wedding day.

When Noelle and I got married, Mom refused to contribute a single cent. She'd claimed that the family needed to save money so Emmett could get married someday.

Not only that, she even shamelessly demanded that Noelle's family give her a 300,000-dollar wedding gift so that it could be used to buy Emmett a decent car.

Naturally, Noelle and her family refused such an outrageous demand.

During the wedding toast, Mom realized that Emmett hadn't been seated at the head table and hadn't gotten to eat the biggest lobster. Right in front of both families and all our relatives, she flipped the table.

The food splattered all over me.

She pointed at me and screamed, calling me an "ungrateful bastard who forgot his own mother after getting a wife". She cursed me, saying I deserved to die.

The entire room gasped in shock, and I stood there trembling from head to toe. I felt like a clown.

It was Mark and Fiona who walked over, ignoring the mess on the floor. They each took one of my hands and helped me up.

Patting me on the shoulder, Mark announced loudly to all the guests, "Henry is a good man. From today on, we're his parents!"

The memory made my eyes sting.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Emmett.

The moment I answered, Emmett's furious roar came through the phone. He didn't even bother being polite with me.

He ranted, "Henry, what the hell are you doing? I'm at the bridal shop with Jemima trying on wedding dresses. The custom one costs 34,000 dollars! But when I tried to pay, it showed that the card was invalid. The sales clerk looked at me like I was some kind of beggar.

"I was so embarrassed! Hurry up and unfreeze the card! Jemima's still waiting!"

As always, he was so spoiled and entitled.

This was the younger brother I had given in since childhood, whose four years of college I had paid for, and whom I had helped find a job. I had even covered his dating expenses.

Yet, he had never once felt grateful to me after spending my money. To him, it was simply his right.

Looking at the sleeping Noelle inside the hospital room, I walked to the window at the end of the hallway.

My voice turned icy as I called him by his full name. "Emmett Johnstone."

I paused for a bit before continuing, "Didn't you cut my brake line so that I'd crash my car and die?"

The other end of the line instantly fell silent.

I let out a cold laugh. "Then just pretend I'm already dead and go collect the insurance payout to pay for your wedding dress. But before that, you'd better pray the police don't find you first."

With that, I hung up and blocked his number.

Chapter 3

After receiving my report, the police took the attempted murder case very seriously.

That afternoon, two police cars and a tow truck arrived at Tom's repair shop. They cordoned off the area with police tape. Then, they towed my car away as evidence.

A relative from my hometown, who happened to be in the city on business, filmed the entire scene. He loved to gossip, so he immediately sent the video to Mom, who was playing poker yet again.

He exaggerated what he had seen. "Oh my, look at this! Police cars and a tow truck are there with police tape everywhere. Henry's car is leaking. I bet he crashed so badly that both he and the car are totaled!"

Mom was just holding a poker card when she heard the voice message. Her eyes lit up.

"I won! Pure Flush!" she exclaimed.

She excitedly threw her poker cards on the table, grinning from ear to ear. "What a lucky day! This is double the good news! I'm about to get rich!"

She was so excited that she didn't even bother collecting her winnings.

Her hands trembled as she dialed Emmett's number. "Where are you? The police towed away Henry's car! A relative of ours saw it with his own eyes. The brakes must have failed, and he crashed to his death! Two million dollars! We're getting two million dollars!"

At that moment, Emmett was having a humiliating moment in front of Jemima Gardner's family because his credit card had been frozen.

The instant he got the call, he straightened his back.

He immediately put the phone on speaker and bragged in front of Jemima and her parents. "Did you hear that? Henry's whole family is dead! That two-million-dollar insurance payout is all mine! Forget the 800,000-dollar wedding gift. Tomorrow, I'll bring you a million dollars!"

Jemima's family exchanged doubtful looks. "Does it really work like that? Insurance companies don't pay out that quickly, do they?"

Emmett looked smug as he thumped his chest. "Everything Henry had has always been mine as long as I wanted it. He's dead now, so of course the money's mine!"

To show off even more, he even posted on social media, "Life is unpredictable. Henry and Noelle, may you rest in peace. As the head of this family now, I'll take good care of Mom for you. Tomorrow, I'll pick up a Porsche to help comfort my broken heart."

Back in the hospital room, my phone screen lit up.

It was a cousin who had never approved of Mom's behavior. He had sent me a screenshot of Emmett's post.

He asked, "Henry, are you okay? Has Emmett lost his mind? Why is he posting online saying you're dead?"

Looking at those heartless words in the screenshot, my heart still ached even though I had been mentally prepared. These were my family, but they dreamed of getting rich by trampling on my dead body.

Mark, who was beside me, saw the screenshot. The veins on his forehead bulged with fury.

"I'm going to find those two animals and settle this with them!" he snapped.

"Calm down, Mark." I stopped him.

Turning off my phone's screen, I remained frighteningly calm. "Let them enjoy their fantasy for now. The higher they fly, the harder they'll fall later."

Just then, Noelle let out a pained groan from the hospital bed. "Honey..."

Her face turned pale. She clutched her stomach with both hands as cold sweat instantly beaded across her forehead.

"I... I think my water just broke..."

My mind went blank. I rushed over and immediately slammed the emergency call button beside her bed.

At the very same moment, Mom grabbed Emmett and hurried toward the door. Following behind them were Jemima and her family.

She chirped, "Come on! Let's go to the hospital morgue right now to identify the bodies and get the death certificate issued. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll go to the insurance company and collect the money!"

Chapter 4

Noelle had suddenly gone into labor a week before her due date.

Mark, Fiona, and I stood outside the delivery room, pacing anxiously back and forth.

Fiona kept her hands clasped together in prayer, constantly asking for everything to go smoothly. Meanwhile, Mark stared silently at the delivery room doors.

As the minutes ticked by, Noelle's muffled cries of pain occasionally drifted out from inside. Each one of them caused a pang in my heart.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out near the elevators.

"Move! Get out of my way! I'm the deceased's family! My son is dead! What right do you have to stop me from going in?"

I whipped around.

Mom and Emmett had arrived outside the delivery room with Jemima and her family. The five of them looked indignant and tense.

They had originally gone to the morgue to identify my body. Still, after asking around and learning that Noelle was at this hospital, they had come straight here to demand the insurance money.

The moment Mom stepped out of the elevator, she spotted Mark and Fiona standing outside the delivery room.

She showed no concern whatsoever for her daughter-in-law inside.

Instead, she stormed over and shouted at the top of her lungs. "So this is what's going on! I was wondering why my son's insurance payout hasn't come through yet. Turns out you outsiders are trying to steal it!

"I'm telling you, Henry Johnstone is my son. Even if he's dead, every penny of that money belongs to my younger son so he can get married! Don't even think about taking a cent!"

Listening to her brazen demands for the money, I let out a bitter laugh.

The year I took the SAT, I was accepted into one of the country's top universities in another state. I had run home excitedly, holding my admission letter.

But Mom didn't even glance at it. Right in front of me, she tore it into pieces.

She huffed, "What's the point of going to university? Where are we supposed to get the money to send you there?"

She threw the shredded paper in my face and sneered, "Emmett got into a vocational college. His tuition is 15,000 dollars a year. Tomorrow, you're going to work construction and earn money to pay his tuition! Anything good should go to Emmett. You owe him that!"

She had repeated those words to me time and again ever since I was a child.

The best food went to him. The chance to go to school went to him. The money to buy a house went to him.

And now, she believed it was only natural that even the lives of my wife, my child, and me should be sacrificed for him.

Mark was enraged. "Shut your mouth, you crazy woman! Noelle is still in there! If you dare to make one more noise outside this delivery room one more time, I'll throw you out the window myself!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Mom roared.

Seeing this, Emmett immediately stepped forward.

Pointing arrogantly at Mark, he barked, "Henry's dead, old man. I'm the head of this family now! Hand over the money, or I'll beat up every single one of you!"

Just as Emmett rolled up his sleeves and was about to start a fight, the delivery room doors opened. A nurse walked out carrying a swaddled baby in her arms.

She was beaming with joy as she announced, "Congratulations! Both the mother and baby are doing well! The mother is in great condition, and you have a beautiful baby girl!"

Mom and Emmett froze, still caught in the middle of their shouting, as they stared blankly at the nurse.

Then, I turned around and stood before them completely unharmed.

Looking at their wide-eyed expressions, I said coldly, "Who told you I was dead?"