My sister, Chloe, was obsessed—no, "obsessed" doesn't cover it. She was a cultist for a celebrity named Austin Vance. On Valentine’s Day, news broke that Austin had frozen his genetic samples for future use. While other fans bought posters, Chloe decided to drain her entire life savings to buy a sample on the black market. She wanted to undergo IVF to birth a "mini-Austin." I was horrified. I begged her to consider her boyfriend’s feelings and just live a normal life. Eventually, she gave up, got married, and had a daughter, Maya. But the poison remained. Chloe pushed her dreams of fame onto Maya. Every time Maya looked in the mirror, Chloe would sneer: "You want to be a star? With that face? Look at yourself." She told Maya it was my fault. If I hadn't stopped her back then, Maya would have had "god-tier" genes and been a superstar. Maya grew to hate me with a passion that burned for years. After failing a reality show audition where the judges mocked her looks, she finally snapped. She burst into my house and drove a knife through my chest. "Mind your own business!" she screamed. "You ruined my life!" Chloe just watched from the doorway, her arms crossed, eyes cold. After I died, she took my inheritance and used it to travel the world following her idols. Then, I woke up. It was Valentine's Day. 1 "It’s my life! I’m not asking for your permission, I’m telling you how it’s going to be!" Chloe was screaming in the living room, her voice echoing off the walls as she yelled at our mother. She threw herself onto the sofa in a fit of rage. As soon as she saw me walk in, she lunged at me. "Leo, tell Mom she’s being insane. You saw the news about Austin Vance freezing his samples. Everyone is talking about it!" "I’m going to buy a sample and have his baby. Mom is acting like it’s the end of the world!" "She has no idea how much money celebrities make! If I have his kid, that baby will have the 'It Factor' in their DNA. They’ll be a millionaire before they’re ten!" "It’s only a few hundred thousand dollars. We’d make it back in a year! But Mom won't let me!" "It's not about the money!" Mom shouted, her voice trembling with fury. "Who is going to marry you? Who is going to want a life with you after you do something so reckless?!" Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "I don't care! Once I raise a superstar, men will be lining up around the block to marry me!" Watching Chloe "fight for her rights," I felt a wave of dizziness. My fists clenched so hard my nails drew blood. Thank God. Thank the universe. I’m back. I’m back at the exact moment where the tragedy began. 2 Chloe didn't just like music; she worshiped it. She would skip meals and sleep just to stream Austin Vance's songs. Once, she skipped a final exam and waited in line for eighteen hours in the rain just for a concert ticket. Her room was a shrine. Posters covered every inch of the walls. She spent hours dusting them, whispering to them, even kissing the glossy paper. It was pathological. Mom was at her wit's end and constantly begged me to talk sense into her. We were close in age, and while I liked music too, I couldn't fathom this level of mindless zealotry. I tried heart-to-hearts. I told her it was okay to be a fan, but not at the expense of her life. She’d just plug her ears. One time, a poster fell down because the tape dried out; she blamed me, accused me of trying to "tear him down," and didn't speak to me for a week. I eventually gave up, hoping she’d outgrow it. But even after graduation, the fire didn't die. She ditched work to follow his tour bus. She was a lost cause. The day Austin Vance announced the freezing of his samples, she crossed the point of no return. She came home demanding Mom give her the family’s emergency fund for the procedure. In my past life, I lost my cool. I slapped her. I called her a damn fool. I asked her: Who is going to raise someone else’s kid? How are you going to support yourself? Do you really think talent is just a gene you can buy like a luxury handbag? My threats, combined with Mom’s ultimatum to disown her, worked. She backed down. She eventually married a guy named Mark and had Maya. But even then, the obsession lingered. It bled into Maya. Maya grew up dreaming of the red carpet, convinced she was destined for greatness. And every time she failed, Chloe would point at her and laugh: "You're a star? Look at your face. If your Uncle Leo hadn't stopped me from getting Austin’s DNA, you’d be famous by now." So, Maya grew up hating me. As her uncle, I bought her the best birthday gifts, only to have them thrown in the trash. I tried to stay away, but I stayed for Mark. Mark was a good man—honest, hardworking, and far too good for a family of obsessed fans. Ten years later, Mom passed away. Chloe and Maya didn't even show up for the funeral; they were at a fan convention in Vegas. Three days after the funeral, Maya failed a major idol audition. The judges told her she lacked the "visuals" for the industry. She came to my house and stabbed me twelve times. Chloe leaned against the doorframe as I bled out. "You ruined her future, Leo. She was supposed to be a star." I died with my eyes wide open, filled with a resentment that reached the heavens. I regretted ever helping her. I should have let her drown in her own choices. 3 "You're going to be the death of me! If you go through with this 'designer baby' nonsense, don't you dare come back to this house!" Mom issued the same ultimatum as before. This time, Chloe actually had a shred of conscience left; she burst into tears. She looked at me, eyes red and puffy. "Leo, will you support me? Please?" I looked at her with a face of stone. "It’s your life. Walk your own path." In this life, I’m done being your guardian. Chloe saw that neither of us was budging. She gritted her teeth, gave Mom a stiff bow, and walked out the door. Mom nearly fainted. I went over to steady her. "She’s an adult, Mom. Let her hit the wall. She won't learn until she feels the pain herself." Mom sighed, a long, weary sound. For the next few days, Chloe vanished. She hired a moving crew to clear out every single one of her belongings—even the posters she had carefully peeled off the walls. I knew Austin Vance’s "legacy" wasn't cheap. She was likely selling everything she owned on eBay to fund her delusion. But she had no real savings. Those posters wouldn't cover a fraction of the cost. I turned to Mom. "Whatever you do, don't give her a dime of the family savings." "I’d burn the money before I gave her a cent!" Mom snapped. 4 "Leo, please... I need a loan." Chloe called a few days later. I told her I was broke. "Leo, please! I know you care about me. I can't afford to eat. It’s not for the procedure, I swear." In my last life, she used this trick a dozen times. She’d spend her grocery money on VIP tickets and then cry about being hungry. I always sent her money, afraid she’d actually starve. "I don't have it. Don't ask again." I hung up. A few days later, I went to check on Mom. I could hear the screaming from the hallway. "Where is it? Did you take the money from the safe?!" I opened the door to find Mom red-faced, screaming into her phone. "You've gone too far! Stealing from your own mother? That was fifteen thousand dollars! Bring it back right now, do you hear me?!" "I'm just borrowing it!" Chloe’s voice crackled through the speaker. "I'll pay you back when the kid is famous!" "Chloe, are you insane?! You're taking our life savings for a test tube? Chloe!" Click. The line went dead. Mom clutched her chest, her face turning a terrifying shade of purple, and collapsed on the floor. 5 She survived the initial stroke, but the brain hemorrhage was massive. The medical bills started piling up instantly. I was frantic. It was a nightmare—my mother was in the ICU, and I had no money left after paying the initial deposit. I called Chloe, my teeth bitting. "Mom had a stroke because of you. She's in the hospital. Bring the money back now." "A stroke? Is she okay? How bad is it?" Chloe sounded nervous. "She’s hanging by a thread. If we don't pay the next five thousand, she’s dead. Bring the money, Chloe!" "Leo... are you lying to me?" The audacity of her words made me see red. "You piece of trash! Why would I lie about our mother dying?!" "I don't have that much left. I can give you one thousand. That’s it." "What? Say that again." "I have my own expenses, Leo! This procedure is expensive. One thousand is my limit." "Chloe, have you lost your mind? This is for Mom! It’s her money!" "I told you, I’ll pay her back a hundred times over later!" "What good is a hundred times later if she’s dead now?!" "Just... tell her I’m sorry." Click. She hung up and blocked me. I wanted to kill her. In my last life, she didn't show up for the funeral. Now, she wouldn't even pay to save Mom's life. A celebrity she'd never met was more important than the woman who gave her life. Fine. You want to play it this way? 6 I called the police and reported a grand larceny. The cops tracked her down within hours and brought her to the hospital. She wouldn't even enter the room. She stood in the hallway, glaring at me. "You called the cops on me? She’s my mother! Half that money is legally mine anyway!" I slapped her across the face. "Shut up." I dragged her into the ICU and pointed at the woman covered in tubes. "Tell her. Tell her to her face that her life-saving money belongs to you." Chloe froze. For a moment, she looked like she might cry. But then, she looked up and said the words that made my blood run cold: "Everyone dies eventually, Leo. Even if she wakes up, she’ll be a vegetable. I have a future to build. My child is going to be a star. I’ll buy her a beautiful headstone when the time comes." I grabbed her collar. "What did you just say?! How can you be so inhuman?!" The police had to pull us apart. I told them everything. I demanded she return the money. Even the officers were disgusted. They tried to talk sense into her, but Chloe snapped back: "This is a family matter! Stay out of it!" Since she refused to cooperate, the police were about to take her into custody. Chloe finally folded, promising to get the money and bring it back the next morning. The cops told her to listen to her family. After she left, I thanked them. I thought Mom was saved. But the next morning, Chloe was gone. She had vanished. I panicked and called the police, but they were still searching. I had a sickening feeling the money was gone for good. I spent the day frantically calling friends to borrow enough for the treatment. I managed to scrape the money together, but as I was driving to the hospital, the doctor called. Mom was gone.
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