In my previous life, I was hacked to death in the street by my mother's debt collectors, my body left to rot in the open. It was only then that I learned the truth: the massive, life-ruining debt wasn't even hers. It belonged to my aunt. My mother simply couldn't bear to see her precious younger sister chased by loan sharks, so she took the entire burden upon herself. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn on the exact day my mother signed that promissory note. I grabbed our family's essential documents, shoved them into my dad's hands, and said, "Dad, you two need to get a divorce." 1 My mom suddenly owed over a million dollars. For an ordinary, middle-class family like ours, it was a death sentence. My dad, unable to bear abandoning her, took the heavy burden upon his shoulders. From then on, our family of four worked ourselves to the bone. We sold our house, lived out of suitcases hiding from collectors, set up street stalls to make pennies, and constantly borrowed from Peter to pay Paul. We never had a single decent meal. Finally, after four grueling years, we had paid off around $400,000. There was still over $700,000 left to go. That day happened to be my little brother's birthday. We had rarely splurged, but we bought a fresh fish and were just sitting down to eat. That was when Victor, the biggest loan shark of them all, kicked our door in. He had been a gang enforcer in his youth. Both of his massive arms were completely covered in intricate, intimidating tattoos of dragons and tigers. With a casual flick of his wrist, he flipped our flimsy dining table upside down. The food scattered across the floor. It was such a waste. Victor sneered, looking like a demon straight out of hell. "Sarah, where the hell else do you think you can hide? When are you paying me my money? Speak!" My mom’s voice trembled in terror. "Vic, I just sent you $4,000 last month. I'll pay you the rest slowly, I swear." Victor lost his patience. "Four thousand a month? At that rate, you'll be paying off a $500,000 loan until the next ice age! And with the interest compounding, you will literally never clear this debt." Victor lit a cigarette and sat down heavily on a chair. "If you don't want to die today, give me your sister Brenda's address. I'll go collect from her." My mom immediately panicked, her eyes turning red. "You can't go after my sister! She's struggling so much right now. Come after me." My dad hesitated, then cautiously spoke up: "Sarah, no matter how much Brenda is struggling, she’s doing better than us. I heard she just bought a two-thousand-dollar purebred cat last month. Maybe... maybe you could ask her to lend us a little to hold them off?" My mom glared viciously at my dad. The moment Brenda was mentioned, she suddenly found her backbone. "I will prioritize getting the money for you during this period! But if you want Brenda's address, you'll have to kill me first!" Victor was enraged. He slammed his hand against a cabinet. "Give you this period? Do you have any idea how many years you've been saying that?! Since you want to play the martyr so badly, I'll take this $500,000 out of your hide today!" Furious, Victor kicked my mom to the floor. My dad rushed forward to help, but Victor's goons dragged him away and started beating him mercilessly. Watching my little brother crying hysterically, I immediately grabbed my phone to dial 911. But that only enraged Victor further. He lunged at me, slapped me hard across the face, and smashed my phone against the wall. I grabbed a kitchen knife to defend myself. He easily disarmed me, then began punching me, blow after agonizing blow. He took the knife. As I scrambled to escape out the door, he hacked at my back, screaming curses: "You've got a young, pretty daughter right here! Why hasn't she sold herself to pay off the debt, huh?!" Victor had completely lost his mind. I stumbled, fell, and scrambled up again, only for him to catch me. He chased me out of the apartment and straight into the street. He was seeing red. He beat me until I was barely clinging to life. The cuts on my body grew deeper and deeper. Every slash was more brutal than the last. "You haven't paid me a dime in years! I've given your family too much grace! That bitch Brenda said she'd pay me back the second month. It's been twenty f*cking years! Can she even pay it back now?!" Victor's goons finally rushed over and pulled him back, panicking. "Boss, stop! You're gonna kill her! This kid looks like she's barely in her twenties! You can't keep hacking at her like this!" I looked down and saw my face bruised and swollen, my back covered in horrifying, deep gashes. A trail of my own blood stretched from our apartment all the way out to the asphalt. 2 I knew right then that I was dead. I could perfectly see my own mangled, bloody corpse lying on the pavement, and I couldn't feel a single ounce of pain anymore. Victor finally snapped out of his rage. He jumped back, collapsing onto the ground, looking genuinely terrified by what he had done. My mom rushed out of the building. She threw herself over my corpse, sobbing as she looked at the loan sharks. "My daughter just paid off the debt with her life! You can't go after Brenda anymore!" My soul felt like it had been struck by lightning. I had been hacked to death, yet my mother's first thought—her primary concern—was making sure her sister wouldn't be inconvenienced! Victor looked at my mom, his expression incredibly complicated. "Since your daughter paid with her life, I'll consider that $500,000 a total loss!" He took a few steps, then turned back to my mom. "Your daughter having a mother like you... she's unluckier than I am. "That money was borrowed by Brenda. You insisted on taking the fall for her. Even if you sold every single thing your family owned, it wouldn't even cover the cost of one of Brenda's designer bags. I genuinely don't understand why you're playing the hero!" My mom aggressively wiped away her tears, her voice stubborn and proud. "I am the older sister. It is my absolute duty to protect my younger siblings from the storms of life. It was worth it!" Worth it? I felt like I had been struck by lightning again. This massive debt had forced our family to live like rats scurrying in the gutters. It had cost me my life. And in the end, she looked at my corpse and said, "I'm the older sister. It was worth it." Then what was my dad? What was my little brother? What was I?! My dad arrived, saw my lifeless body on the ground, and broke down sobbing uncontrollably. The sheer agony was too much, and he passed out on the street. The neighbors called the police. At the police station, Victor claimed it was manslaughter. My mom agreed that our family was at fault first, signed a letter of forgiveness, and declared the debt settled with my life. Victor only got three years in prison. As for my Aunt Brenda? She didn't even bother to show up to my funeral. My dad cried at my grave for a full day and night before completely losing his mind. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn. 3 "If I owed a million dollars, would you help me pay it off?" My mom sat on the edge of the bed, folding laundry, asking my dad in an artificially casual tone. My dad, who was playing a game of digital Connect Four on the computer, turned around and looked at her in confusion. This exact scene was too painfully familiar. In my past life, it played out exactly like this. My mom was furious because my dad had only given her family an $800 cash gift for a recent celebration. She accused him of not caring enough about her side of the family and threatened to divorce him. She had given him the silent treatment all day. In my past life, my dad was thrilled that she finally initiated a conversation. "No matter what happens in the future, I will always carry the burden with you." And my dad was a man of his word. Over the next few years, even when he fell ill and couldn't handle heavy labor, he persevered, constantly working to pay off the massive debt she claimed was from a "failed investment." Perhaps it was my dad's unwavering sense of responsibility that gave her the audacity. She knew she had a safety net, which was why she recklessly took on that toxic debt for her sister, dragging our family down with her. It got me killed, drove my dad insane, and forced my little brother to live a life of transient poverty from the age of one and a half. Before my dad could answer, I immediately interrupted them. "Mom, Dad, weren't you guys talking about getting a divorce yesterday? Are we going to the courthouse this morning or this afternoon?" My mom froze, looking incredibly awkward. Remembering her threat from yesterday, her face darkened again. "I already sent Brenda another $200 to make up for the cash gift. If your father takes his paycheck this month to buy your cousin Mason a new gaming console, and goes with me to Brenda's house to apologize, I might consider holding off on..." I pulled out our family's essential legal documents and shoved them directly into my dad's hands. "I fully support you two getting a divorce. Dad, since Mom thinks you treat the people she cares about so terribly, you should just let her go." Please, Mom, let my dad go! My dad took the documents, looked at my mom, then at me, and lowered his eyes guiltily. My mom immediately switched to a sorrowful, victimized expression, dredging up the past again. "When you had absolutely nothing, no family to speak of, I chose to be with you. I didn't want anything from you except for you to treat me well, and to treat my family well..." My dad had always felt deeply indebted to my mom because she didn't look down on him for being an orphan. My mom constantly used this fact to emotionally manipulate him, keeping him tightly under her thumb. I chimed in: "Exactly! Dad, Mom treats you so well, yet when Aunt Brenda hosted that graduation party for Kevin, you couldn't even bear to give a $1,000 cash gift! Remember how generous Aunt Brenda was when my little brother had his one-month celebration last year?" My mom's face instantly became incredibly uncomfortable. I faked righteous indignation. "This divorce has to happen. Dad's behavior is completely unacceptable." My mom let out an awkward, strained laugh: "Actually, your dad isn't that unforgivable." My dad muttered, clearly feeling wronged: "At your brother's one-month celebration, your sister and her husband only gave $200, and they borrowed that $200 from you! I don't even know if they ever paid you back!" "I'm the older sister! What's wrong with giving a slightly larger cash gift to take care of my younger siblings?!" The moment anyone dared to criticize her family, my mom's face would twist in anger. She threw the folded clothes aside, ready to explode at my dad. Just then, my mom's phone, which was charging on the nightstand, started ringing. 4 Seeing "Brenda" on the caller ID, I immediately stepped forward, answered the call, and put it on speaker. My aunt's voice echoed through the room: "Hey, Sis, have you thought it over?" Hearing this, my mom practically lunged across the room in three strides, snatching the phone from my hand and furiously turning off the speaker. She shot a guilty, panicked look at my dad, who had gone back to playing Connect Four. I asked, pretending not to care, "Thought what over?" My mom stammered her response to my aunt: "I still don't know what Arthur thinks about it... Let me think about it a little more..." I don't know what was said on the other end, but it was likely my aunt losing her temper. My mom's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. After hanging up, my mom said, "Arthur, I need to go over to Brenda's house later." 5 My dad looked surprised. "Didn't you just get back from her place a couple of days ago?" "This is different. After Kevin's graduation party ended, they kept two tables of close friends and family around for a private get-together. They invited me to come over for a bit." My dad nodded in understanding. A sharp memory from my past life violently surfaced. It was exactly after attending this specific "family gathering" at my aunt's house that my mom suddenly came home burdened with over a million dollars in debt. Every single promissory note had her bright red thumbprint on it, explicitly acknowledging the debt in black and white. There were seven or eight different loan sharks involved. There were definitely hidden details about this gathering that my dad and I were never privy to. This time, I was absolutely not going to let our family repeat the same fatal mistake. "Dad, I really want to go celebrate Kevin's graduation too! Let's all go with Mom." My mom was naturally thrilled; she always desperately wanted us to be more involved with her side of the family. Before my dad could refuse, I added, "Mom was just talking about divorcing you because you don't treat her family well. You can't just skip out and make her lose face in front of her family today." Persuaded by my logic, my dad agreed. My mom happily took us out to buy Mason a gaming console first. 6 I stared at the $300 gaming console, then looked at the "toy" my little brother was currently playing with—a cheap, empty plastic wrapper from a pack of wafers. My mom was always like this. Regardless of the price, she prioritized giving the best of everything to her younger siblings and their children. Even down to a single bowl of rice, or a single orange. Whenever I, my brother, and Mason were together, if my mom had three oranges, she would give two to Mason, and my brother and I had to share the remaining one. I was so confused at the time. "Shouldn't everyone get one? Why does Mason get two?" My mom scolded me for being selfish. "How can you compare yourselves to him? You are my children, you have to be on my side. You need to be accommodating." She deprived herself, and she deprived her own children, just to be endlessly generous to everyone else. She was always like this—boundlessly giving to outsiders, incredibly harsh to her own flesh and blood. My brother sat next to me. With a little squeeze of his hand, the plastic wrapper made a loud crackle. He giggled, completely carefree, blissfully unaware that his life was about to be turned upside down. I pointed to a remote-control car on the shelf. "Mom, my brother can play with that remote-control car too. It's twenty dollars cheaper than the gaming console. If you're buying one, you should buy the car for my brother too." My dad grabbed the remote-control car, placed it in the basket, and smiled. "We'll buy both." My mom's face changed instantly. She snatched the remote-control car out of the basket, put it back on the shelf, and then tentatively asked me: "Avery, why don't you skip going to that expensive private university? It costs too much. The family doesn't have the money to support it." My dad immediately asked, "What do you mean we don't have the money?" My mom stammered, "There are going to be a lot of places we need to spend money later on. We need to start saving." I looked at the expensive gift she was holding for Mason and let out a harsh, incredulous laugh. "Saving up my college tuition so you can buy your sister's son a gaming console?!" "How dare you speak to me like that!" My mom raised her hand to slap me, but my dad intercepted her arm. He said firmly, "It doesn't matter if I have to work harder. Avery is absolutely going to that university." My mom opened her mouth, then clamped it shut, saying nothing more. My nose stung. In my past life, after my mom took on that massive debt, I dropped out of college. I worked alongside them, running street stalls, leaving before dawn, and returning after midnight, hauling heavy sacks of rice and fighting for discounted vegetables at the market. I caught my dad secretly wiping away tears so many times, feeling like he had failed me. In my past life, the loan sharks went to the hospital where my dad worked to harass him, causing him to lose his job as a respected surgeon. He ended up hawking cheap goods at a night market. Unless we were truly at a dead end, he would never have agreed to let me drop out of college. 7 My aunt opened the door. When she saw my dad and me, her hand clearly froze on the doorknob. She obviously hadn't expected us to come. She forced a stiff, unnatural smile. "Oh, Arthur and Avery came too~" My mom smiled warmly. "Yeah, Arthur bought a gaming console for Mason, and some action figures for Kevin, to celebrate him getting into college." My aunt glanced into the living room, her smile looking incredibly strained. I noticed a designer bag hanging on the entryway hook and smiled brightly. "Aunt Brenda, is that your new bag?" Seeing me notice the bag, my aunt beamed, a hint of arrogance flashing in her eyes. "Of course. It's gorgeous, isn't it?" "It's beautiful," I said. Of course it was beautiful. It was an authentic Louis Vuitton; it better be beautiful. My aunt took the gaming console. "Come on in and sit down." Stepping inside, I saw over a dozen people crowded into the long living room. There were seven or eight older relatives I recognized, and seven or eight unfamiliar faces. Among the unfamiliar faces, I locked eyes with someone I knew intimately. My heart gave a violent tremor, a primal, physiological terror washing over me, making my body shake. That man was Victor, the loan shark who hacked me to death in my past life. I forced myself to calm down, reassuring myself that right now, he didn't know me. He naturally wouldn't target me, let alone hurt me. And my only job today was to ensure my family cut all ties with this catastrophic, life-ruining debt. My aunt truly was a master manipulator. It was obvious now: in my past life, my mom had been pressured into signing those promissory notes right here, in front of this group of elder relatives. Confused and manipulated, she stamped her bright red thumbprint on every page, transforming my aunt's borrowed money into our family's toxic debt. 8 Before we even had a chance to warm our seats, a middle-aged woman on the sofa suddenly burst into loud, theatrical wails. "My husband is still in the hospital! That $7,000 is literally life-saving money! I'm begging you, just pay me back first!" My dad was stunned, clearly bewildered by the sudden outburst. My aunt cast a few anxious, pleading glances at my mom, who immediately understood her assignment. She stepped forward and helped the wailing woman up. "It's $7,000, right?" The woman looked at my mom in confusion. My mom pulled out her phone and checked her bank balance. "Scan my Venmo QR code, or give me your bank routing number. I'll transfer it to you right now!" She was about to transfer $7,000 without a second thought. Even my dad, who usually didn't manage the household finances, was suspicious. He asked my mom, "Sarah, what is this $7,000 for?" My mom looked at my dad, desperately trying to formulate an explanation. My aunt quickly stepped in to clarify: "My sister owes Mrs. Martinez $7,000. Mr. Martinez is in the hospital with kidney failure, and they desperately need the money for dialysis to save his life." The moment those words left her mouth, not only my dad, but even Mrs. Martinez looked confused. Mrs. Martinez looked at my aunt, then back at my mom, who was holding her phone ready to transfer the money. The phrase "But you're the one who borrowed the money" died on her lips. My dad asked, "Sarah, what exactly is going on here?" My mom thought for a second, then lied smoothly: "I lost some money on a bad investment. I borrowed it from Mrs. Martinez. Since her husband desperately needs it for life-saving treatment right now, we need to withdraw it and pay her back to cover the emergency." Hearing this, although my dad looked unhappy, he knew that debts must be paid. It was only right, and there was nothing else to be done. Watching my dad sit back down, my aunt clearly let out a massive sigh of relief. She turned to address the room: "I told you my sister would definitely pay back the money. There won't be any issues. "Today is supposed to be a celebration for my Kevin. Can we discuss the rest of these matters later?" Seeing my mom generously stepping up to take responsibility, the other creditors assumed she was a wealthy, easy mark, so they didn't raise any further objections. As Mrs. Martinez was scanning my mom's Venmo code, I muted the TV, picked up the karaoke microphone, and stood up. "Hello everyone. My name is Avery, Sarah's daughter. Excuse me, but are there any other people in this room that my mom owes money to? "My parents are getting a divorce soon. We're here to clear up all the marital debts right now." 9 Divorce? My aunt's eyes bulged out of her head. She knew better than anyone that my mom was a stay-at-home housewife with zero income. The entire family relied on my dad's salary. If they got divorced, my mom would have absolutely no way to shoulder over a million dollars in debt. She immediately rushed forward, her face twisted in rage, pointing a furious finger at me. "Avery, what nonsense are you spewing?! A marriage isn't something you can just end on a whim! "As a daughter, shouldn't you be wishing for your parents to be happy? How can you be so incredibly ignorant and disrespectful?!" I blinked innocently. "It's true. If you don't believe me, you can ask my mom. They were literally planning to go to the courthouse to file the divorce papers today. We only delayed it because you called us over." I turned the volume on the microphone up and shouted again. "Since no one is answering, if my parents walk out that door, we are absolutely not recognizing any debts that magically appear later!" Still, no one stepped forward. After all, they knew the money was personally borrowed by my aunt, not my mom. Hearing that the divorce hadn't been finalized yet, my aunt clearly let out a sigh of relief. Terrified that my parents might actually go straight to the courthouse after leaving today, she made a desperate gamble. She turned to my dad. "Arthur, please don't be angry. My sister only owes a little over a million dollars. She had a failed investment. Please don't blame her. In business, there are always wins and losses. You need to look at the big picture. If your whole family works together, you'll definitely pay it all off eventually." My dad's entire body violently jolted. He looked like he was about to pass out from sheer rage. The creditors looked equally confused, exchanging bewildered glances. Wasn't Brenda the one who borrowed the money? Why did this guy suddenly appear out of nowhere to take the fall as the ultimate sucker? My aunt noticed their confusion and quickly turned back to the creditors: "Everyone, please don't worry. My brother-in-law is a highly respected surgeon at the county hospital. He has a very secure, high-paying job. He will slowly but surely pay back every cent he owes you." Her ambiguous phrasing gave the creditors hope, while simultaneously keeping my dad completely in the dark about the true nature of the debt. I walked over to my dad and looked earnestly at my mom. "This million dollars... did you really borrow it?" My mom paused, glancing at my aunt's pitiful, pleading face, and gritted her teeth. "Yes. It's my debt." I nodded slowly. "Okay. In that case, can you name every creditor in this room? "Do you remember exactly how much money you owe to each person?"
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