My nephew, Leo, used a nail to draw on a car, and the owner demanded compensation. My mom said, "He's just a kid! What does he know? Why did she park there anyway? She deserved it!" When I tried to tell them they needed to discipline him seriously, they kicked me out of the house. On New Year's Day, my nephew flipped over a boiling hot pot, and his actions finally led to a horrific tragedy. 1 I had just finished up at work and was planning to go see a movie. My mom called me. "Chloe! You're friends with that lawyer guy, right? Hurry up and bring him to the parking lot at our apartment complex! I need to sue someone!" I could feel a vein throbbing in my forehead. "What happened?" It was chaotic on my mom's end of the line, like she was in the middle of a screaming match. "Leo scratched a car, and this woman has the nerve to demand a thousand dollars from us! It's just a tiny scratch, how could it cost a thousand dollars? This is extortion!" I rushed home as fast as I could. A crowd had gathered in the parking lot. My mom was standing right in the center, hands on her hips, occupying the most prominent spot. Beside her stood my nine-year-old nephew, Leo, looking completely unbothered and sporting a cheeky grin. When Leo saw me, he rolled his eyes. I took a deep breath and swallowed my annoyance. I pulled out my phone and asked the car owner for her payment app handle. "Miss, I'm so sorry. My nephew misbehaved, and I apologize for wasting your time. It was a thousand dollars, right? I'll transfer it to you now..." The car owner was a young woman in her twenties, and she had already been reduced to tears by my mother's screaming. Seeing a reasonable person finally arrive, she hurriedly pulled up her QR code. "I'm really not trying to extort you. The scratch might be small, but it goes right across two different panels. I asked the auto body shop, and to blend the paint properly, it really will cost over a thousand dollars." I nodded and typed $1,500 into the payment screen. "The extra money is for your trouble and lost time." Just as I was about to enter my PIN, my mom lunged forward and grabbed my hand. Her grip was like an iron vise, clamping down so hard I couldn't move. "You stupid girl, do you have too much money burning a hole in your pocket?!" She then turned to threaten the young woman again. "If you want money, we don't have any! Go ahead and sue us! But let me tell you something right now—this old lady lives in this complex. If a little girl like you wants to start trouble, I have all the time in the world to make your life a living hell!" The young woman clearly backed down. She was afraid that getting involved with someone like my mom would bring her endless, inescapable trouble. Her eyes darted around nervously, clearly wanting to just drop the issue and leave. I forcefully yanked my hand free from my mom's grip and quickly typed in my PIN. Ding— The transfer went through. The young woman looked incredibly relieved, gave me a quick, grateful smile, hopped into her car, and sped off. Smack. A heavy slap landed on the back of my hand. "Do you have too much money to burn?! I never see you being this generous at home! You ungrateful brat!" During our struggle just now, she had scratched the back of my hand. Now, with the added slap, my entire hand was swollen and throbbing. "Mom! Leo scratched someone's car. It's only right that we pay for the damages. Can we please just be reasonable for once?" I was exhausted. The onlookers in the crowd also started chiming in. "Mrs. Miller, your daughter is right. When a kid makes a mistake, you have to apologize and pay for it. That's just how it works." My mom snapped back sharply. "He's just a kid! What does he know? Who told her to park her car there? She deserved to get it scratched!" People started voicing their disagreement. "You can't say that. The woman parked her car perfectly within the lines of the parking space. How is that parking illegally? Even if she was parked illegally, you call the towing company or the police. You don't go and vandalize the car! What kind of behavior is that?" ... My mom was clearly in the wrong, and she couldn't out-argue a whole crowd of people. Her face turned pale with anger. She shot me a vicious glare. "I'll deal with you when we get home!" With that, she turned and stormed off. Leo stuck his tongue out at me and made a face, then hopped and skipped after my mom as if nothing had happened. Seeing me walking in the direction of our apartment, Leo spread his arms and blocked my path. "My house is that way. You're not allowed to go any further!" I couldn't be bothered to argue with him, so I changed direction and kept walking. Seeing this, he stomped his foot down hard on my white sneakers. "I said you can't go! I told you to listen to me! I'll stomp on you!" My brand-new shoes instantly had ugly, dirty footprints all over them. "Leo! Do you want a spanking?!" I was furious. I grabbed him by the collar. "Apologize to me, and then wipe my shoes clean!" Leo scratched my hand viciously. I gasped in pain and let go of his collar. "Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah..." He made another ugly face at me. He didn't show an ounce of remorse. My mom pulled Leo into her arms and praised him, "Kids are smart when they're playful!" My temples throbbed. "Mom, get it straight. What is being playful, and what is being malicious?!" 2 My mom exploded instantly. "What do you mean, malicious?! You never have a good word to say! He's just a little boy, how could he have any bad intentions?" "He's nine years old! He's not going to be a kid forever! If you don't discipline him now, when he enters the real world, he's going to cause an even bigger disaster and suffer much worse consequences!" "I don't want to hear your twisted logic! Every time you see him, all you do is scold him, always saying he's doing this wrong or that wrong. There is no aunt in the world like you." Every time I brought up the issue of Leo's discipline, my mom always twisted it into me being biased against him. Seeing me silenced, a smug snort escaped from Leo's nose. My temper flared up. I lifted my foot and started walking toward the apartment. "I paid for part of this house too. Why shouldn't I go in?" Leo flew into a helpless rage. He threw himself onto the ground, kicking and screaming, throwing a massive tantrum. "Don't let her go! Don't let her go! My mom said she's coming to steal our house! Steal our house!" My mom hurriedly tried to coax him. "Leo, my sweet grandson, Grandma won't let her go, I won't let her go!" After she finished, she looked a bit awkward. "Don't take what a kid says to heart. Your sister-in-law didn't mean it like that. Leo is throwing a fit, so why don't you just leave for now?" In that moment, it would be a lie to say I wasn't hurt. Since I was little, because I was a girl, my parents didn't value me. They dumped me with my grandparents to be raised. They always said daughters would eventually marry into other families, and they would have to rely on their son to take care of them in their old age. So, I worked twice as hard, trying to win their approval. After starting my career, my salary kept increasing. Last year, I married Liam, who came from a good family, which finally made my parents happy. Meanwhile, my brother lounged around all day doing nothing. He had zero income all year and relied entirely on my parents. My parents' food and expenses for the entire year were all paid for by me. But even so, in their eyes, I was still inferior to the "male heir." After being hurt time and time again, even I get tired. I remained silent for a long time. I don't know what I finally gave up on, but suddenly, my body and mind felt incredibly light. I didn't want to deal with this anymore, and I didn't care anymore. My mom seemed to sense something was different. She said in a slightly fawning tone, "Chloe, in a few days Mom will make your favorite pickled vegetable pancakes, and I'll call you to come home." Actually, I didn't like pickled vegetable pancakes. When I was little, I was often hungry. The elderly neighbor, Mrs. Smith, would occasionally give me a pickled vegetable pancake to eat. My mom just assumed I was greedy and asked for them myself. I gave her one look and said flatly. "I don't like pickled vegetables. I like king crab. If there's no emergency in the future, you don't need to call me to come over. I'm busy with work." After saying that, I didn't care what she thought, I just turned and left. The $40,000 I provided to buy this apartment could be considered compensation for my parents raising me for the first twenty years of my life. Didn't they want to rely on their son for their old age? Then for the rest of their lives, I won't be participating. After that unpleasant parting, I actually enjoyed a period of peace and quiet. The next time I heard news about Leo, it was that he had been beaten and sent to the hospital. My mom choked back sobs. "Leo got beaten up, he's in the hospital!" Me: "Oh." My mom wailed, "That goddamn monster, a six-foot-tall grown man! One slap, and the kid got a concussion." Me: "...What did Leo do?" Over the phone, my mom hemmed and hawed, refusing to say. I was a bit curious, so I went to the hospital. 3 When I got there, my mom grabbed my hand, crying and snotting all over it. "Hurry up and call your lawyer friend! We have to sue that goddamn son of a b***h until he's bankrupt!" "If anything happens to Leo, I'll fight him to the death!" "As his aunt, you have to get justice for him!" I calmly pulled my hand back. "First, tell me exactly what Leo did. I don't believe someone would just hit him for no reason." My mom mumbled, "Today at a restaurant, when a guy wasn't looking, Leo peed in his beer bottle. The guy took a drink, thought it tasted weird, and Leo, that silly boy, laughed at him for drinking pee. The guy went crazy, jumped up, and hit the kid." I was stunned. I asked in disbelief, "Did you not stop him?" My mom slapped her thigh, looking miserable. "How could I not try to stop him?! When Leo was getting hit, I risked my old life trying to grab him back!" I was furious. "I meant when he was peeing in the beer bottle! Why didn't you stop him then?!" My mom looked completely unapologetic. "Why would I stop him?" I couldn't believe my ears. "He peed in someone's beer bottle! Pee!!! And you're asking me why you should stop him?!" My mom's expression hardened. "That guy wasn't a good person anyway! He doesn't own the restaurant, what right did he have to tell a kid not to run and jump around? Minding other people's business, he deserved to drink pee." My scalp tingled. I completely failed to comprehend her moral compass. Was she insane?! Seeing my reaction, my mom quickly said, "Go ask around, what kid isn't mischievous like this? You can't blame Leo for this! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and call your lawyer friend, ask him how much money we can get in compensation!" I felt my very soul trembling. "He deserved to get hit! Compensation my ass!" My mom got anxious. "What's wrong with drinking a little boy's pee? It's not dirty! Some people even specially use little boys' pee to boil tea eggs, it's very nourishing." I threw up right then and there. "Blegh!" It was too disgusting. Once I started throwing up, I couldn't stop. My mom tried to help me up, but I swatted her hand away, backed away from her, and went to find a doctor to prescribe some medicine. The doctor suggested I take a test. After the test, I found out I was pregnant! No one could understand how wildly ecstatic I was in that moment. Having grown up starved for love, my greatest wish in life was to have my own family, a complete family. I quickly called my husband, Liam, who was away on a business trip. "Honey, I'm pregnant!" Liam was even more excited than I was. He gave me a ton of advice for pregnant women, told me to rest well, and promised over and over that he would finish his work as quickly as possible and come home to be with me. I nodded continuously, not caring that he couldn't see me. During this time, my mom called me countless times. I didn't answer a single one, just left the hospital and went straight home. What I didn't expect was that my mom, unable to reach me, reached out her demonic claws to Liam instead. She opened her mouth and demanded that Liam, as the uncle, give her two thousand dollars for Leo's "nutritional recovery." I was furious and called her back immediately. "How can you be a mother like this? Do you think my husband's family is your personal ATM? How could you even open your mouth to ask for two thousand dollars?" "You rotten girl, I wasted my time raising you! That day at the hospital, you left without saying a word, not a single word of concern for your nephew. Your heart has been eaten by dogs! Do you know how much Leo has suffered, and we haven't gotten a single cent in medical bills?!" I felt a surge of vicious satisfaction. "That's because he deserved to get hit! If you keep spoiling him like this, he's going to suffer a lot more in the future." My mom threatened me. "If you don't care about Leo, I'll go get the money from your husband. If he doesn't give it to me, I'll go make a scene at his workplace!" I was so angry I was grinding my teeth, tears shooting from my eyes. "If you have the guts, go right ahead and make a scene! Your daughter is pregnant now. If you cause me to divorce Liam over this, I'll just move back into my maiden home with the baby. Don't even try to kick me out; I paid for that apartment, so I own a piece of it. If you don't let me live there, I'll take you to court. We'll see who has a harder time!" 4 My hand gripping the phone was shaking. I was genuinely afraid my mom would actually go cause a scene at Liam's workplace. Some people have no shame, they don't care about their reputation. If she did that, how would Liam ever show his face at work again? "You're pregnant?" My mom was shocked. "That's right." After a long silence, she backed down. "Then come back home in a couple of days during the New Year holiday. I'll make a little red blessing charm for the baby." Giving a little red blessing charm to an unborn child is a tradition in my mom's hometown. It symbolizes bringing peace and health to the baby. Even though I really didn't want to see them, I truly wanted my unborn baby to receive the little red blessing charm, which represented good fortune. I emphasized, "I can come over, but I won't be giving you any money." My mom hung up the phone with a beep. Originally, we had agreed I would go pick up the charm on the afternoon of New Year's Day. But Liam texted me early, saying he'd be home by the afternoon. So, I made a last-minute decision to go to my parents' house in the morning, finish up quickly, and head home. Because of this, I eavesdropped on a shocking conspiracy at my parents' house! On the morning of New Year's Day, I went back to my parents' house. After taking out my key and unlocking the door, I heard my mom and my sister-in-law, Jenna, talking through a slightly ajar bedroom door. Unlike their usual tone, this time, they kept their voices very low. Possessed by some strange urge, I crept closer and hid behind the door to eavesdrop. My Mom: "Dammit, that family refuses to pay! I heard that guy has been to prison, and when he goes crazy, he'll hack people with a meat cleaver!" Sister-in-law: "Don't mess with that guy. If he hurts Leo, we'll regret it forever. Let Chloe's husband pay for it; his family has money, might as well spend it. That 'uncle' title shouldn't come for free." My Mom: "I'm just afraid if we push too hard, he'll divorce Chloe. What if Chloe comes running back here pregnant? Not only did we not get any money, but we'll be stuck with that bad luck!" Sister-in-law: "I actually have an idea... it just depends on if you're willing to be ruthless with your daughter." My Mom: "Tell me." Sister-in-law: "Give Chloe some abortion medicine. If she loses her own kid, she'll definitely focus all her energy on raising her nephew. She's still young, if she loses this one, she can always have another one later." My Mom: "..." Sister-in-law: "In a couple of years, Leo will be in middle school, and there will be a lot of expenses. His dad is useless, we need to squeeze more out of the Hayes family. If Chloe has her own kid, why would she be willing to subsidize her maiden family? Only if her own seed is gone will she look at Leo and feel a connection. Who knows, she might even raise Leo like her own son." My Mom: "...Alright, when Chloe comes over this afternoon, you boil her a bowl of saffron water. That stuff promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, it can cause a miscarriage. Later, if she asks about it, we can easily explain it away, just say we didn't know the effects of that herb." ... I felt like a drowning fish. Even though I was surrounded by air, it felt thin, and breathing was difficult. I should thank my twenty-plus years of building willpower. It allowed me, in a state of out-of-body shock, to leave that hellhole silently, without making a single sound. Once I was out of the apartment complex, I practically ran, as if demons were chasing me. I quickly called Liam and burst into loud sobs. "Hurry home, hurry home." Liam was frantic. "I'm almost home! Where are you? I'll come pick you up." When I saw him, I told him exactly what I had heard, not caring if he would be disgusted by my family. I was too broken! I knew my birth wasn't welcomed, but I thought at least they still treated me like a human being! They didn't. When they discussed eliminating my precious baby, it sounded as casual as talking about killing a chicken. The veins on Liam's forehead bulged. He asked me if I wanted to vent this awful frustration. "Yes!" I nodded vigorously. "I don't have a maiden family anymore. They're gone. I only have enemies!" I let him hold me, crying uncontrollably. Liam moved quickly. Through some friends, he found a few experienced gamblers to get close to my brother, Richard, planning to set up a trap that would bankrupt him. 5 That afternoon, my mom called to complain. "We agreed you'd come home for lunch, where did you go? We made a whole table of food, and it's all cold." I could faintly hear Leo screaming in the background: "Don't let her come to my house! If she dares to come, I'll beat her out!" My emotions had stabilized. I played along with my mom. "I suddenly felt a little discomfort in my stomach, so I ran to the hospital. I can't make it." Her focus predictably shifted to my stomach. "Is there something wrong with the baby?" I fought down the surging hatred and, with infinite guilt toward my unborn child, said, "It's not developing very well. I'm planning to find some time to abort it." When I said those words, it felt like my heart was being stabbed a hundred times. I apologized to my baby over and over again in my mind. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my precious baby. Please don't blame Mommy for saying this. There are many ways to harm a pregnant woman. A push on the stairs, a trip on the street—both can be fatal. There's a saying: "You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against a thief for a thousand days." I had to use this lie to temporarily dispel their malicious intentions. My mom faked it perfectly. "Oh my, what a pity. Well, if that's the case, you should go get the surgery done early. Waiting too long is bad for your health." I tried my best to ignore the hint of joy in her voice and asked, "How's my brother doing lately?" My mom sounded delighted. "Your brother went to play cards and won't be back for lunch. He had a lucky streak today. He even called back earlier to say he won a few thousand dollars." I smiled silently. "That's good. Put Leo on the phone, I have a few words for him." My mom didn't suspect a thing and handed the phone over. "Leo, your aunt wants to talk to you." "Hey!" Leo yelled. "If you have something to say, say it fast, if you have a fart, let it out!" Leo's personality was incredibly egocentric. He wouldn't even allow others to disobey him. If someone made him lose face, they really poked the hornet's nest. I deliberately told him, "Auntie just wanted to advise you not to be so impulsive in the future. I ran into Mia from your class today. She heard you got slapped into the hospital and asked me if it was true. You see, your classmates care about you so much..." He violently spat out a curse: "You stupid b***h!" Then, the phone on the other end was heavily thrown. The sound of shattering plates and bowls echoed endlessly. My mom and sister-in-law's panicked voices came through: "My sweet grandson, what are you doing?" "Quick, put the vase down, you can't smash that, you can't smash that..." I smiled and hung up the phone. Would a furious, humiliated Leo go looking for trouble with that big guy? Given his petty, vindictive nature, the answer was definitely yes. I waited to see him bring about his own destruction. That night, Liam and I had already fallen asleep when our phones suddenly started ringing jarringly. It wasn't just my phone; even Liam's phone wouldn't stop ringing. My phone showed an incoming call from my mom, while his showed an unknown number. The relentless ringing seemed to foretell that something terrible had happened. We sat up, exchanged a glance, and he answered the unknown number. "Hello, who is this?" "Is this Mr. Hayes? This is the Spice Fire Hot Pot Restaurant! Someone in your family is severely injured, the ambulance is on its way right now. Please hurry over here immediately!" "What's going on? Explain clearly." "Beep, beep, beep—" The other side, perhaps because the scene was too chaotic or for some other reason, abruptly hung up. Seeing this, I answered my mom's call and put it on speaker. "What happened? What exactly happened?" Judging from the previous phone call, something definitely happened over there, and it wasn't a small thing. I just didn't know who exactly was severely injured.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "415135", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel