In my past life, my housekeeper secretly moved her entire family into the basement of my mansion. Whenever it was dead of night, they would crawl out and roam the house. Countless times, I noticed the massive refrigerator I had just fully stocked the day before would magically be half-empty by morning. There were always crushed potato chips ground into my expensive sofas. I just assumed it was the housekeeper stealing food. I gave her a few stern warnings, but didn't think much of it. That was until I started preparing to immigrate and put the mansion on the market. Terrified of losing their luxurious, free lifestyle, the housekeeper's son crept into my bedroom in the dead of night, strangled me to death, and dragged my body into the basement. Her family then forged a suicide note and completely took over my home. When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn exactly three days before my murder. The absolute very first thing I did was call a heavy construction company. I was going to seal that basement shut with solid concrete! 1. "Hello? Is this Apex Construction? Tomorrow morning, I need..." Before I could finish the sentence, I suddenly saw Maria standing in the doorway of my bedroom. I jumped out of my skin, my phone tumbling onto the duvet. Maria, my housekeeper, had half her face hidden in the shadows of the hallway. A warm, motherly smile was plastered across her face. "Miss Maya, it's so late. Who are you talking to on the phone?" My heart instantly started hammering against my ribs, and a cold sweat broke out across my back. I forced myself to remain perfectly calm as I picked my phone back up. "The bathroom sink seems to be leaking. I figured I'd get ahead of it and call a contractor to come take a look tomorrow." "Maria, it's so late, why are you still up? Is something wrong?" Maria let out a long sigh, her face twisting into a mask of deep concern. "I heard movement coming from your room, Miss. I thought you were having those terrible nightmares again, so I came to check on you." "Seeing you're okay puts my mind at ease." My grip on the duvet tightened until my knuckles turned white, but I squeezed out a polite smile. "I'm fine. You should go get some rest. I'll call you if I need anything." Watching Maria close the bedroom door behind her, I let out a massive, shaky breath. With trembling fingers, I unlocked my phone, just about to dial 911. The door swung open again! I violently slammed my phone face-down onto my lap, my soul nearly leaping out of my body. Maria walked back in carrying a steaming mug of milk, smiling sweetly. "I warmed up some milk for you, sweetie. It'll help you sleep." I quickly shoved my phone under my pillow and reached out to take the mug. "Thank you, Maria. It's a little too hot right now, I'll let it cool down before I drink it." Maria didn't leave immediately. She stood by the side of my bed, her eyes scanning me up and down for several agonizing seconds before she finally spoke. "Drinking it cold is bad for your stomach. Make sure you don't forget to drink it, Miss." The door clicked shut again. I stared dead at that glass of milk, completely abandoning the idea of calling the police. Sending them to prison for a few years was way too good for these bloodsucking parasites. Since God gave me a second chance at life, I was going to give them a taste of their own medicine! I carried the mug of milk into the master bathroom and slowly poured every single drop of it down the toilet. Then, I placed the empty mug back on the nightstand, pulled the covers up, and laid in bed pretending to be asleep. About ten minutes later, Maria crept back into my room like a ghost. She picked up the empty mug, inspected it in the moonlight, and finally, looking satisfied, closed the door and left. Chapter 2 After making absolutely sure her guard was down, I slipped out of bed and tiptoed barefoot out of the master suite. Like a gecko, I pressed myself flat against the railing of the second-floor landing, holding my breath as I peered down into the darkness. I watched as Maria expertly navigated the first floor, pulled a key from her pocket, and unlocked the heavy door leading to the basement. Seconds later, three men and two women scurried out of the dark like a pack of rats. I recognized them instantly. It was Maria's husband, her younger brother, and the monster who strangled me in my past life—her son, David! The two women were her mother-in-law and her high-school-aged daughter! I clamped both hands over my mouth, terrified I might make even the slightest sound. In my past life, Maria had cried and begged me, saying she had a massive family to feed back home and was struggling to survive. I felt so bad for her that I paid her double the standard market rate for a live-in housekeeper. When I hired her, she even brought her entire family over, carrying a basket of fresh farm eggs, practically bowing to thank me! It turns out that entire "thank you" visit was just a scouting mission. They were mapping out the house so they could move in and infest it like a virus! And now, these parasites were lounging comfortably on my custom Italian leather sofas, flipping through the channels on my massive TV. Maria's husband yanked open my double-door smart fridge, pulled out a massive, overnight-flown Maine lobster I had just bought yesterday, and strolled into the kitchen. Her mother-in-law expertly navigated my wine cellar, casually swiping a vintage bottle of DRC Romanée-Conti worth tens of thousands of dollars. Maria's brother, clearly the anxious one, shrunk his neck and shot a nervous glance toward the second floor. "Hey, keep it down. Don't wake the girl upstairs." Maria, happily crunching on one of my imported organic apples, waved him off with supreme arrogance. "What are you afraid of? I spiked her milk with a double dose of sleeping pills. A bomb could go off and she wouldn't wake up." Hiding in the shadows, my eyes went wide with sheer horror. A cold sweat drenched my back. No wonder in my past life, up until the day I died, I never heard a single sound coming from downstairs in the middle of the night! Maria's daughter, Chloe, shoved a handful of truffle potato chips into her mouth and mumbled: "Mom, we eat like kings every single night. When the fridge is empty the next day, doesn't she suspect anything?" Maria let out a sharp, mocking laugh, her tone dripping with absolute contempt. "That girl has more money than brains." "Her parents got divorced ages ago and went off to Europe to live their best lives. Nobody gives a flying fuck about her." "If she ever asks, I just play dumb and swear I don't know anything. What's she gonna do about it?" Maria patted the premium leather sofa, her face twisting into a mask of pure greed. "Besides, this mansion is in the middle of nowhere. It's a two-hour drive to downtown, and the neighboring lots haven't even been developed yet." "The girl has mental issues and takes heavy psychiatric meds. There are no security cameras in the house. She can't find a single shred of proof! What are we scared of?" "If push comes to shove, I'll just gaslight her and tell her her medication is making her hallucinate!" Listening to their brazen, unrestrained mockery, my fingernails dug so deeply into the wooden banister they almost bled. Looking back at my past life, there were dozens of times I noticed things randomly going missing around the house. But because of severe childhood trauma, I had a pathological fear of being monitored, so I absolutely refused to install security cameras inside the mansion. Plus, the only things that ever went missing were high-end food and expensive alcohol, never actual valuables, so I never thought much of it. But the most lethal part was that Maria knew I suffered from insomnia and took heavy medication. So, she would constantly fabricate fake timelines and conversations right to my face, successfully convincing me that my own memory was failing! Chapter 3 Snapping back to reality, I looked down. David and Chloe were heading straight for the spiral staircase leading to the second floor. I sprinted silently back to the master bedroom, dove under the covers, and squeezed my eyes shut. Seconds after I laid down, my bedroom door was pushed open. After a few moments of rustling, Chloe let out a muffled gasp from the direction of my walk-in closet. "David, look at these dresses! Look at this diamond necklace! This bitch is so insanely lucky!" She aggressively shoved my custom-tailored haute couture dresses onto her own body, muttering venomously under her breath. Why does she get to be so rich and live in this massive mansion and wear all these designer brands?! This should all belong to me! David let out a vile, lecherous laugh. "Take whatever you want. Her closet is so packed she could wear a new outfit every day for a year. She'll never notice a few missing pieces." After saying that, David started impatiently rushing Chloe to get out. Chloe gathered an armful of my clothes and walked to the bedroom door, but didn't forget to throw a hushed warning over her shoulder. "Don't go too far. Mom said this girl has never even had a boyfriend. She's a virgin." "Don't wake her up and ruin the master plan for the whole family!" David let out a dismissive, arrogant scoff. "I know, I know. God, you're annoying." The door clicked shut gently. My heart instantly plummeted into my stomach. Immediately following, the heavy mattress dipped violently. David had actually climbed into my bed and slid under the covers, wrapping his arms around me! My stomach violently revolted. The urge to vomit was overwhelming. But I had to bite my tongue so hard I tasted blood, using the sheer agony to force my body not to tremble even a fraction of an inch. If he realized I was awake, the horrifying tragedy of my past life—being strangled to death with a nylon rope—would likely replay itself right here and now! David buried his face into the crook of my neck, taking a deep, greedy inhale of my shampoo. His rough, greasy, calloused hands began sliding slowly down my cheek. The putrid, sour stench of a man who rarely bathed assaulted my senses. Just as his nauseating hand trailed down my back and began to reach around toward my chest... BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock on my nightstand let out an ear-piercing shriek! David launched off the bed in pure terror. Maria instantly burst into the room and expertly smashed the snooze button. She grabbed David by the ear, hissing furiously under her breath. "You little bastard! Are you trying to get our entire family killed?!" "If you wake her up and she catches us, what the hell are we going to eat?!" David rubbed his ear, looking completely unbothered, his eyes flashing with the exact same lethal malice I saw in my past life. "If she wakes up, I'll just fucking kill her!" "Bury her in the basement, and all the cash and luxury shit in this mansion is ours!" Chapter 4 The air in the room went dead silent. Maria actually seemed to be seriously considering the viability of murdering me right then and there! My palms were drenched in cold sweat. I held my breath, my brain spinning at a million miles an hour. If they made their move now, even if I had to jump off the second-story balcony and shatter my legs, I had to fight for my life! "No!" Maria suddenly snapped in a harsh whisper, cutting off David's murderous intent. "This stupid bitch said she's got contractors coming tomorrow to fix a leak!" "If we kill her tonight, when those guys show up tomorrow and can't find her, they'll call the cops! We'll all be exposed!" She paused, her tone dripping with cold, calculating venom. "Let's wait until tomorrow. After she gets rid of the contractors, we'll take our time and finish her off." Maria stared dead at David, issuing a severe warning. "When the construction crew gets here tomorrow, every single one of you stays in that basement! Don't even breathe too loud!" "I'll lock the steel basement door from the outside and take the key with me when I go grocery shopping." "It's a heavy-duty security door. Without the key, no one is getting in." "She never goes down there anyway. As long as I'm not home, she'll never find you guys." David nodded eagerly. "Alright, alright, whatever you say. Let's get out of here." Hearing the door click shut, I kept my eyes clamped shut, not daring to let an eyelash flutter, forcing myself to continue playing dead. A full thirty minutes passed. Just as I was finally about to open my eyes... The feeling of hot, putrid breath suddenly hovered inches from my face. "Mom, looks like this bitch really didn't wake up." David's voice was right next to my ear. I pinched my own thigh brutally to force myself to stay perfectly still. Maria let out a long exhale of relief. "Alright, let's go. That massive lobster is almost done steaming." The door closed once again. To be absolutely certain, I endured the agonizing darkness for another thirty minutes. Confirming there were no more voices, I finally dared to slowly open my eyes. I snatched my phone. The blinding glare of the screen read: 4:30 AM. I wiped the drool off my nose. The hatred burning inside me was like churning, explosive magma. Fine. If you leeches want to murder me, then don't blame me for being ruthless! I sent a text message to the construction foreman. "Mr. Zhang, bring extra concrete and bricks tomorrow morning. I want that abandoned basement in my house permanently sealed shut!"
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