Chapter 2

I knew my parents inside out.

Unless their own personal interests were threatened, they would never change their minds.

Because Megan was the firstborn, Mom had always treated her like royalty.

I, on the other hand, was an unwanted disappointment from the moment I was born. My parents had desperately wanted a boy, and Mom openly resented me for not being a son.

She wanted to try for another child back then, but health complications made it impossible.

Mom wanted Megan and whoever she married to settle close by so they could help our parents as they got older.

My parents objected when Megan started dating Derek. He wanted to stay near his own mother, who'd raised him on her own.

Yet Megan was hopelessly infatuated with him. She took out a mountain of debt behind everyone's backs to fund his business, telling our parents that Derek had secured venture capital through his own talent.

Fooled by the illusion, my parents gave their blessing.

By the company's third year, the truth had come out. The company was nothing more than an empty shell.

My parents used to brag to everyone in town about their son-in-law the CEO.

Now, the golden couple was back on their doorstep, crying poverty and begging for a bailout.

Megan had played Mom like a fiddle. Instead of asking our parents for their savings directly, she used them to pressure me into borrowing the money.

In my past life, I was just a mute fool who only knew how to say no.

This time, I'd made my parents think about what could happen to them if they let Megan put my name on a loan. I wanted to see what they'd choose.

The financial juggling act Megan had been running—borrowing from one lender to pay off another—finally collapsed.

She was panicking. The moment I got the news, I rushed Mom and Dad straight to her apartment.

The moment we stepped inside, we saw Derek's mother sitting on the living room sofa, her face twisted with fury.

"Oh, you people finally decided to show up! Look at the catastrophic mess Megan dragged my son into! How is this supposed to end?!"

I walked into the bedroom to check on Megan.

Her eyes were red and swollen as she sat on the edge of the bed. Broken glass littered the floor beside her.

Clearly, a violent fight had just taken place.

"Megan, what happened? Why is there shattered glass everywhere?"

Megan looked at me, then glanced nervously toward the door. "Derek smashed a glass..."

"Over what? The debt? You did all of this for him!"

"Well... Mom and Dad insisted on dragging his mother into this, and Derek lost his mind at me!"

In my past life, by this point in time, she had already convinced Mom to steal my identity.

She had used the money borrowed in my name to pay off her debts.

I was the one left to pay for it all.

I turned on my heel, stormed into the living room, and pointed an accusing finger at Derek. "Derek! If it weren't for you, would my sister be buried under this mountain of debt? How dare you scream at her and smash things?!"

Mom jumped up in a panic. "What debt? I thought the company just had temporary cash-flow problems! Derek, what is going on here?!"

Seeing Mom screeching at him, Derek snapped. "Starting a business isn't a walk in the park! Megan volunteered to take out those loans to keep my company running!"

Derek's mother poured fuel on the fire.

"Exactly! That was entirely your daughter's personal choice. It has nothing to do with my son!"

"Your company took the money," I said. "What did you actually agree to pay back, Derek?"

Derek sneered. "Most of those loans are in Megan's name, and she took them out before we got married. My mother and I can come up with about three hundred thousand for the debts I agreed to help cover. That's all."

I never imagined Megan's blind obsession could reach such a deranged level. She had been taking out predatory loans for him before they even tied the knot!

Mom looked flustered. "Derek, I need to talk to Megan's father. We'll come back tomorrow."

Giving me a frantic look, she grabbed Dad by the arm and rushed out the door.

She didn't even step back into the bedroom to check on Megan.

Mom's reaction was both expected and chilling.

It wasn't that she didn't love me—it was that when money was on the line, she loved nobody but herself.