chapter 3
1062 Words
I stared at my daughter in complete disbelief. Annie smirked with open joy, her eyes gleaming with victory. “Amira, you really are my good sister-in-law.”
“Once this festival is over, we will go and buy the house immediately. You can’t go back on your word,” Annie declared confidently, her voice ringing with triumph.
Ema was still clinging tightly to me, her small arms wrapped around my waist like a lifeline. I looked down at her with a mixture of heartbreak and disbelief as she turned to face me directly.
“Ema, do you know what you’re saying?” I asked, my voice cracking under the crushing weight of it all. “That’s a house worth over ten million dollars.”
Mrs. Gabriela leaned forward boldly. “If there is no money, just borrow it. Aren’t you the company’s director? You can secretly embezzle funds and no one will find out. Afterwards, we will replenish it. You wouldn’t think I’m up to nothing, right?”
The suggestion made my stomach churn with nausea. I turned sharply to Lois, anger and betrayal surging through me like fire.
“Who says she doesn’t have money?” Mrs.Gbriela demanded.
“I only told you about this. How did she know?” I asked Lois.
I pointed directly at Annie, who adjusted her posture with a threatening glare.
Lois turned toward me with an innocent smile. “We are all family.
There is no need to hide anything.”
Annie smiled smugly and added, “Her parents were in an accident. The insurance company paid out a huge insurance claim.”
The words landed like a punch to the gut. Only Lois knew about my parents’ fatal car accident and the insurance payout. The realization that they had been discussing my private pain behind my back filled me with a deep, searing sense of violation. They weren’t just greedy, they were ruthless.
I shattered in rage. “So this is what you were all waiting for?” I shouted, my voice breaking with fury and heartbreak. “This money I’ve been sending it was for Ema’s education!”
The words had barely left my mouth when Ema immediately grabbed my hands, holding them tightly. “Mom, I can drop out. I can quit school. But you must buy Aunty a house,” she said, her voice filled with desperate determination.
The statement hit me like a thunderbolt. I swung my hand back in fear and shock, my heart tearing apart. My daughter… willing to destroy her own future for them? The manipulation had reached my child, and it was breaking me.
“Mom, please trust me. Keep playing. Don’t ask why,” Ema pleaded, her eyes wide and fearful.
I placed my trembling hand on hers, searching her face for the little girl I knew. With a heavy, defeated sigh, I nodded in painful agreement. “Okay,” I whispered, inhaling shakily as I sat back down beside her.
My father-in-law smirked. “Annie, the game isn’t over yet.”
“It’s my mum’s turn to give real red envelopes,” Ema added.
I put my hand in my pocket, removed my phone, and logged back into the game. The system showed I could directly use the red envelope feature. The family exchanged dreadful looks as the real envelopes appeared.
I raised my head slowly, looking at them with a mix of exhaustion and quiet defiance. “It’s my turn to give red envelopes. You all don’t count on playing anymore.”
The room fell into tense silence.
“Of course not,” Annie said, coming right back at me as she picked up her phone. She exchanged a knowing look with Lois, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Everyone leaned in as they flipped the coin. When the result appeared, they burst into laughter.
“Oh! Our luck is terrible. Not a single luckiest draw,” Mrs. Gabriela said, laughing loudly.
“Not a single draw. Then this round is void,” Mr. Gabriel declared.
I glanced at Ema, then faced them all. “No. I will send another one,” I said firmly.
“No. Rules are rules. No do-overs allowed,” Annie shot back.
“Wife, you can be such a poor sport,” Lois said, shaking his head.
I stood up slowly, my body trembling with suppressed rage. “Your whole family colluded to set me up,” I said, pointing at each of them. “And you dare call me a poor sport?”
Lois looked at me with feigned innocence. “Honey! What do you mean? Who set you up?”
I held up my phone. “This luck-based red packet was split so evenly. Dare you claim you didn’t cheat?”
Their eyes met in quick, guilty glances. The masks were slipping.
“Amira, are you sure? Who’d cheat for this measly packet?” Annie said innocently.
Just then, Ema tugged at my arm. “Mum, add me in. I will send one to test.”
Everyone turned to her with strange, suspicious looks. The room grew thick with unease.
I looked down at Ema, my heart aching. Even my child is being pulled deeper into this mess. With a tired sigh, I relented. “Fine. I will add you.”
Annie and Lois exchanged anxious glances. Ema quickly picked up her phone. “I won’t share through email but through chat history.”
Annie suddenly stood up. “Sister-in-law, this is an adult game. Why involve Ema?”
I stared at them, the weight of their hypocrisy pressing down like a stone. Now they care about what’s appropriate for a child? After using her to pressure me?
“What are you afraid of?” I asked sharply. “Afraid that if Ema sends the packet, you can’t control the outcome?”
Ema suddenly spoke. “My mum still has the South City Estate project.”
The words hit me like a fresh wound. Even my company’s confidential projects? They had been digging into every part of my life.
The betrayal felt endless. I stared at Ema, watching her repeat things she shouldn't know, and felt a deep, aching sorrow.
“Why have you been hiding such a huge matter from us?” Lois demanded.
“Amira, you don’t consider us family at all,” Annie added.
- Writer
