Chapter 1
My mom, Laina Hallowell, has kleptomania, she just can't stop wanting to steal. But she's scared of getting caught, so she's used me as a cover ever since I was little.
When I was small, she slipped candy from a Walmart into my pocket. When the cashier found it, she pinned it on me.
"Why are you such a greedy little thing, like you're never been fed, Kessia? Don't worry, I'll sew her mouth shut when we get home!"
So just to put on a show for the neighbors, my mom cut off my formula completely. That's why I've been shorter than everyone else since I was a kid.
When I started school, Mom took me to my classmate's house to play. She quietly slipped my classmate's iPhone into her bag.
When we got caught, she wailed and cried.
"How could I raise such a heartless child? I'd rather you had bad grades than a rotten character!"
My classmate cut off all contact with me, and everyone at school left me out.
My grades dropped so much that I could only get a job at a factory after I finished school.
When I grew up, I finally married my husband, Lior Veyra.
But on our wedding day, Mom cut off my mother-in-law's gold necklace and stuffed it into my wedding bag.
When my mother-in-law found it, Mom tried to cut ties with me right then and there.
"My good son-in-law gave you a hundred thousand dollar dowry, and do you still have to steal from your mother-in-law? You're such a disgrace!"
The video got posted online, and everyone called me a gold digger. I was so desperate that I jumped into the river.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back to that day when Mom said I stole the candy.
I looked up with big, innocent eyes and spoke in my little baby voice, "Mommy, you're the one who put the candy in my pocket. Why do you have to say I did it myself?"
As soon as I said that, Mom's face turned as red as a beet.
Without thinking, she covered my mouth with her hand. She was muttering under her breath, "You little brat, doing something wrong and still not admitting it!"
I looked at her face, twisted with guilt. Hatred and anger mixed together and rose up in my chest.
It was this face that destroyed everything for me in my last life.
I know why she has kleptomania. When she was little, she always thought her parents favored her younger sister, giving her things that were supposed to be Mom's.
But I clearly remember that all my aunt's clothes and things, from when she was small to grown up, were hand-me-downs from Mom.
Even so, this made-up feeling of being robbed wrapped around her like poison ivy for her whole life.
After she got married, she started shopping like crazy and ran up online loans she couldn't pay back.
When my dad ran away, she got even worse. She could only get that sad, twisted thrill from stealing.
I used to feel bad for her. I even naively thought that when I grew up and made money, I'd give her the best things in the world and cure her illness.
But I was wrong. Every time she got caught, she pushed me out as a shield without a second thought.
From a single onion at the farmers' market to my mother-in-law's gold necklace at my wedding, she stepped all over my reputation and my life to keep herself clean.
I was condemned by everyone, called a gold digger, hated by the whole world, and in the end, I jumped into the cold river in despair.
This time, I won't be her scapegoat anymore. I can't save her, but I have to save myself.
As my memories came back, the stares from around the checkout counter pricked me like needles.
I pulled her hand away with all my strength and shouted out in my little baby voice, "The teacher at preschool said, in the store, little hands can't touch things! We have to wait for the cashier lady to 'beep' it, and Mom or Dad pay for it first, otherwise it's stealing!
"Mommy, you're so big already, why don't you listen to your teacher? Look, I am better than you! Mommy, the teacher said, stealing gets you taken away by police officers! Hurry and give the candy back, or what if the police come?" I made my voice sound anxious and scared on purpose.
Tears welled up in my eyes just in time, I looked exactly like a little kid who was terrified by a grown-up who didn't know better.
