Chapter 3

"Don't worry, with Jenna helping you, this money can definitely be repaid."

"Stop crying. You still have another daughter, don't you? You can't collapse now."

"Exactly. Olivia would be so sad seeing this from beyond!"

But I noticed that Marcus Wilson's gaze had been fixed on the coffin the whole time.

I squatted down pretending to tie my shoelace and moved closer to observe, following his line of sight.

The mahogany coffin had several air holes drilled in the side, through which I could vaguely see fabric moving inside.

Just as I thought!

Olivia wasn't dead at all. From the very beginning, this funeral was a setup orchestrated by her and Marcus!

I stood up.

River was watching me from not far away. After glancing at me once, he immediately turned and left.

In my previous life, moved by Karen and George's tears, I had impulsively agreed to take on this debt.

For ten years I didn't buy a single new piece of clothing, and in the end, my whole family died tragically.

In this life, I announced loudly, enunciating each word:

"My sister incurred this debt herself. Why should I be the one to repay it?"

The moment those words fell, Karen and George's crying stopped abruptly.

Everyone stared at me in shock.

Karen rose from George's embrace and pointed at me, cursing viciously.

"You bitch! Your sister died protecting you! How dare you say such things!"

George's eyes were bloodshot. "That's your sister! Her body isn't even cold yet, and you're already rushing to distance yourself?"

They glanced imperceptibly at Marcus Wilson.

A flash of surprise crossed his eyes as he slammed his palm on the table like a fan.

"Debts must be repaid—it's only natural!"

"If you don't pay, I'll pry open the coffin and whip the corpse!"

With that, he grinned menacingly and moved toward the coffin, making as if to push it.

"Don't you dare!"

George lunged forward like a madman to block him, refusing to let Marcus Wilson get close.

Karen pounded and hit me, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

"You're inhuman! Your sister loved you so much. For this little bit of money, you'd let her remain restless even in death?"

"From childhood, we loved you most. We made sure you went to college, put the house in your name—and in the end we raised a heartless ingrate!"

The relatives couldn't stand it anymore.

"Jenna, your parents spent so much money on you. Just help them out if you can."

"She's already gone. What's the use of clutching all that money?"

"Your sister treated you so well, even going out of her way to drive you to work every day. Don't be so mercenary!"

They had no idea of the truth.

Olivia drove me to work because the car was originally mine.

She said she'd be my driver, but once she got the car, she never returned it. She even made me pay for gas cards.

The idea that they supported my education was even more laughable.

The truth was Olivia took the entrance exam twice and still only scored two hundred points, while I got into a prestigious university.

Karen and George usually boasted about their eldest daughter's good grades, but when the scores came out, they were dumbfounded.

They could only announce publicly that the family could only support one child and that Olivia had voluntarily given up her opportunity for higher education.

They even gave her all the money collected at my college celebration party and made me work summer jobs myself.

"Your sister doesn't have much education. It's not easy for her working outside. You're going to fight with her over this little bit of money?"

"We've always been fair. We supported you to get a higher education, so naturally we need to give your sister more money."

As for the house in my name, it was actually bought for Olivia, and it used up my first-time homebuyer status...

They claimed to treat us equally, but everything clearly favored Olivia!

Otherwise, Olivia wouldn't have been audacious enough to fake her death to scam money!

I blurted out: "That car was originally mine. She never even—"

Before I could finish, Karen slapped me across the face.

Then crying, she pulled out her phone and transferred seventy thousand dollars to Marcus Wilson on the spot!

"This seventy thousand is for you first! The White family never defaults on debts. No matter what, our backbone won't bend!"

"If Jenna White won't acknowledge it, we will!"

At the same moment, my phone dinged, showing a balance of zero.

My brain exploded with a buzz.

I suddenly remembered that a few days ago Karen said she didn't have money for online shopping and insisted on linking my card.

That seventy thousand was clearly all the savings in my account!

"That's my money!" I screamed and lunged forward to stop them.

But George flung me back, and my forehead smashed against the vermillion coffin with a bang.

"You're money-obsessed! That was transferred from your mother's phone! It's money we're paying back for your sister!"

"You've been calculating since childhood. Now even your mother's and my money you assume is yours?"

"Wolf-hearted and dog-lunged! You caused us to lose our jobs back then, and now you've killed Olivia! I'd rather not have a daughter like you!"

My forehead hurt so much my brain went blank.

But I heard barely audible soft laughter coming from inside the coffin.

Olivia was laughing too—from childhood to now, this family had never welcomed me!

With reddened eyes, I raised my head, wanting nothing more than to expose Olivia's fake death on the spot.

But my gaze suddenly fixed on George's wrist.

There was a bracelet there, with jade-green beads carved with Olivia's initials.

Exactly the same as the one on Marcus Wilson's wrist.

In my previous life, Marcus had admitted personally that he'd given one to his father-in-law!

Boom—

Like thunder splitting through dense fog, everything suddenly made sense.

Karen and George had known the truth from the very beginning.

They deliberately put on an act, trying to squeeze every last drop of blood from me!