Chapter 1

My neighbor said she was leaving town for a month for work and dumped her five-year-old son right at my front door.

Feeling sorry for the kid, I took him in and looked after him.

I never expected that when she returned a month later, not a single word of gratitude would leave her mouth.

Instead, she shoved a PayPal payment QR code in my face and demanded, "That’ll be ten thousand dollars. Pay up for your Mommy Experience Fee!"

I stared at her in utter disbelief. "Excuse me? I babysat your kid for a whole month, and now "you're" asking "me" for money?!"

She sneered at me condescendingly.

"If it weren't for my son, would you even know the pure joy of motherhood? And you actually have the nerve to complain about paying?!"

Without a second thought, I flatly rejected her absurd demand.

Furious, my neighbor had her son sneak back the next day and set fire to my apartment.

My entire family burned to death.

Only after I died did I find out that she never went out of town for work. She had flown straight to Las Vegas to gamble.

After blowing every last cent at the tables, she decided to extort ten grand from me under the guise of a "Mommy Experience Fee."

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day she was about to abandon her son at my doorstep.

This time, I booked an immediate, month-long vacation tour for my entire family.

I couldn't wait to see how she planned to pin this on us when none of us were even home.

Sitting in the airport departure lounge with my family, I opened the security app on my phone to check our front door camera.

On the screen, my neighbor Brenda was gripping her son Leo by the arm, roughly shoving him right against my front door.

"Listen up! The second I leave, you start wailing at the top of your lungs and bang on her door as hard as you can!"

"As long as you cry your eyes out, her heart will soften. She'll let you in and spoil you with good food and treats."

"Stay here for a month. Once Mommy wins big in Vegas, I'll come back for you. Got it?!"

Ignoring Leo’s protests, Brenda turned on her heel and hopped straight into the elevator without looking back.

Realizing his mother had actually abandoned him, Leo plopped down on the hallway floor and unleashed an ear-splitting scream.

He wailed, slamming his fists violently against my door.

"Open up! Let me in! I want meat!"

Watching the familiar scene on my screen, a cold, mocking smirk curled onto my lips.

In my past life, that very crying deceived me into thinking he was just a pitiful, abandoned child.

In this life, even if he broke my door down, he wouldn't set a single foot inside.

Leo threw a tantrum for a solid ten minutes. Seeing that my apartment stayed dead silent, his cries degenerated into an irritable, dry screech.

Just then, the door directly across the hall creaked open without a sound.

An old, wrinkled face peeked out—it was Martha Jenkins, the crazy old lady next door.

She was notorious in our building. Her son only had a daughter, and she had gone completely mad obsessing over wanting a grandson.

She had previously tried to snatch someone else’s toddler downstairs and nearly smothered the poor baby. The police had warned her multiple times.

Every resident with a child avoided her like the plague.

Brenda had only moved in a few days ago, completely clueless about the lunatic living right next to us.

On the camera, Martha scanned the corridor. Confirming no one was around, she stepped out.

Pulling a lollipop from her coat pocket, she crouched down and gave Leo a chilling, unnatural smile.

"Whose sweet little boy is crying out here? Hungry, sweetie? Grandma has yummy treats inside."

Staring at the candy, Leo swallowed his spit and stopped howling immediately.

Martha grabbed Leo’s arm, half-dragging and half-pulling him right into her apartment.

Staring at the now empty hallway, I closed the app with a cold laugh.

Brenda, now that your precious golden boy is in the clutches of that psycho, let's see how you try to extort me.

A short while later, my phone began to buzz incessantly.

Caller ID: Brenda.

With a cold smirk, I hit the record button and answered.

"Hello? Chloe, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Is there a problem?" I asked coldly.