My Family's Toxic Scheme

Every time I finished a night shift, all I wanted was to sleep.

But my mom, Sarah, always insisted I eat three meals a day, on schedule.

If I didn't get up, she'd yank off my covers, throw open the curtains, and slam doors, making as much noise as possible.

This constant disruption often left me with chest pains, foggy-headed at work, and prone to mistakes.

I absolutely hated it.

Still, I knew that for her generation, the fear was starving, not collapsing from sleep deprivation. My mom genuinely thought she was looking out for me.

So that day, the moment I heard her knock, I got up.

I walked out just in time to hear Sarah complaining to my younger sister, Chloe.

"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I made big portions of everything."

"I figured, with Audrey here, nothing would go to waste."

"But Audrey either doesn't get up, or just picks at her food. Honestly, she just annoys me."

My heart sank.

So I was just Chloe's leftover trash can.

Then, Sarah started complaining about me living off them.

"If this keeps up, I'm going to charge her rent!"

Had she forgotten? I was the one paying this house's mortgage!

Chloe, on the other hand, had been sponging off us since she graduated.

She was the real freeloader.

Hearing Sarah's words, all sleepiness vanished.

A gust of wind swept through the apartment. My bedroom door slammed shut.

Sarah and Chloe quickly quieted down, turning to stare at me.

Sarah fake-glanced out the window, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, look at that. The sun must be coming up in the west."

"Some people get up on their own after just one call."

Chloe giggled, patting the chair next to her.

"Audrey, what are you standing there for? Come eat!"

I slowly walked over, studying the dishes.

Every single one was Chloe's favorite.

And whichever dish Chloe ate more of, Sarah would immediately push it closer to her.

My heart pounded, just like it did every time Sarah forced me awake.

Eventually, it twisted into a sharp ache.

I wasn't a picky eater. Most of the time, I was so tired my eyes could barely stay open.

I'd truly never noticed.

Sarah's favoritism was so incredibly obvious.

I deliberately reached for the fried chicken in front of Chloe.

Sarah couldn't help but snap.

"Can't you see Chloe finally found something she likes?

"Can't you just let her have it? You always have to snatch things!"

I couldn't eat another bite.

"Right, I should just wait until Chloe's done, then come out."

"Eat her leftovers, be her leftover trash can!"

Tears of frustration streamed down my face, unstoppable.

Sarah's face showed no trace of panic or guilt.

"You clearly heard us, and now you're just putting on a show to annoy me."

"Besides, what's wrong with what I said?"

"Chloe is delicate; it's hard for her to find things she likes. What's wrong with letting her have it?"

"And you, you eat like you're always starving, what difference does it make what you eat anyway!"

My eyes widened in shock. For a moment, I couldn't speak.

Chloe pushed the plate of fried chicken toward me.

"It's okay, I don't have to eat it."

She said it, but her eyes were glued to the fried chicken.

Since childhood, Chloe and I had almost identical clothes, food, and everything else.

Sarah bought us the same things.

But every single item was something Chloe liked.

For instance, during blueberry season.

Sarah would buy a box for each of us.

But only Chloe liked them.

I hated them!

Or when our relatives bought us two backpacks, Sarah always let Chloe pick first, whichever one she liked.

I'd always get the one Chloe didn't want.

I used to deceive myself, telling myself it was only right for me to make allowances for her.

But now, I had to admit.

My mom was undeniably biased.

A surge of anger rushed through me. I grabbed the fried chicken and dumped it into the trash can.

"This is where trash belongs!"

Chloe's mouth turned down, and her eyes immediately welled up.

Sarah exploded in a fit of rage, roaring.

"Chloe even gave you her favorite food, why are you being so aggressive?"

"I think I've been too nice to you!"

"From today onwards, if you want to stay in this house, you must pay me $2,500 for rent and $2,000 for household expenses!"

I let out a cold laugh.

My monthly salary was only $8,000, and the house mortgage was $3,500.

To avoid going broke every month, I'd given up renting near my office, commuting three hours each way every day.

Now Sarah wanted to completely drain me dry.

She was playing a truly brilliant game.

I had nothing more to say. I turned and went back to my room.

"I won't pay rent, and I definitely won't pay household expenses!"

"And from now on, don't wake me up for meals after my night shifts. And keep your noise down!"

Otherwise, I'd move out immediately and let the house go into foreclosure!

But I couldn't bring myself to say that last part.

This house was in a good school district, bought by my parents so Chloe and I could attend high school in the city.

When my dad was alive, we managed to get by.

My dad passed away unexpectedly a few years ago.

Sarah only had a modest retirement pension, about a thousand dollars a month.

The two of them had been living off my dad's compensation money for the past few years.

As far as I knew, my dad's compensation was almost gone.

If I really washed my hands of it, their lives would become incredibly difficult.

So, I went to sleep, fuming.

I slept until 8 PM, then groggily got up to use the restroom.

But I couldn't open the bathroom door.

Sarah sashayed over, handing me a QR code.

"Five dollars for a pee, ten dollars for a poop, one dollar per sheet of toilet paper."

"Scan to open the door!"

I frowned, staring at Sarah.

She explained with a fake smile.

"If you don't pay rent, you're not entitled to use anything in this house."

"Either pay up now, or you'll pay me $4,500 every month from now on."

That's when I realized Sarah was serious. I said coldly,

"I'm not entitled? Don't forget, I'm the one paying the $3,500 mortgage every month."

"Many things in this house, I bought them!"

"And Chloe? She's been living off you since she graduated, sponging off us."

"You want rent and household expenses from me, why don't you ask her?"

Sarah instantly bristled.

"So what if you're paying the mortgage?

"The deed is in *my* name. This house has nothing to do with you."

"Besides, you paying the mortgage? That's just you repaying me for raising you, it's what you're supposed to do!"

"And what I'm asking for is wear-and-tear fees for the house, and my labor costs for cleaning your room, cooking for you, and doing your dishes."

"These are separate issues, don't you dare conflate them!"

"As for Chloe," Sarah suddenly stammered, fumbling for a while before finally saying, "Chloe is different from you!"

Faced with Sarah's twisted logic, my heart felt like it had been stuffed with broken glass, searing with pain.

"How is she different?"

"Aside from being two years younger than me, how is she different?"

I took a deep breath, suppressing the bitter turmoil in my chest.

Finally, I made my decision.

"Fine, let's keep matters separate."

"Then I'll just move out. You won't have any excuse to ask me for money then, right?"

"And... figure out the mortgage on your own from now on."

With that, I immediately turned and went back to my room to pack my things. I didn't want to stay in that house for another minute!

Sarah, furious, tried to grab my arm.

"You think you can just move in and out whenever you please? It doesn't work that way."

"If you insist on leaving, you'll pay me ten years of back rent and household expenses!"

I didn't want to argue needlessly with Sarah.

I pushed her away, turned my back, and started looking for my ID and passport in the bedside drawer.

Suddenly, Chloe screamed and rushed in, yelling.

"Sarah, what's wrong with you!"

I spun around. Sarah was clutching her chest, groaning in pain in Chloe's arms.

I didn't have time to think. I immediately called 91

Even if a stranger collapsed in front of me, I couldn't just ignore them.

Especially not my own mother.

The ambulance arrived quickly.

Chloe followed me to the hospital.

She wasn't worried about Sarah's condition; she just stared at me intently.

I knew why. She was afraid I'd leave and no one would pay the medical bills.

Soon, Sarah was wheeled out of the room by a nurse.

The nurse told me.

Sarah had collapsed due to acute myocardial infarction.

She needed bypass surgery within three days, or her life would be in danger.

But the surgery would cost 0-000,000.

For five years, I'd scrimped and saved, doing odd jobs occasionally. My entire savings amounted to just $50,000.

I was just about to completely break free from Sarah and start my own life.

If I borrowed money to cover this sum now, my future would be incredibly difficult.

As I hesitated, Chloe loudly declared.

"Audrey, Sarah used her entire pension to buy a house in the city so you could go to school!"

"For all these years you lived at home, Sarah never made you lift a finger."

"Now Sarah is like this, and you have money but won't pay for her medical expenses? Are you just going to watch her die?"

Chloe's voice wasn't quiet.

People around us all looked over, their eyes filled with scorn.

I wasn't in the mood to argue about her half-truths.

But one thing she said was right.

No matter how much I resented Sarah, I couldn't just watch her die.

Fine.

This 0-000,000 would be my repayment for giving birth to me.

From now on, I owed her nothing.

It took me a full day to gather the 0-000,000.

The next morning, I went to the hospital cashier's office, ready to pre-pay the medical expenses.

Just as the money was about to be transferred, the cashier, Nurse Davis, suddenly whispered.

"The nurse who told you your mother needed immediate surgery... she seems to be related to your mom."

I was utterly confused.

But I could tell something fishy was going on.

So, I pulled back my phone.

"I won't pay for now, thank you."

I first found Sarah's attending physician and asked.

"Doctor, what are the chances of success for my mom's bypass surgery?"

The doctor looked confused.

"Bypass surgery? Your mom is just having a stent procedure, you must have misheard?"

My heart gave a sudden jolt. I tried to sound calm.

"I apologize, I might have been too anxious and misheard. So, what's the approximate cost for this stent procedure?"

The doctor rubbed his temples, looking extremely tired.

"Didn't I have Nurse Davis tell you? The surgery cost isn't high. If your mother has insurance, it'll be around ten thousand dollars after reimbursement."

After leaving the doctor's office, I went back to Nurse Davis. I got straight to the point.

"If you don't want me to report you and cost you your job, tell me the truth!"

Nurse Davis sighed reluctantly, then spilled everything.

It turned out Nurse Davis was Sarah's distant cousin, Carol.

Chloe, who had met Carol once with Sarah, had contacted her on the way to the hospital.

The two of them had conspired to stage this scam.

Anger consumed my reason.

I dragged Carol to the hospital room, ready for a face-to-face confrontation!

In the hospital room, Sarah was already awake.

Chloe sat in front of her, beaming.

"Audrey has already gone to pay."

"After your surgery, Carol will help us get the remaining money back."

"As long as Audrey doesn't see the surgery report, that money will magically end up in our pockets."

Sarah chuckled with glee.

"My daughter is so smart. After we get the extra medical money back, I'll add a little more and buy you that car you like."

Chloe snuggled into Sarah's arm, cooing.

"Thank you, Sarah! You're the best!"

Sarah dotingly ruffled Chloe's hair.

A loud bang went off in my ears. My mind went blank.

After a long moment, I regained my composure.

Since she was so heartless, I didn't need to consider any 'debt of upbringing' anymore.

From this day forward, whether she lived or died was no longer my concern.

I walked into the hospital room openly.

The mother and daughter quickly clamped their mouths shut in a panic.

Chloe put on an act, squeezing out a few tears.

"Sarah, why did your heart condition suddenly worsen?"

"But Audrey has already gone to pay, you can have the surgery tomorrow, you'll be fine."

Then, she pretended to just notice me entering the room, asking excitedly.

"Audrey, did you pay the medical bill?"

Sarah glanced at me, snorting coldly.

"This is all because of certain people making me angry. She wouldn't dare not pay!"

At that moment, I spoke with incredible calm.

"Why should I pay for you? You're going to charge me rent, so we're just landlord and tenant."

"You don't ask your own biological daughter for money, but you expect me to pay your medical bills? Don't you think that's funny?"

Sarah was so angry she couldn't speak a complete sentence. I suddenly remembered how she'd blocked me from the restroom earlier.

I pulled out my PayPal QR code and held it in front of Sarah.

"Oh, and I took care of you here last night. According to caretaker rates, you owe me $500."

"Please pay!"