Chapter 1

My grandmother always told me I was a curse, a jinx who killed her only son.

Yet when I ended up paralyzed, she stayed by my side, taking care of me night and day.

When I got into college on a full scholarship, she thought our bitter days were finally behind us.

Instead, I handed every single cent over to my gambling-addict aunt.

Then, I set up a live stream titled: "Death Countdown for a Lonely 80-Year-Old Woman."

The internet exploded with fury, calling me an ungrateful monster and wishing me the worst possible fate.

My grandmother never blamed me. She kept scavenging scrap metal and cleaning public restrooms just to save up for my wheelchair and college tuition.

Eventually, she collapsed from exhaustion and illness. Frail and bedridden, she begged the viewers online: "Please don't blame the child. She's had a hard life."

The entire internet told me to burn in hell.

I didn't care at all.

"Keep watching my stream," I said into the camera. "And you'll soon see who truly belongs in hell."

Barely recovered from her latest illness, my grandmother, Martha, dragged her hunched body into the kitchen to cook for me.

Obsessed with keeping my meals balanced, she had spent the entire morning carefully filleting fresh fish, picking out every bone to simmer a thick, rich broth.

Determined to serve both meat and greens, she suppressed her chest-rattling coughs to sauté a fresh plate of vegetables.

She finally pushed the bedside tray table right in front of me, arranged the fork and spoon, and handed me the utensils.

"Sweetheart, time to eat. The fish is fresh today. I tasted it myself—it's not fishy at all."

With her own stomach growling, she blew on a spoonful of the hot soup until it cooled, then brought it to my lips.

"You're blowing your spit all over it. It's disgusting. I don't want it."

Worry etched deep lines across her face, yet her voice remained infinitely gentle.

"Good girl, how are you going to get better if you don't eat? You've always loved fish."

I shoved the bowl aside and turned toward my aunt, Brenda, who was eating a bowl of noodles in the corner.

"Brenda, your noodles smell amazing. I want some."

Brenda was scrolling through TikTok and didn't even look up, her tone cold and dismissive.

"I made this for myself. If you want some, crawl your way into the kitchen and cook it."

Martha offered an appeasing smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Sweetheart, if you want noodles, I can cook them in the fish broth for you."

I sneered.

"Who knows which dumpster you dragged that dead fish out of? I'm not touching it. I only want what Brenda made."

Brenda finally lifted her gaze, a shrewd glint in her eyes.

"Nothing in this house is free. Old woman, give me a hundred bucks, and your precious granddaughter can have the rest."

Trembling, Martha stood on her tiptoes to take down a dented, chipped metal tin from the top of the closet.

Inside lay the crumpled bills she had earned from collecting recycling and doing odd cleaning jobs.

She fumbled around, pulling out a handful of battered banknotes until she managed to put together a hundred dollars, handing it over to Brenda.

Brenda hurriedly shoveled down half the bowl before snatching the cash, greedily counting every bill.

"Don't say your aunt never looks out for you. Consider this your lucky day."

A greasy smear of red lipstick stained the rim of the bowl, and the broth inside looked dark and cloudy.

Without a second thought, I pulled the bowl toward me and began eating greedily.

The chat went completely feral.

[The grandmother is such an angel! She worked so hard to make that meal, and this brat won't even look at it just to eat someone else's dirty leftovers!]

[Is that aunt even related to her? Charging a hundred bucks for cold leftovers? What a parasite!]

[The poor old lady saves every single dollar and never spends on herself, and she gets ripped off by that leech just for her granddaughter.]

[The granddaughter is pure trash! Rejecting fresh food to lick up her aunt's leftover spit? What the hell is wrong with her?!]

[Just looking at her makes my blood boil. The old lady should just let her starve! Why bother taking care of her?!]

[I actually recognize her! She's infamous around our block. Keep watching, guys—the worst is yet to come.]