Part 2Let Go Of My Obsession To Save Others

After she slammed the door, I sat on the couch for a long time, slowly digesting the reality of my rebirth.

Over the next few days, I put the house on the market. Since it was in a prime neighborhood, it sold quickly at a fair price.

I moved into a smaller apartment close to my company. I had originally bought that apartment as a graduation gift for Amber, intending to hand it over to her along with a share of the company stock once she finished college.

She still had six months until graduation, but she had officially forfeited her right to any of it.

Three months later, the security guard from my old building called me. He said Amber was throwing a massive tantrum at the front gate, screaming that it was her home and demanding that I come down to explain myself.

I told the guard simply, "I do not have a daughter."

A video of Amber’s scene was posted online. She looked thinner than when she left, and her long hair had been chopped into a messy bob. Seeing her like that dragged up memories from my past life.

Around this exact time in my previous life, she had run back to me wearing those same clothes, sporting that same hairstyle. She had thrown herself onto my couch, sobbing that Jared was mistreating her.

"He refuses to work! He pawned my designer bags and clothes! He even hit me and forbade me from calling you! I had to sneak out! Mom, I was so wrong! I promise I'll listen to you from now on!"

My heart had broken for her. I had held her close, cried with her, and immediately wired her fifteen thousand dollars to buy new clothes and get back on her feet.

But the moment the money hit her account, she vanished again.

I had panicked, thinking she had been kidnapped. I searched the entire city, calling her repeatedly, nearly dialing the police.

Then a colleague called to say they spotted Amber at a high-end club. I drove through a torrential downpour to find her, only to open a private booth door and see her wrapped around Jared, kissing him passionately on a velvet sofa.

Furious, I slapped Jared across the face and tried to drag Amber out, warning him to stay away from her.

But Amber, seeing me strike her precious boyfriend, spun around and lunged at me. Her nails tore across my cheek, leaving three deep, bleeding gashes.

She shoved me away and threw herself back into Jared's arms, caressing his cheek with tearful eyes.

"Jared, baby, are you okay? She is insane, just a crazy woman. Ignore her."

My blood had run cold. I had spent twenty-four hours without sleep searching for her, only to be branded a lunatic and physically assaulted by my own child for the sake of a deadbeat.

Jared had smirked at me then, his eyes dripping with calculated malice.

Yet, fool that I was, I still worried about her future. I practically begged her, "Amber, please come home with me. I only want what is best for you. This man will destroy you."

But she behaved as if she were under a spell, clinging to his neck and screaming at me.

"You are so annoying! Get lost! Are you just jealous because I'm happy?"

Dizzy with shock, I had stumbled back, barely keeping my footing.

Jared had pulled her close, offering me a greasy smile. "Ma'am, Amber and I are deeply in love. Just let us be happy."

Unable to tear them apart, I had capitulated. Hoping Jared would at least treat her decently if he had a career, I gave him a job at my firm. Despite his lack of qualifications, I paid him a generous salary, hoping he would learn the ropes and eventually help Amber run the business.

I had grossly underestimated the depth of human greed.

In the video from the security guard, Amber was desperately trying to force her old key into the lock of my former home, sobbing at the top of her lungs. "Mom! Mom, open the door! It’s Amber! How could you change the locks? Have you abandoned me?"

A neighbor passing by spoke up. "Amber, your mother sold this place weeks ago. Didn't you know?"

Amber shrieked, "Impossible! This is my house! She has no right to sell it!"

I let out a cold laugh. Her house? I had worked eighteen-hour days, drank myself to stomach ulcers during client dinners, and collapsed in my office multiple times to afford that home. It had absolutely nothing to do with her.

It was my property, and I could sell it whenever I pleased.

Because she refused to leave, the new owner eventually called the police, and she was forced to slink away in embarrassment.

I hired a private investigator to keep tabs on her. It turned out she went straight back to Jared.

The investigator sent me a video clip, adding a brief note, "Ma'am, you raised a viper."

A viper indeed. If she had even a shred of decency, she wouldn't be plotting with her boyfriend on how to bleed me dry.

The video showed Amber returning to Jared's dingy, single-room rental. It was a filthy space with a tiny bed and a peeling desk cluttered with greasy takeout boxes and empty beer cans.

Amber kicked the side of the bed where Jared lay scrolling through his phone. "That old witch sold the house," she muttered, clearly frustrated. "Her number is blocked too. Your plan isn't working."

A flicker of annoyance crossed Jared's face, quickly masked by greed.

"Your mother is heartless. What kind of mother does that to her own child? That place was huge, it must have fetched millions."

Amber flopped onto the bed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Of course. It's prime real estate. Easily three million."

The greed in Jared’s eyes became almost palpable. He wrapped his arm around her, his voice dripping with false warmth. "You poor little fool. Her money is supposed to be your money. Selling the place without your permission proves she doesn't care about you at all. She probably has some guy on the side, maybe even had another kid. Amber, I'm the only one who actually looks out for you. You can't let her walk all over you. That wealth belongs to you, you have to claim it."

"She's just a bitter, menopausal old woman. No man would ever want her," Amber scoffed. "My dad has the patience of a saint and even he couldn't stand her. Her things are mine. When she dies, everything comes to me anyway."

Jared licked his lips, casually asking, "Your mom is only in her forties, right? By the time she dies, you'll be an old lady yourself."

"Please," Amber laughed. "She ruined her health giving birth to me, and then she practically drank her liver to death running that company. She won't last long. Soon enough, her business, her money, her cars, they'll all be ours."

She sighed with anticipation, as if visualizing a glorious future. "I honestly can't wait for that day."

A chill crept down my spine. She had been wishing for my death all along. What a wonderful daughter I had raised.

It was true that during my pregnancy, her father had been sleeping with my best friend. When I caught them, a physical altercation ensued, and he pushed me to the floor. The severe hemorrhaging nearly cost me my life. Though I survived to deliver Amber, my health was permanently damaged.

To ensure my daughter grew up like a princess, I had worked myself to the bone, only to have her eagerly await my demise.

I had still held a tiny sliver of hope in my heart, telling myself she was merely brainwashed by Jared. But no, she was inherently rotten.

In the video, they began planning to corner me at my office.

Their goal was simple: extort enough money to buy themselves a house.