Chapter 37

My mom nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “It’s true. I—I owed over three million dollars. They said the house would fetch about one million dollars, so I sold it to them. I know I messed up. I’m sorry! Please, you have to help me. I don’t want to die!”

She was crying uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down her face. Watching her, I felt a mix of frustration and pity. I was about to agree when something clicked, and I froze.

“So, the whole thing about investing was a lie too?”

Mom was startled. She hadn’t expected me to bring that up.

“Joshua, I can explain. I really did plan to invest with a few friends, but things didn’t go as planned. You have to believe me. I’m your mom. Everything I do is to make your life better. Why else would I—”

I cut her off, my anger boiling over. “This is your idea of helping me? Seriously?”

Back when my dad was drinking and gambling his life away, at least she still cared about me, even if only occasionally. When our life was starting to get better, she didn’t seem to care at all. She wasn’t like this before.

Mom was stunned. She could tell something had changed within me.

“Joshua, you’re my son. I worked so hard to raise you. Even if I haven’t done everything right, I’ve still sacrificed a lot for you. You wouldn’t just abandon me, right? I promise this is the last time. I’ll change. From now on, I’ll stick to eating, drinking, and having fun. Nothing else. I swear!” Mom kept repeating herself, begging for forgiveness. The group on the couch grew impatient.

The leader of the debt collectors rolled his eyes and snapped, “Are you done yet? Are you going to pay the money today? If not, then just let the old lady jump from here!”

“No! Don’t!”

Mom turned to me in panic. “Call Sophia if you don’t have the money. She does! She’s your wife. She won’t say no if you ask her. She—”

“Enough!” I cut her off sharply and turned to the man. “Look, it’s 330 thousand dollars. I can’t get that money today. But, as I said, give me a few days. I need some time.”

I hated how my mom couldn’t see the bigger picture, how she’d been scammed. But she was still my mom. As angry as I was, I couldn’t let her die here in front of me.

My mom sat on the floor, nodding vigorously. “Please, just a few more days. My son can get the money. 230 thousand dollars isn’t a problem. We’ll pay, I swear!”

Before the man could speak, I added, “If someone dies here, it’s going to be on you. You’ll be dealing with a criminal case, not just a debt. Is that the kind of mess you want?”

The man hesitated, then nodded.

“Fine. Ten days. But if you don’t pay by then, I’ll bring my people and wreck your place!”

As he walked past me, he smirked and hissed, “If I were stuck with a mom like this, I’d probably just jump and be done with it.” He left with his men, their laughter echoing behind them.

I stood in the wrecked living room, my gaze falling on my mom.

“Did you tell them where any workplace is?”