Chapter 1

After we received the multimillion-dollar property buyout money, my husband and I immediately split it equally between our children.

But when my husband fell gravely ill and needed money and care, the two of them put me on their blocked list.

Exhausted, I went to my son first, and he slammed the door of his mansion in my face.

"Everyone says you raise children so they'll care for you in old age, but back then you only gave me half the buyout money, just to spite me."

"Splitting it equally looks fair on the surface, but why should she, a married-off daughter, get so much? You just favor your daughter, the one who took your surname."

I couldn't get anyone to open the door, so I had to go find my daughter in another province.

My daughter did let me into her big open-floor apartment, but she didn't even give me a glass of water.

"My brother is richer than me. Even though splitting the buyout money equally makes it look like we got the same amount, he's actually still richer than me."

"So you should go find your favorite son, not come to me, the worthless burden nobody wants, unloved by father and mother."

I had nowhere to turn.

I could only watch helplessly as my husband died from his illness.

After my husband died, my children felt no grief and no regret at all.

Instead, at the funeral, they cursed us biased old wretches, saying this was exactly the end we deserved...

Then my eyes opened again.

I had gone back to the day the buyout money landed in the account.

This time, I decided to treat them "exactly the same," to show them what "no favoritism" really means!

One:

"Mom, Dad, I saw online that the buyout money for our old hometown factory building has already come through. How are you two planning to divide it?"

My son, Jason Norris, sat there with his legs crossed and shot a pointed look at his sister beside him.

"Mom, my surname is Norris. I'm the real foundation of the Norris family. You can't play favorites with a married-off daughter who took your surname."

My daughter, Myra Fletcher, changed her expression in an instant.

"Mom, it wasn't my choice that my surname isn't Norris."

"You were the one who insisted I take the Fletcher name. Dad does whatever you say, so you had better divide this money without any favoritism."

Jason and Myra started arguing again.

I didn't try to break up the fight the way I used to, because I realized I'd been reborn—and reborn right on the day the buyout money arrived.

In my past life, Keith and I had originally planned to give Jason and Myra three million dollars each, and keep the remaining four million for our retirement. After all, once we were gone, the money would be theirs anyway.

But they both complained it wasn't enough and kept saying we were selfish.

We got so worn down that we decided this ten-million-dollar buyout money was nothing but trouble, so on impulse we split it equally between the two of them and kept not a single cent for ourselves.

But we never expected it.

Neither of them was satisfied with the equal split.

One kept insisting his surname was Norris, that he carried on the Norris family name, so by rights he deserved more money—and cursed me for playing favorites!

The other angrily claimed she was worse off and deserved more money, so that there'd be no gap between brother and sister—so she decided Keith valued sons over daughters and favored the male heir!

So our equal split got twisted into favoritism by the two of them. To punish us for that favoritism, they cut off all contact the moment they got the money. The only two times they ever came to our door, it was for our pension cards...

Thinking of all this.

I stepped in front of Keith, blocked the equal split he was about to propose, and spoke first.

"The buyout money hasn't come in yet."