Chapter 4

Watching the money I had spent my life blood saving being tossed out like trash, I stomped my ghostly feet in panic.

"Don't throw it away! That’s money! It's $10,000!"

"That's the money I saved to buy Chloe her gold!"

But no one could hear me.

My most precious gift was tossed into the dumpster like worthless garbage.

I wanted to weep, but ghosts have no tears. I could only beat my chest in agonizing silence.

Victoria stood in the room, deep in thought.

"Chloe, I'm still worried. The fact that Heather managed to get this inside our house means she has bad intentions. She might try to blackmail us."

"You have graduation parties, college admissions, and high-society galas ahead of you. If we don't settle her now, she’ll be a ticking time bomb."

"How about this? I’ll go back to that slum with you. We'll throw some cash at her face and make her sign a contract to leave you alone forever."

Chloe nodded in agreement, trusting her biological mother completely.

No, Chloe! Don't listen to her!

I raised you for fifteen years. I never wanted anything from you. I just wanted you to be safe and happy!

But they couldn't hear me. They got into their luxury SUV and drove toward our old neighborhood.

I thought about how nice it would be to see my old home again. But then, I remembered my bloated, decaying corpse lying in the asphalt at the construction site.

Chloe was always easily frightened. What if my dead body traumatized her?

More importantly, my old diary was still on the wooden table in my room.

It detailed exactly how I had rescued her. If Chloe found out that her biological mother was the one who had abandoned her, their relationship would be ruined.

What would Chloe do? Would Victoria turn on her?

I was already dead. Victoria was the only guardian Chloe had left.

Desperate, I found the wandering spirit again.

"Please, help me! I'll pay any price!"

"Don't let them go back there. I don't want them to see that diary!"

But the spirit ignored me, simply shaking his head with an impatient sigh.

During the drive, Victoria kept instructing Chloe on how to deal with poor people like me.

"Sweetheart, you must be firm. Do not show any mercy."

"This Heather woman is relentless. We warned her, yet she still dares to harass my daughter."

"When we get there, hold your head high. Throw the cash right at her feet and tell her to get out of your life."

Chloe promised she would do exactly that. I screamed explanations from the heavens, but my voice was lost in the wind.

Finally, I could only sigh.

"Chloe, my only wish was for you to have a good life."

They soon arrived at my run-down little shack.

No matter how hard they knocked, the door remained shut.

"This woman had the nerve to sneak trash into our house, but now she’s too chicken to open the door?" Victoria sneered, kicking open the flimsy, rusted lock.

I had been dead for days. The small house was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Both mother and daughter covered their noses in disgust.

"Gross. Chloe, how did you survive in this filthy place? She was so lazy."

"She wasn't always like this," Chloe muttered, looking around. "I don't know why she stopped cleaning lately."

"Heather! Get out here!" Victoria yelled into the empty house. "I brought the money you wanted! Isn't this what you wanted?"

Seeing no one in the living room, they walked into my bedroom.

My heart leaped into my throat.

"Don't look, Chloe! Please go back!"

"It's all my fault. Why did I have to write a stupid diary and leave it right on the table?"

"If only I hadn't had that heart attack..."

But my ghostly pleas were useless. Chloe’s eyes fell on the worn-out notebook, and she picked it up.

"What is this? Heather kept a journal? I didn't know she could even write properly."

She flipped open the first page. Instantly, she froze.

"Someone abandoned a beautiful baby girl at the diner today. She looks so helpless. I held her, trying to stop her from crying..."

Chloe read the words aloud, her voice trembling.

"What is this? Mom... you told me she kidnapped me. But her diary says she rescued me!"

"Did you... did you actually abandon me?"

Now that the truth was out, Victoria’s elegant facade completely shattered.

"Chloe, let me explain... I had no money back then—"

"Stop lying!" Chloe shrieked, tears bursting from her eyes. "You threw me away because I was a burden!"

"Heather was the only one who actually loved me! She is my real mother!"

Without looking back, Chloe ran out of the shack, sprinting straight toward the highway construction site where I used to work.

But when she got there, my food truck was gone.

Finally, in a patch of fresh, black asphalt, she saw a corner of a familiar jacket sticking out.