Father Returned, Mother Must Die

My boyfriend treated my mom better than he treated me—pouring her tea, massaging her shoulders, never once complaining about the mess around her hospital bed.

My mom was about to undergo heart surgery, yet the hundred thousand dollars I had scraped together for her operation had suddenly disappeared.

On the hospital bed, she clutched his hand, tears streaming down her face as she thanked him. That was when I threw my banking app in front of him.

His expression changed instantly. He slammed the phone down on the table and roared at me, “Are you insane? I’ve been running around for your mom, and now you’re accusing me of stealing? Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?”

My mom trembled with rage. She slapped me hard across the face, scolding me for being ungrateful and accusing a good man.

But I only held my cheek and laughed coldly.

“I just want to ask—when you transferred the money to my father who’s been dead for twenty years, were you hoping he’d come to me in a dream and confirm what a scumbag you are?”

The anger in Margaret Carter’s eyes was replaced by shock. Daniel Hughes froze, grief still etched on his face, but his whole body stiff with panic.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” he tried to sound calm. “Your dad’s been gone for decades—how could anyone transfer money to the dead?”

I raised the phone.

“See clearly. Margaret Carter transferred one hundred thousand dollars to Richard Carter.”

“Daniel Hughes, you used my mom’s phone, her ID, and her face scan to authorize that transfer. You knew she was sick, her mind wasn’t clear, and you took advantage of that.”

My mom stared at him in disbelief, unable to say a word. She didn’t want to believe that the man who was closer than her own son could do something like this.

With a loud thud, Daniel dropped to his knees in front of her hospital bed, clutching her hand, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Auntie, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Emily.”

“I didn’t mean it. I just… I just wanted to use a blessing ritual your father left behind, something to bring you good luck before surgery.”

He wept as though carrying the weight of the world.

“In my hometown, there’s a belief that transferring money to a deceased loved one is like buying virtue in the afterlife. It can protect the living and help ensure surgery goes smoothly. I knew Emily wouldn’t believe it, so I… I acted on my own.”

“The money is still in that account, untouched. I just can’t access it right now. Auntie, please believe me—I only did this for your sake!”

The excuse was absurd. Laughable.

But Margaret believed him.

“Good boy, get up. It was my fault for blaming you.”

She patted his hand and turned to me with sharp eyes.

“Apologize to your boyfriend! If it weren’t for Daniel, I’d already be dead. And here you are spitting venom—what kind of heart do you have?”

“What kind of heart do I have? I should be asking what kind of heart you have!”

“Ever since I was little, you mistreated me. My clothes were always hand-me-downs, even my schoolbooks were secondhand. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even your real daughter!”

Daniel lifted his head, feigning sympathy.

“Emily, I know you’re angry, but don’t fight with your mom. She only cares about you. Let’s figure out how to get the money out—her surgery can’t wait.”

“Disgusting.” I looked at the grotesque display of “motherly love and filial devotion.”

He stood, walked over, and tried to take my hand.

I stepped back.

That very night, Daniel broke up with me, claiming I had “broken his heart.”

He said he couldn’t be with a woman who didn’t trust him—that he needed space to cool off.

Only later did I realize… his mission was already complete.