1 For two months after adding Tommy to my credit account, strange charges appeared. Tess posted a $1,200 perfume: “Sis and future bro got me this!” Sarah shared a $2,000 sushi dinner: “Thanks Lindsey and Dr. Tommy!” That night, Tommy brought home cold eel rice, apologizing for swiping wrong. Over two months, $15,000 vanished. Then a $300 charge hit. Before I texted, three messages flashed: Mom: “I spent it. Don’t fight Tommy.” Tess: “School fees. I’ll repay.” Sarah: “Tight on cash. Tommy covered meds.” I’d said nothing. Heart sinking, I cabbed to the boutique. Serena stood at the register, sheepish: “Pregnancy brain! Forgot to log out of Lindsey’s account.” My family shrugged: “Family doesn’t grudge over dollars.” I rubbed my worn jacket’s hem. My hard-saved credit line was drained by everyone but me. … I walked inside. Tommy saw me first. His face went rigid, and he instinctively stepped in front of Serena, blocking half her body from my view. “Lindsey, Serena is pregnant. Control your temper.” My mother hurried over, speaking in a gentle, placating tone. “Lindsey, leave your sharp tongue at the door today. She’s expecting, you can’t be cruel to her.” Sarah and Tess grabbed me from left and right, holding my arms as if they were afraid I would attack her. Sarah, leaning heavily into her authority as a doctor, spoke with absolute conviction. “Serena is carrying Tommy’s child. You two haven’t had any luck in seven years. You wouldn’t want Tommy’s bloodline to end with you, would you?” I looked past Tommy’s shoulder. Serena hadn’t said a word or lifted a finger, yet she had turned everyone I loved against me in an instant. “Why?” My voice was dry and raspy as I turned to my mother. Five years ago, Serena took out illegal loans and put my brother Lucas’s name on the contract. Lucas was driven to jump from the roof of his building, leaving me with nearly a hundred thousand dollars in debt. I hadn’t slept a full night since. “Serena killed Lucas, Mom. You used to hate her. How can you stand next to her?” Serena clutched my mother’s sleeve, her face draining of color. My mother patted her hand reassuringly before turning to give me a pained, reproachful look. “Serena was only nineteen back then. What did she know about loan sharks? Your brother coaxed her into signing those documents. At the end of the day, it was Lucas’s fault.” She sighed. “You’ve been so wrapped up in your job that you never care for this family. Serena is the one who steps up and handles things around the house.” I stared at her in total disbelief. “Mom! I carry three thousand dollars in debt payments every single month because of her! Just because she scheduled a doctor’s appointment for you and picked up your prescriptions, you completely forgive her?” Tommy cut in, his patience wearing thin. “That’s enough, Lindsey. I know working to pay off that debt is exhausting. But she only spent a few hundred dollars today. Do you really have to make a scene over every single penny?” He pulled out his phone to process a transfer. “I’ll send the money back to you right now. She has a checkup this afternoon, so let’s talk about this later.” I grabbed his wrist tightly. “We talk about it right here! Right now!” I stared into his eyes. “Tommy, how long have you two been sleeping together behind my back?” Tommy’s brow twitched, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face. Sarah couldn’t stand it any longer. She pulled up Serena’s digital medical file and shoved the screen in my face. The medical record was crystal clear. Five years ago, after watching my brother jump, Serena began seeing Tommy for psychological trauma. For five long years, while I worked myself to the bone to pay off her debt, Serena had moved from his private therapy room straight into his bed. Yet Tommy had gotten engaged to me just last month, introducing me to all our relatives. Even yesterday, he had rested his palm against my stomach, smiling as he whispered that we should have a baby soon so I could finally leave Lucas’s shadow behind. “Lindsey, Serena tried to end her life back then. Tommy and I dragged her back from the edge,” Sarah argued, full of self-righteous pity. “She’s fragile. You can’t hold one past mistake against her forever.” I looked at Serena’s pale, innocent face and let out a bitter laugh. “Five years of my life ruined by debt. I’m not letting this go. I’ve already called the police.” Serena burst into tears on the spot. “Lindsey, I really didn’t mean to use your card! I just forgot to switch accounts when I paid with Tommy’s phone!” The veins on Tommy’s forehead thrummed with rage. “Lindsey! I already sent you the money! I’m apologizing on her behalf, isn’t that enough?” He grabbed a maternity dress off the nearest rack and slammed it onto the counter. “If you feel so deprived, I can buy you gifts too! Perfume, dinners, dresses, whatever you want!” I looked at him with a hollow smile. Once, he had carefully slipped a pair of polished heels onto my feet before my big interview, wishing me a path straight to the top. Now, he was tossing an ill-fitting maternity dress at me just to shut me up. I met the glare of every person standing in that store, refusing to budge an inch. When the officers arrived, I gave a detailed account of how Serena had repeatedly used my financial accounts without authorization. Just as the officer began writing up the incident report, Sarah stepped forward. “Officer, Tommy is Serena’s fiancé, and he has already reimbursed the funds,” Sarah said smoothly. “I strongly urge you to look into Lindsey’s credit profile. She owes nearly a hundred thousand dollars to private lenders. She’s desperate and opportunistic. She only called you to extort money from Serena.” I stared at Sarah, barely recognizing the hostility in her eyes. In college, when I was so poor I had to split a single pack of instant noodles into two meals, she bought my cafeteria tickets for an entire month. The girl who used to hug me and say, “It’s okay, you have me,” was gone. She avoided my gaze, reaching out to touch my hand. “Lindsey, I’m sorry. If I didn’t say that, they would have taken Serena away. She’s pregnant, and as a doctor, I couldn’t just stand by.” Serena bit her lower lip until it turned white. “Lindsey, you can hate me all you want, but please don’t take it out on Dr. Sarah or your mother!” Tess immediately shielded Serena, glaring at me with pure resentment. “Lindsey! Everyone feels suffocated around you because you count every single cent!” Tommy looked at me with cold disgust. “Serena never demanded a formal title. She even agreed to let you have the main wedding first while she took your hand-me-down dress and bouquet later. If anyone is suffering here, it’s her, not you.” He took Serena’s hand and walked her out of the shop. Inside my chest, nothing remained except a scorched wasteland. My brother’s life and five years of my youth had all become a tragic joke to the people standing in front of me. Sarah tugged gently on my arm, using the old gesture we shared whenever we reconciled after an argument. “Lindsey, you still have us.” “Sarah,” I said softly, stepping back. “We are no longer friends.” I hurried out of the store, choking back the sob rising in my throat. They weren’t worth my tears. I pulled out my phone, canceled the shared account completely, and dialed the number for the loan agency. I requested an immediate reassessment of my family’s joint assets. From this moment on, the debt would be split evenly. No one was getting out of this storm unscathed. When I got home, I gathered every single thing Tommy owned and dragged it out to the trash dumpster. The landlord stood by the doorway, offering an awkward, apologetic smile. “Lindsey, Mr. Tommy paid out the rest of the year’s rent plus a contract penalty. He asked that you move out immediately.” I was thrown out into the night, my bags piled up along the curb. Tommy drove up a short while later. He stepped out of the car, his thumb lightly brushing across my tear-stained cheek as he let out a heavy sigh. “You unlinked the card, Lindsey. Serena couldn’t pay at the coffee shop today, and people called her a thief in public.” He looked down at me. “Now that you’re getting cold looks from strangers, maybe you’ll understand what she goes through every day. I hate seeing her hurt, but I hate seeing you cry too. Why do you keep forcing me to choose?” I turned my face away from his touch. “You’re dreaming if you think you get to keep both, Tommy.” He drew his hand back, rubbing his fingertips together. “I kept my relationship with Serena a secret because I knew you’d make things miserable for her. Can’t you just leave her alone? She hasn’t had an easy life.” “In your dreams!” I snapped. The remaining tenderness in his eyes vanished, replaced by an icy glare. “You really want to push me into a corner?” After a quiet standoff, he scoffed, tapped something into his phone, and got back into his car. He drove off without another word. A moment later, my phone chimed with a bank notification. My entire checking account balance had been wiped out to zero. My mind went completely blank, followed instantly by a sharp, agonizing headache. “Tommy!” I dialed his number frantically. “Lindsey,” his voice came through the speaker, soft and composed, yet ruthless. “If you don’t want me dropping details about your family’s debts to your employer, stay away from Serena.” The threat landed like a heavy blow to my spine. His gentle tone made the pain hit twice as hard. “Give it back, Tommy! Tomorrow is my loan deadline!” I crouched on the side of the road, sending frantic voice notes over and over again. Then my mother called. “Lindsey, stop bothering Tommy. He transferred your money to me, and I gave it to Serena. She lost her baby while she was suffering with your brother years ago. This money is her recovery fund. Our family owes her that much.” Tess chimed in over the line, shouting, “Lindsey, if you call the police again, you’ll be putting Mom behind bars! Just drop it!” My mother spoke again, her voice full of weary instruction. “Lindsey, money can always be earned back. If you don’t have a place to stay, just come back home.” I ran my fingers over the long scar on my wrist, the souvenir from when debt collectors forced me into oncoming traffic, snapping the skin open before it was stitched back together. “No,” I said quietly. “I don’t have a home anymore.” I immediately called Janice, a former colleague now working at a top brokerage firm in London. “Janice, you offered to recruit me for the London office a while back. I’m taking the offer. Process my onboarding as fast as humanly possible.” Then, I forwarded Serena’s private phone number directly to the head of the loan collection agency. The next morning, Tommy caught me right outside my bank branch. Without a word of explanation, he dragged me straight to the private lending firm’s office. The moment Serena saw him, she broke down in tears. “Tommy, I really don’t have the money to pay them back.” She cast a timid glance in my direction. “Lindsey, it’s all my fault. I’ll go sell my blood or my kidneys to pay them, okay? Just don’t be mad.” Tommy shoved me hard against the marble reception counter. My wrist slammed against the sharp edge with a dull thud. He flinched for a fraction of a second, but Serena’s dramatic sob instantly drew his attention away. He turned to the loan manager, his voice cold. “The person who owes you money is Lindsey. I cleared Serena’s debt four years ago.” The loan manager flipped through his thick ledger, letting out a greasy laugh as he looked at me. “That’s correct. Dr. Tommy paid off Serena’s ten-thousand-dollar share four years ago. But you still have seventy thousand remaining on your account, Lindsey. Signed in black ink. No getting out of it.” This debt, built on Serena’s lies, had crushed every aspect of my adult life. My mother was too old to work it off. Tess was still in school. For five years, I worked as a bank auditor by day and taught evening accounting classes by night. I had been terrified of borrowing a single dollar from Tommy, worried it would taint our relationship. Yet he had quietly cleared Serena’s debts during their second year together. “Tommy,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Four years ago, when we were crammed into that freezing basement apartment, you told me you couldn’t help me because you had lent all your savings to a friend in need.” I took a step closer to him. “I believed you! I worried you wouldn’t have enough to eat, so I worked until I collapsed just to support your medical practice! And all this time, that friend was her?” A flicker of sorrow crossed Tommy’s eyes. “Lindsey, Serena isn’t strong like you. She carries deep trauma and can’t hold a normal job. You work in banking. You have opportunities. You’ll clear the debt eventually.” I lunged forward, grabbing Serena by the wrist as I glared at the manager. “She took my money! Neither she nor I are leaving this room until this is settled!” The loan manager offered Tommy an uncomfortable smile. “Dr. Tommy, you have a residential property under your name worth well over eighty thousand. Why don’t you just cover Lindsey’s remaining balance?” “Absolutely not!” Tommy snapped instantly. “That house is reserved for Serena and our child.” I grabbed a glass of water off the desk and threw it right into his face. “Tommy! I used my employee discount at the bank to secure the mortgage for that house! That was supposed to be our home!” Tommy wiped the water from his skin, looking down at me with cold, pathetic pity. “The deed is already registered under Serena’s name. I only let you stay there because I felt sorry for you.” He adjusted his damp collar and turned to the manager. “Can I take her now?” The manager made a polite gesture toward the door. The heavy glass doors slid shut in front of me. Tommy placed a protective arm around Serena’s waist as they stepped into the elevator, leaving me behind without a second glance. Ten hours later, my mother and sister arrived to sign my release paperwork. My mother didn’t offer a single word of concern. Only harsh judgment. “Lindsey, you went way too far this time. Serena was so shaken up by your scene that she ended up in the emergency room last night.” Tess glared at me angrily. “Lindsey, why did you add my name to the list of liable guarantors? You have the capacity to work, why drag me down with you?” My mother’s face hardened. “You just can’t stand seeing Serena happy, can you? Before coming here, Serena, Tommy, and I talked it over. When the baby is born, it will take our family name. I’m transferring our old apartment over to Serena.” She looked at me coldly. “The car and my old jewelry will go to Tess. You’re on your own from now on.” She took Tess by the arm and walked away without looking back. I didn’t chase after them. Instead, I went straight to the hospital administration office and submitted a formal complaint regarding Tommy and Serena’s improper doctor-patient relationship. An hour later, I was on the hospital rooftop. Sarah was holding Serena tightly around the waist, pleading with her. “Serena, please don’t do this!” “Tommy is only under temporary suspension! Every doctor in the department can testify that he only stayed close to Lindsey to manage her severe mental instability!” Catching sight of me, Sarah raised her voice, screaming across the roof, “Lindsey, do you really have to drive her to her death? Her depression relapsed entirely because of you!” Serena was perched precariously on the edge of the railing, weeping hysterically. “I’m sorry, Lindsey! I seduced Tommy, I led Lucas on! I deserve to die! Just please, take back the report against Tommy!” I watched them quietly from a distance. I remembered the moment right before my brother jumped five years ago. Serena had stood near the ledge and told him: “Lucas, if you’re going to jump, do it already. Don’t drag me and my baby down with you.” When I reached the roof back then, that single sentence had wiped out the very last spark of hope in my brother’s eyes. And later, standing over his body, Serena had told the debt collectors: “I had a miscarriage yesterday. I have nothing to do with this man.” Now, watching her dramatic performance on the railing, my expression remained completely cold. “Jump then,” I said softly. “Go down to hell and keep my brother company.” Suddenly, someone yanked my arm back with violent force. A sharp slap cracked across my cheek. My mother stood there, her eyes swollen and red, glaring at me with raw hatred. “Lindsey! She’s sick! She’s paid for her mistakes over these past five years, what more do you want from her?” The burning sting on my face shattered the last tiny piece of longing I held for my mother’s love. Tess rushed over, grabbing Serena’s hand. “Serena, Tommy’s suspension was lifted! He’s on his way up right now!” Serena sobbed, shaking her head. “Lindsey will never let me live in peace. As long as I’m with Tommy, she’ll keep trying to destroy us!” My mother dragged me toward the edge of the roof, forcing my head down as her voice rang out colder than the wind. “Apologize to Serena right now! Promise you’ll leave Tommy alone so she can have this baby in peace!” I shoved her hands off me, opening my mouth to laugh at her ridiculous demands. Before I could speak, Serena’s body suddenly slipped backward off the ledge. She crashed hard onto the lower concrete ledge below. Seconds later, a dark pool of red began spreading beneath her legs. Tommy burst onto the rooftop just in time to see it. He cast a murderous glance in my direction before scooping Serena into his arms and sprinting toward the stairs. I stumbled back to the bank in a daze. The branch manager slammed a thick stack of disciplinary papers directly into my face. “Lindsey! As an internal auditor, you engaged in predatory loans and illegal gambling activities?” The credit account I had opened for Tommy had been turned into evidence against me. The accusation was that I used financial perks to bribe medical personnel while attempting to harm Serena out of personal malice. They had gone to incredible lengths just to avenge Serena. I was fired on the spot. When the loan collectors learned I had lost my job, their tactics turned ruthless. They held up their phones, showing me messages from Tommy and my family. “Your family made it very clear, Lindsey. They won’t pay a single cent toward your debt.” To force my hand, they dragged me to the rooftop of a high-rise downtown in the middle of the day. They stripped my jacket off and launched a drone to broadcast the scene live online. “Look at this top-tier university graduate! Got herself into debt, lost her job, and can’t pay it back! Let me see if her rooftop dancing earns enough tips to clear her balance!” They gave me a one-month deadline. If I couldn’t pay, they threatened to harvest my organs piece by piece. Just as I reached absolute rock bottom, an email notification popped up on my phone. Janice was crying on the other end of the line. “Lindsey, get on a plane to London right now. Money isn’t an issue. Our executive saw the livestream online, he’s taking care of the legal team to shut those collectors down.” I left everything behind and ran straight into the pouring summer rain. That very night, I boarded a flight bound for London. At Tommy and Serena’s formal wedding reception. The groom, dressed in a tailored suit, suddenly felt a sharp, hollow ache in his chest, as if a vital piece of his life had been ripped away forever. He held Serena’s hand, whispering softly to comfort her. “Honey, Lindsey was with me for seven years. She’s out there somewhere hiding from debt collectors, I just can’t stop worrying about her.” My mother sat at the head table, staring at a plate of braised pork, my favorite dish. A sudden wave of unease washed over her, and she pulled out her phone to check the date. “Today is the final day of her one-month deadline,” she murmured. “We played along with the collectors for so long just to teach her a lesson. Let’s go pay off the balance today and bring her back home.” Tommy dialed my old number multiple times, but every attempt led straight to an automated message stating the line was disconnected. Growing increasingly anxious, he called the loan manager directly. When he heard the answer from the other side of the line, his face turned completely white.
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