Aunt Faked Cancer, I Won’t Be Scammed

After my parents passed away in a tragic accident, my Aunt Brenda took me in.

She seized every penny of my inheritance and all my parents' assets.

I didn't care back then. I viewed it as a way to repay her for the cost of raising me.

Just as I was about to graduate from college, Brenda claimed she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and needed a full-time caregiver.

Without a second thought, I threw away my promising future to stay home and nurse her.

Brenda used to hold my hand and say, "Don't worry, Sadie. You're like my own daughter. When I'm gone, this house will be yours."

But twenty years later, on her deathbed, her biological son who had been missing for two decades suddenly reappeared.

He sneered at me and said, "Everything belongs to me. What right do you have to stay here?"

Brenda looked at me with cold, healthy eyes and spat, "You really thought I'd give you the house? You're just a servant I kept around for free."

I screamed for justice, but the sheer rage and years of exhaustion caused my heart to stop right then and there.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day Brenda first claimed she had cancer.

"Sadie, I'm not just saying this for my health. You're a college student now. Don't you know how expensive your tuition is?"

"Do you have any idea how much money I've poured into you over these last three years?"

"I thought you'd appreciate my hard work and at least try to save a penny, but here you are, sneaking around buying expensive coffee?"

Aunt Brenda looked at me with a face full of agonizing disappointment.

In her eyes, I was a criminal, a parasite who didn't know how to be grateful.

She pointed at my new bag and hissed, "You spent fifteen dollars on this tote? Does it work any better than a plastic grocery sack?"

Her icy voice cut through the air, finally pulling my consciousness back to reality.

I had actually been reborn.

I was back to the moment right before she faked her illness.

In my past life, this was the turning point.

It was summer break of my junior year, and I was planning to take on extra shifts at a local diner to cover my own expenses.

I had been working part-time since high school to fund my education, so hard work was nothing new to me.

But my advisor had just called with incredible news: I had been selected for the prestige study abroad program.

I was heading to Kensington University, my absolute dream school, with a full scholarship for my final year.

I was so happy I could have cried.

That evening, I rushed home to share the news with Brenda.

But instead of being proud, she exploded in a fit of rage.

"Why does a girl need that much education? Do you know how much a flight to the UK costs?" she screamed.

"Aunt Brenda, I'll be working and I have a scholarship. I won't ask you for a single dime," I pleaded.

I thought that would satisfy her, since I truly wasn't a burden on her wallet.

Instead, she started wailing, calling me an ungrateful leech.

"I worked myself to the bone to raise you, and now you want to run away to another country? You just want to abandon me!"

"I've looked after you all these years, just us against the world!"

"I neglected my own son just so I could provide for you, and this is how you repay me?"

She began her performance right at the front door, loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.

Within minutes, the busybody neighbors had gathered around.

They listened to her sob story and began casting judgmental looks in my direction.

"Now Sadie, your aunt has been good to you. You're almost done with school, and you're just going to leave her high and dry?" one neighbor chirped.

"Exactly. You need to learn some gratitude, girl," another added.

The whispers of the neighborhood didn't sway my resolve to go to Kensington.

I promised everyone that I would still take care of Brenda even from abroad, and I even signed a $200,000 promissory note to her.

I told her, "I don't have the money now, but as soon as I graduate and get a job, I'll pay you back every cent. Keep this note. If I ever ignore you, use it to sue me."

Seeing my sincerity, the neighbors changed their tune and tried to convince Brenda to let me go.

She wasn't happy, but she snatched the note and begrudgingly agreed to let me pack my bags.

That day twenty years ago was the happiest moment of my life.

Even though it meant I'd be broke and in debt to her, I didn't care. I was free.

But then, just as I got my passport, the nightmare began.

Brenda claimed she had been diagnosed with advanced stage cancer.

Seeing her pale and trembling in that hospital bed, my heart shattered.

Since my parents died, she was the only mother figure I had. I genuinely loved her.

The diagnosis felt like a death sentence for both of us.

She grabbed my hand with a weak grip and sobbed, "Sadie, I know you want to go abroad. But I'm so sick. I need someone by my side. The doctor said if I have someone to care for me, I might last a few more years"

Brenda cried until she was breathless right there in front of me.

She begged me to give up my dreams and tore the $200,000 note in half to show her "mercy."

I asked her if my cousin, Sean, could stay and look after her instead.

Sean went to the same college as me and was also set to graduate the following year.

Even though Brenda had raised me, Sean was her flesh and blood. It only made sense for him to step up.

The moment I suggested it, Brenda started acting like I was trying to murder her.

"I raised you for a decade, and now you're calculating who owes what?"

"I treated you better than I ever treated my own boy! And now you won't even give up one little trip to save my life?"

"Fine. Fine!"

She struggled out of the hospital bed and stumbled toward the window, laughing through her tears.

"I won't be a burden to you anymore, Sadie. I'll just end it all right now!"

"No! Brenda, stop! Don't do anything crazy!"

I lunged forward and grabbed her.

In that moment, I was paralyzed by fear.

After losing my parents at ten, I couldn't handle losing the only family I had left.

So, I promised her. I gave up Kensington and my future career.

Brenda wiped her eyes and said, "Sadie, I won't let your sacrifice be for nothing. This house will be yours once I pass."

I didn't care about the property then, but I figured if I could have a home and take care of her, life wouldn't be so bad.

After graduation, I took a low-paying local job just so I could be home to cook every meal and handle her meds.

Because of the constant care she required, I never had time to date or find a partner.

At first, I was lonely, but then I made peace with it.

Every month, I handed my paycheck directly to Brenda. She said she was saving it for my future.

I figured between my savings and the house, I'd be set for my old age.

But after twenty years of service, her long-lost son Sean suddenly showed up just as she was "dying" for real this time.

I ran into him at the hospital when the doctors issued a critical condition notice.

I had gone home to pack some fresh clothes for her and came back to find Sean in her room.

I was about to push the door open when I heard their voices.

"You're finally home! Mama missed you so much!"

Brenda's voice was full of warmth and love, not a trace of the resentment she usually showed when talking about him.

For twenty years, she told me Sean was a disappointment and a deadbeat she wanted nothing to do with.

Sean was crying too. "Ma, if it wasn't for Sadie, I wouldn't have had to stay away for twenty years. I'm such a bad son"

"No, you're my good boy. Here, take this. This is Sadie's salaryDit's over $400,000. And here's the deed to the house. When I'm gone, kick her out. Don't leave her a single thing, you hear me?"

"She's been living off me for years. I've been generous enough not to charge her rent or food."

The realization hit me like a physical blow. Brenda never saw me as family, let alone a daughter.

The bag of clothes slipped from my hands and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Both of them whipped their heads toward the door.

There was no guilt on their faces. Sean just smirked at me with pure arrogance.

"Well, since you heard everything, there's no point in lying anymore."

"That's right, Sadie. If you're smart, you'll pack your bags and leave quietly. Don't make me get nasty."

Looking at Brenda sitting upright in bed, looking more energetic than ever, I realized the cancer was likely a lie from the very beginning.

The whole thing had been a twenty-year long con.

But why?

I found myself screaming at them, demanding to know why they would do this to me.

But before they could answer, a sharp, stabbing pain bloomed in my chest.

Taking care of an "invalid" for two decades had taken a massive toll on my health. My heart was weak.

I had skipped my own checkups to pay for Brenda's expensive supplements and "treatments."

I finally collapsed, my body unable to take the stress any longer.

As the darkness closed in, the final truth became clear.

Everything was a lie. The cancer, the house, the love.

I died hating the unfairness of it all, wondering why the universe would let them win.

But the universe had other plans. It gave me a second chance.

"Sadie! Are you even listening to me?"

Brenda's shrill, angry voice snapped me back to the present.

I remembered this day vividly.

It was the start of summer break. I was exhausted, so I bought myself a latte to wake up before heading out to look for a job.

In my previous life, Brenda had knocked the cup out of my hand and screamed at me for being a spendthrift.

"Do you have any idea how much money you've wasted over the years?"

I had heard that line every single day for years.

Back then, I just thought she was a frugal, grumpy woman. I didn't realize she just hated seeing a cent spent on me.

As Brenda reached out to swat the coffee, I pulled it back with lightning-fast reflexes.

"Aunt Brenda, I bought this with my own hard-earned money. What right do you have to call it a waste?"

"You are you talking back to me?"

She looked at me like I had grown a second head.

And she should be shocked.

In my last life, I was a mindless puppet who did everything to please her, while she just used me up.

This time, the gloves were coming off.

I looked her dead in the eye, my gaze steady and cold.

"First, I earned this money. Second, the coffee is already paid for. Throwing it away would be the real waste."

"You think just because you're in college now, you can grow a backbone and defy me?"

"Do you know you wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for me taking you in after your parents died?"

"Everything you have belongs to me. Without me, you'd be nothing but a gutter rat."

Is that so?

How pathetic. Did she really think I was still that naive little girl?

If she hadn't taken me in, I'm sure the state or another relative would have.

"Then I really should thank you, Auntie."

"You're damn right you should. And from now on, every penny you earn comes straight to me."

"Sure thing. You give Sean a $2,000 monthly allowance. I don't want muchDjust 0-0,000 for my basic needs."

"What? You have the nerve to ask me for a thousand dollars? Are you trying to rob me?"

The moment I mentioned money, Brenda went into full nuclear meltdown mode.

She moved to open the front door, intending to put on a show for the neighbors about how I was bullying her.

I beat her to it. I threw the door wide open myself.

I started sobbing loudly, listing every single grievance from the past few years.

The women in this apartment complex were all professional gossips.

They lived for drama and loved seeing people get taken down a notch.

As soon as I started wailing, the lady from upstairs came running down.

"Sadie, honey, is what you're saying true?"

I nodded, tears streaming down my face. "Ma'am, I wouldn't lie. My aunt has been like this since I was a kid."

"She's calling me a brat because I bought one discounted coffee. I haven't taken a cent from this house since high school!"

"I pay my own tuition and bills, while she gives my cousin two thousand a month. I just asked for half that, and she lost her mind!"

"What are you talking about? You're not my kid, why would I give you an allowance?" Brenda barked.

"Aunt Brenda, how could you say that?"

I put on my best look of shocked betrayal.

The pain I was feeling wasn't fake; it was real grief for the years I had wasted on this woman.

In my past life, I was too blind to see her true colors.

But now, the mask was off, and I could see the monster underneath.

"I" Brenda stammered, realizing she had messed up in front of the witnesses.

"Auntie, since you've made it clear I'm not family, I won't stay here and be a burden."

"You all heard her, ladies. She's never seen me as one of her own. I'm leaving."

"Don't bother contacting me for anythingDnot for birthdays, not for funerals."

I kept up the waterworks as I grabbed my already-packed suitcase and walked out.

I didn't have much in that house anyway. Everything I truly owned fit in that one bag.

The timing was perfect. Summer break had just started, and I could get away before she could trap me.

If I left now, she'd have no reason to fake a terminal illness to keep me as her slave.

I went straight to my Uncle Richard's house.

I knew it was an imposition, but Richard and his wife, May, were good people.

I needed to tell them the truth about Brenda before she could twist the story and make me the villain.

"She said what?"

Uncle Richard roared with anger after I finished my story.

Aunt May rushed to soothe him, while my older cousin, Leo, came over and gave me a protective hug.

"Sadie, I had no idea she was treating you like that. If we'd known, we would have brought you to live with us years ago."

Leo truly cared about me. I remember him giving me cash in high school when he saw me working.

He's a huge guy, nearly six-foot-five, and he looked like he was about to cry for me.

I spent a good while comforting him instead of the other way around.

"It's okay now. I just wanted you guys to know the truth so I don't have to go back and deal with her anymore."

"You're not going back. You're staying right here," Richard declared.

I planned to stay only until I found a job and a place of my own, but Brenda wasn't done yet.

Even after our blow-up, she went ahead with her fake illness plan.

Since she couldn't reach me, she called Uncle Richard, wailing into the phone.

I had just finished a shift at my new part-time job when I saw Richard and May rushing out the door.

"Sadie, thank god you're here. Get in the car. Brenda's in the hospital. It's cancer."

My heart skipped a beat.

She was actually doing it. Again.

I didn't have time to explain, so I just followed them to the hospital.

When we arrived, the doctors and nurses were busy elsewhere. Brenda was alone in her room.

The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up like she'd found a golden ticket.

"Sadie! You're here!"

"Look, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said those things. I just wanted you to be a sensible girl who saves money."

"If you spend all your money on lattes and bags, your future mother-in-law will think you're a gold-digger!"

Mother-in-law?

I almost burst out laughing at her audacity.

In my past life, she was so afraid I'd get married and leave her that she sabotaged every potential relationship I had.

She'd tell everyone I was a shopaholic who couldn't keep a house clean.

"Sadie, I only treat you this way because I love you like a daughter. No one else would be this honest with you."

"Auntie, I don't even buy coffee once a month. It was three dollars on sale. And this bag? I've used it for three years and it cost fifteen bucks."

"You call me materialistic? What about Sean? You bought him a ten-thousand-dollar gaming laptop without blinking."

"But when I wanted a three-dollar notebook for class, you scolded me for an hour and made me use scrap paper. Is that how you treat a 'daughter'?"

Every word I spoke hit her like a bullet. She had no comeback.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. "So, you're saying you have cancer?"

Brenda's eyes flickered nervously.

I mentally scoffed. I was so stupid in my last life to believe her terrible acting.

"Are you sure about that diagnosis?" I pressed.

"You you brat! What are you implying? Do you think I'd lie about something so horrible?"

Brenda started to lose her cool because I was seeing through her.

I didn't argue. I just opened the hospital room door and yelled for the doctor.

"Doctor! My aunt says she has terminal cancer! Please, tell us what to do!"

The doctor at the nursing station jumped, then walked over, frowning as he checked Brenda's chart.

"Don't go shouting nonsense in a hospital. She has a minor stomach ache and some indigestion. Who said anything about cancer?"

The doctor gave me an annoyed look and walked away.

Brenda's face turned a sickly shade of green.

She looked like she wanted to reach out and strangle me.

After a long silence, she hissed, "You just want to see me dead, don't you?"

"I've cared for you since your parents died, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Sadie Vance, aren't you afraid your mother's ghost will come back and haunt you for being so heartless?"

She was still playing the martyr, trying to guilt-trip me with my dead parents.

That was the final straw.

"Are you sure you want to talk about my parents in front of Uncle Richard?" I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"Sadie, what the hell is wrong with you? My mom is sick, and you're acting like a total bitch!"

Sean finally decided to show up, looking as disheveled and arrogant as ever.

He probably thought he could intimidate me.

Uncle Richard's face darkened when he saw Sean's attitude. "Sean, watch your mouth. That's your cousin."

"I talk to dogs however I want," Sean sneered.

Leo stepped forward, his massive frame looming over the smaller boy. Sean instantly shut up.

I took a shaky breath, my eyes finally welling up with tears.

"Auntie, if you want to settle the score, let's settle it properly."

"I moved in when I was ten. I'm twenty-one now. In those eleven years, I've cost you exactly $39,852.50."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're full of it! Eleven years and only thirty grand?" Brenda and Sean both shouted.

They couldn't believe it. Honestly, looking back, neither could I.

But I had kept a secret ledger in my last life that I had memorized. I knew every cent.

Brenda tried to grab my notebook, but Uncle Richard snatched it first.

His face grew paler and angrier with every page he turned.

The silence in the room was heavy. Finally, Richard slammed the notebook onto Brenda's lap.

"How could you do this? My sister and her husband left a life insurance payout of one million dollars!"

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