My boyfriend believed I abandoned him for a life of luxury and took his own life, only to be mysteriously reborn before his death. Thinking fate had handed him a chance for revenge, he staged his death and moved abroad to amass a fortune.
Upon his triumphant return, his first act was to destroy my father's company, driving it to bankruptcy. This forced my mother into a mental institution and left my younger siblings homeless. He even declared that unless I groveled and begged for miles, he wouldn't stop his revenge against my family.
What he didn't know was that on the day his death was announced, I too had taken my own life, driven by love for him.
Six years after my death, Jasper Martin returned to the United States. His first move was to obliterate the Freeman family business, pushing my father to his death and driving my mother insane. All because I had once humiliated him in his darkest hour, scorning his bankrupt family and his inability to provide the life I desired.
I watched him, unrecognizable in his newfound splendor, seated high in his imposing office. "Mr. Martin, there's someone outside claiming to be Kori Hill. She said mentioning Sadie Freeman would guarantee you'd see her," an assistant relayed.
Jasper appeared not to have heard, continuing to focus on the contract in his hands without the slightest change in demeanor. A mere glance from him was enough for the assistant to understand and leave. I drifted out with them and saw my mother waiting, hope gleaming in her eyes.
"Is Mr. Martin not seeing me? That's impossible! Did you mention Sadie? My daughter, Sadie Freeman, she's missing! He wouldn't ignore this!" she insisted.
"I don't believe it! You must not have explained it properly. I'll wait here until he comes out!"
Finally, Jasper emerged from the building, and my mother approached him immediately. Despite her worn appearance, she instinctively tidied her hair and clothes upon seeing him. She had once been a prominent figure in the city's high society, the esteemed Mrs. Freeman, and appearance had always been important to her. Yet now, she was kept at bay by security guards, her voice filled with reproach.
"Jasper, really, how could you not visit Sadie all this time? She misses you so much, she's grown thinner, always talking about you!"
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she changed her tone, panic creeping in as she pushed forward. "Jasper, Sadie collapsed this morning. She's unconscious in bed! Please, she needs your help, she's very sick and needs money!"
And then, to my heartbreak, she fell to her knees, pleading, "Mr. Martin, please, for the sake of the love you once shared, help her, help my child!"
Though just over fifty, her hair was already streaked with white. Since my death six years ago, her mind had begun to unravel, and after our family went bankrupt and my father died from a heart attack, she completely lost her grip on reality. Her memory was stuck on the day I died, believing money could bring me back from death's grip.
The once indomitable Mrs. Freeman was now on her knees for someone long gone, and the ache in my heart was sharp. I wanted to lift her up, but my hands passed right through her.
It was these words that finally drew a reaction from Jasper, who turned to my mother, his face a mask of mockery. "Love?"
He scoffed, as if he'd heard the most absurd joke. "Mrs. Freeman, do you not remember your precious daughter saying she'd never loved me when she broke up with me? It’s laughable to mention love now to guilt me into saving her," he sneered.
"And besides, aren't your current circumstances my doing? Seems the bankruptcy of the Freeman estate and your husband's sudden death have hit you hard enough to come crawling to me."
"But you've come to the wrong person, Mrs. Freeman. Asking me will only quicken Sadie's demise. If she still has a conscience, she should crawl all the way to me, begging. Maybe then I'd be moved."
My mother shakily pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. "Jasper, if you won’t help, think of it as a loan. This is an IOU. When Sadie gets better, I’ll pay you back, okay?"
People were bustling at the entrance, some already filming with their phones. "Oh my God, isn’t that the former Mrs. Freeman? What's she doing kneeling for money? I saw her on TV once, almost didn’t recognize her, she looks so aged now!"
"Don’t you know? Her daughter cheated and left Mr. Martin. Now that he’s back, he’s taking revenge, ruined their family, and now this woman shamelessly begs him."
Jasper didn't stop them. Instead, he crushed the IOU underfoot along with my mother’s hand, looking down at her from above. "What’s the matter? Is Everest Nelson so useless he can’t even give you a few grand? Seems Sadie backed the wrong horse! I’ll tell you, not a penny from me. Even if Sadie dies today, it’d be her just desserts."
Everest Nelson? Oh, that’s right, he was the one I turned to six years ago, leaving Jasper behind.
