A Tomb of Mirrors

Back then, I felt sorry for her, so I took over the chores, winding up as the caretaker for both her and Christopher.

Not long after, Sally lamented that she was intruding on our marital bliss and wanted to rent her own place.

To ease her worries, I handed her the other villa I owned in our neighborhood.

Then, Sally played the sympathy card again, bemoaning her niece's plight, abandoned by her man, with a child, and no place to call home. She said she was powerless to help.

So, I gave one of my properties to Sally's niece.

Back then, I truly believed that family was family, and Sally's kin were my kin.

Sally's laughter rang out as she clutched my hand, beaming at me like I was her own flesh and blood.

Christopher's voice was soft as he told me how lucky they were to have me, the perfect wife, in their lives.

However, it was not until everything fell apart, when they turned on me, treating me like nothing more than a resource, that I saw the truth behind their mother-son conspiracy.

Their kindness, their warmth: it was all just a charade to blindside me.

Christopher had never really loved me. He had seen a lonely woman, orphaned and wealthy, and he had crafted his courtship with precision.

The so-called homeless niece that Sally was always fussing over was actually his wife and kids from back home.

With that knowledge, I could not help but smile sweetly and say, "Oh, darling, I've been missing your mother too."

Christopher's smirk was all confidence as he replied, "You can relax at home. I'll go bring Mom over, and tonight, you'll get to savor her home-cooked meals, the ones you adore."

I played along, my nod full of feigned excitement.

He patted my hair and rushed off to fetch Sally.

I watched him go, my smile twisting into something far more sinister. The gang was getting back together again.

However, this time, with apocalyptic haunts everywhere, I wondered how long their devoted act could last without me being their prey.

Once Christopher was gone, I quickly calculated my wealth.

For years, Christopher had been craftily trying to get his hands on my wealth, but all he managed to snag was a bit of my cash. The real treasure trove in my name? It was a collection of houses.

My dad had been worried about me, his daughter, getting taken advantage of. So, he had a lawyer turn everything he left me into real estate. Thanks to that, I could live a life of leisure, never worrying about my next meal, all on the back of those rental checks.

That was precisely why, in my previous life, the two of them never stopped tricking me out of my house.

Now, facing my own over-the-top funeral plans, I needed to turn all my bricks and mortar into cold, hard cash. However, there was one place I could not part with: the villa I called home. When the end of the world kicked off, that place, with its unique design, became a fortress against the haunts.

That was why, in my previous life, I was only cast out once the greater haunts came in the final stages of the apocalypse.

I was curious to see what the apocalypse had in store for my fortress this time.

However, when the world was in hell, a regular house was not worth anything.

I cracked the safe open, left two property titles inside, and stuffed the rest into my suitcase.

Once everything was set, and with Christopher out fetching Sally, I grabbed my suitcase, hopped in the car, and headed straight for Dustin Hill, my late dad's business rival.

I did not beat around the bush. I walked into his place, flung open my suitcase full of deeds, and laid it out straight: I was selling off all my properties.