Chapter 3: The Insurance Trap

“What the hell? What’s he doing?”

“The main character is ignoring the comments and insisting on courting disaster.”

“Good advice can’t save a doomed soul, pfft.”

The comments exploded instantly.

But soon, some rational voices came to my defense.

After all, my stepmom was still wearing a recorder. If I refused to adopt right away, I'd be the one to suffer.

Hearing I was going to adopt my niece, my stepmom couldn’t hide her delight.

Even my niece suddenly kissed my cheek, showing not a hint of grief over her parents’ deaths.

I took a deep breath, stood up, turned to my stepmom, and asked directly:

“When will the insurance money arrive?”

A flash of calculation darted through my stepmom’s eyes. She glanced at Hannah, then quickly looked back at me, trying to hide her surprise. “What insurance money?”

I looked even more surprised than her:

“Didn’t you say it was a truck accident? Truck insurance pays out millions and covers everything. Two people died—there must be compensation!”

My stepmom clearly hadn’t expected me to focus on the insurance and immediately became evasive.

I put on a stern face and pressed her:

“You didn’t take the insurance payout for yourself, did you? That money belongs to my niece!”

The air in the hallway thickened—Mrs. Carter was craning her neck, her phone out, probably already live-texting to her bingo group.