Chapter 1

My neighbor left her five-year-old son on my doorstep, claiming she had to go out of town for work for a month.

I felt sorry for the boy, so I took him in and looked after him.

A month later, when she came back, she didn't offer a single word of thanks. Instead, she shoved her Venmo QR code right in my face:

"As Leo's father, you owe me fifteen hundred dollars a month in child support. Venmo or Cash App?"

I stared at her in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Since when am I his father?"

She scoffed at me.

"You've been raising him for a whole month. If you're not his dad, who is? You get a son for free and you're still complaining? Pay the child support, or I'll drag you to court for abandonment."

I rejected her absurd demand without hesitation.

The next day, consumed by rage, she set my apartment on fire.

My entire family burned to death.

Only after my death did I find out that she hadn't gone out of town to work at all—she had gone to Las Vegas to gamble.

She blew every last cent at the tables, so she came up with a scheme to extort me for monthly child support.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she was about to dump her son at my door.

This time, I immediately booked a month-long vacation package for my whole family, departing right away.

I wanted to see how she'd claim I was the boy's father when none of us were even home.

While my family and I waited at the airport gate, I opened the security camera feed on my phone.

On screen, my neighbor, Whitney, was yanking her son Leo by the arm, shoving him violently against my front door.

"Listen to me! The second I walk away, you wail at the top of your lungs and bang on that door as hard as you can!"

"If you cry hard enough, he'll feel bad, take you inside, and feed you like a king."

"You stay with him for a month until Mommy wins big and comes back for you, got it?"

Without waiting for Leo's protests, Whitney turned around and stepped into the elevator without looking back once.

Seeing that his mother had really abandoned him, Leo plopped down right in front of my door, opened his mouth wide, and began to shriek uncontrollably.

He pounded on the door with both fists while sobbing hysterically.

"Open up! Let me in! I want meat!"

Watching the familiar scene on my screen, a cold, mocking smirk tugged at my lips.

In my past life, that very crying had fooled me into thinking he was just a helpless abandoned kid.

This time, even if he smashed the door to splinters, he wouldn't set foot inside.

Leo cried for a solid ten minutes. When no one answered, his sobs turned into an irritated screech.

Just then, the door directly across the hall eased open.

An old, wrinkled face peeked out—it was Martha, the elderly woman who lived next door.

She was notorious in our building. She had a granddaughter but had always wanted a grandson, and over the years it had become an obsession.

A while back, she had tried to snatch someone else's toddler in the courtyard downstairs and nearly suffocated the poor kid. The police had warned her multiple times.

Any tenant in the complex with young kids went out of their way to avoid her.

Whitney had just moved in a few days ago, so she had no clue what kind of freak lived next door.

On the camera, Martha looked left and right. Seeing the hallway empty, she slipped out of her apartment immediately.

She pulled a lollipop from her pocket, crouched down, and flashed Leo a creepy, chilling smile.

"Whose sweet little boy is crying out here? You hungry? Grandma has delicious treats inside."

Leo stared at the lollipop, swallowed hard, and fell quiet.

Martha grabbed his arm and half-dragged him into her apartment.

I closed the camera app and called the police. I told them a boy had been left outside my apartment and gave them my address.

Whitney, now that your precious darling has fallen into the hands of that crazy old woman, let's see how you try to pin him on me.

A moment later, my phone abruptly buzzed.

Whitney's name flashed across the caller ID.

Smirking, I hit the record button and answered.

"Hello? Sean, what the hell are you doing?"

"Can I help you?" I asked, my voice flat.