I push through them, heading for the bathroom to freshen up.

Zara, persistent as ever, tugged at my sleeve, refusing to let me slip away. "Spell it out for me! You're clutching the cash! If you didn't lie to me, then where did all my son’s money go?"

I gave a nonchalant shrug, eyeing her with bewilderment. "I haven't touched a single dime in the account. How would I know?"

I wrestled my sleeve from her grip and hurried into the bathroom.

No sooner had I squeezed out the toothpaste than Zara started hammering on the door. The pounding was so loud I could feel my temples pulsing.

I swung open the door to find Zara triumphantly holding a box of my jewelry.

"And you claim you didn't blow Josh's cash! Take a look at these! Isn't each piece worth a fortune?"

Paul backed her up, saying, "Without Josh's help, could your paycheck ever cover such luxurious jewelry?

"Josh's sister is your sister, too. Why not hawk a few pieces and help Jasmine out?"

I glanced at the necklace, once pristine, now a tangle of fragments in their hands. Annoyance flared within me, and I snatched my belongings back.

"Who said you could rummage through my stuff?! My mom got these for me. I have no reason to sell them!"

Zara's reaction was visceral. She clutched my arm, dragging me toward the bedroom. "You've got some nerve! Your bedroom's overflowing with your handbags and dresses!

"Why doesn't Josh have a single decent outfit if you haven't blown through all his cash?!"

How was it that a wardrobe shared equally between us suddenly meant he was the one being shortchanged?

I stood my ground, giving her an icy stare.

"I bought that with my own money, and I'll say it once again: I haven't touched a dime of his paycheck!"

Josh let out a weary sigh, stepping in once again to smooth things over. "Chloe hasn't treated me like that. Don't make things hard for her."

He seemed genuinely concerned for me, proposing a compromise.

"Babe, if we can't scrape together 7,500 dollars, let's go with 4,500. I'll ask some friends to chip in for the rest.

"We'll face this challenge together, and I'll figure out a way to cover the future medical bills."

Jasmine, hearing that, dabbed at her eyes, looking forlorn. "Josh, if Chloe isn't on board, let's not force it, okay? Let's not spoil our good vibes over this."

Josh quickly comforted her with a reassuring pat on the shoulder, promising he would not leave her in the lurch.

Zara, too, held her hand sympathetically, then shot me a look and burst into a dramatic sob.

"My poor, poor son! Even now, he's trying to scrape together some money for Jasmine. He even has to grovel..."

She was cut off mid-sentence by Josh's stern warning. "Mom, that's enough!"

Zara huffed twice but held her tongue.

Paul, seeing her back down, looked annoyed.

"How many times do I have to say it? You can't let her walk all over you. Give a woman an inch, and she'll take a mile!"

He let out a disdainful snort. "Just look at her now, holding back the money that could save Jasmine's life!"

Josh, hearing that, quickly glanced at me, then chastised Paul. "Dad, this is between Chloe and me. You can't just keep trying to fix things the old-fashioned way."

Paul looked taken aback and seemed about to add something else.

Josh quickly cut in, turning to me, and said, "So, we're in agreement for now, Chloe. Are you okay with that?"

Zara turned away, repeating to herself like a mantra. "Every cloud has a silver lining. Every cloud has a silver lining."

Paul shot me a sideways glare, his face a picture of reluctance.

"We can't put off our sister's treatment. It's serious business," I said.

Hearing my words, Josh let out a relieved sigh, and the tension in Paul and Zara's faces eased a bit.

Even Jasmine looked up, her eyes wide with surprise.

With no one objecting, I went on. "Josh's account is down to its last dollar, and I don't have 4,500 dollars on me.

"However, I've got connections at the bank. If you want, I can hook you up with a loan."

Zara was livid; her eyebrows shot up as she stomped and ranted.

"You've bled my son dry! And now you want him to rack up debt instead of coughing it up? Over my dead body!"

Her relentless nagging wore me out. I stormed back to the bedroom and dug out Josh's card.

"If you really think I'm the one who spent it all, here, take the card back."

Under Zara's doubtful gaze, I shoved the card back into Josh's hands with force.

"You know better than anyone if I've touched the money in there. I won't take the fall for this."

Josh froze, then awkwardly looked away, pushing the card back to me. "Honey, I trust you with the money more than anyone."

Then, he turned to Paul and Zara, trying to calm the waters with a peacemaker's tone.

"Mom, Dad, we're family. Why are we splitting hairs over money like we're strangers? I believe in Chloe. She's not the type to blow cash without thinking.

"Let's head home. Chloe and I will figure out the treatment costs."

Josh's voice had a hint of alliance with me.

Zara was beside herself, slapping her thigh and crying out. "How can you be so cold-hearted? Are you just going to ignore Jasmine's sickness? She looks up to you as a brother. She must be cursed to have you.

"If I'd known you'd choose that temptress over your own family, I never would've let her through the door!"

Paul's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "After everything we've done for her, she actually has the gall to turn around and threaten us!

"I'm telling you now: we need to get to the bottom of this and set things straight! Otherwise, she'll walk all over you for the rest of your life!"

Josh gave me a troubled look.

"Dad, Chloe's got to rush to work. Can we talk about this later?"

The old folks glared at me, stone-faced and unmoving. "Where do you work? I'm going to have a word with your supervisor about how they could hire someone as morally bankrupt as you!"

Things had gotten that bad, and Jasmine, who had seemed so empathetic before, then stayed quiet, letting Zara shield her like a mother hen.

I kept my cool, slipped on my shoes, and headed out.

As I was leaving, Josh seemed to have whispered something to Zara, but I was too upset to give it another thought.

Slowly, I started to notice colleagues clearing out from the lunch table as soon as I walked up.

The looks I got from them and from my supervisor were becoming more and more judgmental.

I could not figure out why. I tried reaching out to a teammate I was usually on good terms with, but after a couple of days, I still had not heard back.

The work itself was still the same, but the vibe around the office had definitely changed.

After being snubbed from yet another team outing, I had had enough. I cornered my supervisor and asked, "Has the team taken some issue with me lately?"

My supervisor gave me a look that was hard to read and said, "You're well aware of what you've done. Keeping you on the job is us being more than forgiving."

I was lost and getting worked up. "Just spell it out for me. What did I supposedly do?"

With an icy snort, my supervisor replied, "I tried to spare you the embarrassment, but since you're pushing it... You've been holding back your sister-in-law's medical funds, not paying for her treatment. It's common knowledge around here!"

A teammate chimed in with a sneer, saying, "Using someone's life-saving cash to splurge on a handbag? That's just heartless. Don't you have any siblings yourself?"

I was taken aback at first, then my shock turned to bitter amusement.

'So, they're all in on this little game,' I thought.

I convinced my supervisor to let me join the team event and cleared up the mess.

I thought that would calm the storm, but the next day, I got a 'voluntary' resignation letter.

As I was trying to figure out how I had tarnished the company's image or its business, I started getting vile calls from unknown numbers.

They were spewing insults I could not stomach.

My inbox was flooded with warped messages, my face crudely edited into humiliating and gruesome images, with accompanying captions.

[Stealing your sister-in-law's emergency fund? You're asking for it.]

[Watch your back. Payback has a way of finding you.]

Even my parents were getting cursed.

I shook with rage, clueless about how they got my family's details.

It was not until I logged onto my social media and saw the top post.

[Is a daughter-in-law who's secretly moving assets cheating?]

I clicked on it, and there it was, my face plastered all over the post.