After hanging up on Ryan, I stared at my test results, my lips trembling.

In my previous life, I had been too soft-hearted. That was how the three of them drained me dry.

In this life, not a single cent of my money would go to them!

That same day, I contacted an agent and listed the old apartment I'd lived in for 30 years.

It was the last thing my husband and I had left behind together, but selling the apartment offered me more security than relying on my three ungrateful sons.

The agent worked fast. A buyer showed up the same day and paid the full price, 1.73 million dollars.

As soon as the money came through, I checked myself into the hospital and chose a private room.

Less than two hours after I got into the ward, the door was pushed open.

Victor walked in wearing a designer suit, followed by his wife, Jenny White, and daughter, Molly Sutton.

"Mom, we heard you were hospitalized, so we came to see you."

Victor scanned the room and pulled a face. "Mom, why are you staying in a room like this? It's too basic. Want me to move you to a VIP suite?"

He paced around like a tenant inspecting an apartment, criticizing the furnishings. He did not even spare a glance at the IV attached to my hand.

Jenny chimed in, "That's right, Susan. With Victor's business doing so well, this is nothing for us."

I sneered inwardly. They claimed to be doing well financially, yet they wouldn't have shown up if they weren't hoping to squeeze some money out of me.

I ignored them.

Seeing that I wasn't as warm as usual, Victor exchanged a look with Jenny, then pushed Molly toward me.

"Mom, Molly won first place in her piano competition last week! The judges all said she's a genius!"

Molly lifted her face and held the trophy out proudly. "Grandma, look! My instructor said that if I join the international piano program, I'll become famous someday! The fee is 50 thousand dollars. Grandma, you'll help me achieve my dream, right?"

I laughed bitterly inside. 50 thousand dollars?

In my previous life, after their family immigrated to Merunica, Victor was the one who severed ties with me most decisively.

Knowing how it would end, if I still gave them money, I'd truly be an idiot.

I glanced at them briefly, then turned to the window. "Oh? That's impressive."

Victor's smile stiffened. He clearly hadn't expected me to act this way.

He sat closer and resumed weaving promises, implying I should use the money in the Family Bond Fund to pay for the piano program.

He even told me that Molly would take care of me once she succeeded.

When I still didn't respond, Victor nudged Jenny and said, "Take Molly downstairs to buy some juice. I need to talk to Mom."

Jenny immediately caught on and pulled Molly away.

As soon as the door closed, Victor dropped the act and sat by my bed. "Mom, you heard everything. What's 50 thousand dollars to you, right?"

I looked straight at him. "I don't have money."

"No money?" His voice shot up. "How could you not have money? The three of us put three thousand dollars into the account we set up for you every month. That's over 800 thousand dollars in eight years!

"Molly is your only granddaughter. If you don't want to spend your money on her, who are you going to spend it on?"

I didn't bother looking at his forced smile and turned away instead. "That's up to me. I don't have money. I said I have no money. Don't come to me."

My change in attitude caught him off guard.

In the end, Victor grabbed my hand, tears streaming as he played the pity card. "Mom, can you really bear to see Molly's talent wasted? It's an international piano program! People fight to get in! If you don't help her now and she never becomes a pianist, will your conscience be clear?

"You raised the three of us with so much hardship. Why don't you help Molly as well? If you don't give us the money, you'll ruin her future! She'll resent you for life, and you're going to regret it!

"Besides, 50 thousand dollars for a bright future is worth it! Your money just sits there anyway. Spending it on Molly is money well spent!"

Hearing his self-righteous justifications, I nearly laughed from sheer anger.

So this was my good son, already skilled at guilt-tripping his own mother.

I yanked my hand back and stared at him coldly. "It's my money. Who I spend it on and how I spend it is my business. Molly's future is your responsibility. Don't drag me into it."

Seeing how firm I was, Victor finally snapped. He jumped to his feet and pointed at me, shouting, "You're pushing it, Susan Jenkins! We didn't set up that fund for you so you could turn into a tightwad!

"It's just 50 thousand dollars! Why are you so stingy? You're senile! You don't even care about your sons anymore! Fine! If you won't give it, don't expect me to take care of you when you're older!"

With that, he stormed toward the door, his footsteps heavy against the tiles.

Victor had barely reached the door when it creaked open, and Leo walked in carrying a fruit basket.

Leo glanced at Victor's flushed face, then at me, and covered his mouth dramatically. "Oh? What happened? Victor, your face is flushed! Who pissed you off?"

Victor snapped, "None of your business!"

"You argued with Mom, didn't you?" Leo set the basket down and raised his voice. "Did you come asking Mom for money again? Honestly, Victor, that's too much. Mom just got hospitalized, and all you care about is sucking her dry. You're such an ungrateful son!"

"Drop the good-guy act!" Victor fumed. "What's wrong with me asking Mom for money for Molly's program fee? Spending on that makes more sense than blowing money on clothes and shoes like a bottomless pit!"

"So what if I like to look good? I spend my own money! At least I'm not scheming against Mom! The fund is for her retirement, not your daughter's piano program!" Leo shot back.

"You know nothing! That's an investment! Once Molly succeeds, she'll repay Mom!"

"You're the clueless one! What Mom needs now is peace, not your empty promises!"

They went back and forth, shouting over each other until the room felt like a madhouse.

My head throbbed. Just as I was about to speak, a nurse came in to change my IV.

Frowning, she reprimanded them, "Why is it so noisy in here? Patients need rest. If you want to argue, take it outside!"

The ward finally fell quiet.

Victor snorted, glared at Leo, and stormed out.

The moment Victor left, Leo plastered on a smile and handed the nurse a bottle of water. "Sorry about that. Family stuff."

The nurse ignored him and left.

Now that we were alone in the ward, Leo hurried to my bedside, tucking in my blanket and peeling an apple. "Mom, don't pay Victor any mind. He's always been money-obsessed. Are you thirsty? I'll get you some water."

The more I looked at his smiling face, the colder I felt inside.

I once thought Leo was different from his brothers, that he truly cared about me.

Only at the very end did I understand that it was all a carefully staged act to win my sympathy, followed by the real demand. It was all part of his scheme.

As expected, over the next two days, Leo came every day.

He sent breakfast in the mornings and stayed with me in the evenings. He was the most caring son one could ask for.

Even the caregiver whispered to me, "Your youngest son is really attentive. He's so much better than the other two."

I merely smiled in response.

After two days, while peeling an apple, Leo said casually, "Mom, I went shopping yesterday and saw a pair of limited-edition shoes. Only 30 thousand dollars."

I said nothing.

He gave me the apple and showed me a picture. "Look, the color suits me so well. Everyone at work has them except me. It's embarrassing."

I took a bite of the apple, still silent.

Leo pouted and grabbed my hand. "Mom, buy them for me, okay? Just consider it my birthday gift. After all, what's 30 thousand dollars to you, right?"

Seeing the anticipation in his eyes, I smiled suddenly. "Victor asked for 50 thousand dollars, and you asked for 30 thousand dollars. Did you plan this together?"

His smile faltered. "Mom, what do you mean? I'm not like him. I-I just think the shoes look nice."

"I have no money," I said calmly, pulling my hand back. "There's no more money in the bank account you set up."

Leo's face went pale. "What? How could hundreds of thousands just be gone? Y-You…"

He pointed at me, speechless for what felt like forever, then tossed the apple onto the table in a huff.

"Fine! So you planned this all along? No wonder you wouldn't give Victor money. I stayed here playing the attentive son for days, and it was all for nothing! You're hell-bent on keeping the money to yourself, aren't you?" he yelled.

When he finally showed his true colors, an unexpected sense of relief washed over me.

"Yes. The money is mine. None of you will touch it again," I replied.

Leo trembled with rage, grabbed his bag, and stormed out. "Fine! Susan Jenkins, you're ruthless! When you're old and can't move, don't expect me to take care of you!"

The door slammed shut, and the room finally fell into complete silence.

I stared at the ceiling as tears slid down my cheeks.

These were the sons I had loved my entire life, and every one of them was trying to squeeze me for everything I had.

Ever since I laid things out with my three sons, no one had come by my ward for days.

I was glad for the peace and quiet, so I didn't look for any of them.

Unfortunately, the calm lasted only a few days before my phone rang. It was Karen Zimmer, my former across-the-hall neighbor.

She yelled frantically, "Susan! Hurry back to your old apartment! Your sons are causing a huge scene downstairs!"

My heart skipped a beat. Hadn't the old apartment already been sold? What were they doing there?

I asked the caregiver to notify the hospital and took a taxi back.

The closer I got, the louder the shouting was.

Before the car even came to a stop, I saw a crowd gathered at the entrance, old neighbors clustered together. In the middle, my sons were grabbing each other's collars and arguing.

Their hair was a mess, their clothes pulled out of shape, and whatever dignity they'd had was gone.

Victor pointed at Ryan, spitting with rage. "Ryan, stop lying! You were the one who bad-mouthed me to Mom and told her not to give me money!"

Ryan shoved him back. "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I say that? You're the one whining about being broke in front of Mom every day, trying to squeeze money out of her!"

"When did I ever do that? How about the money in the fund we set up for her? You probably used it for your school district apartment!"

"You used it for your daughter's piano program!"

Wiping his tears, Leo roared, "You're both trash! When I was taking care of Mom, I heard her say it herself. She said both of you scammed the money from her! She also said I'm the most sensible one and told me not to argue with you two. And yet I ended up with nothing!"

"That's ridiculous!" Ryan and Victor snapped.

"It's true!" Leo cried even harder. "Mom told me not to tell you she still had money! She said you two are asking for more! Now look at this. She's pretending to be poor, and you two are already tearing each other apart."

Those words stunned both Ryan and Victor. They immediately turned on each other again.

"You told Mom to hide her money from us, didn't you?"

The neighbors shook their heads, whispering among themselves.

One of them clicked their tongue and remarked, "What's with these three? Their mom is hospitalized, and they're here arguing."

"It's obviously about money. Susan must have some savings. Otherwise, they wouldn't be arguing out in the streets, would they?"

"I bet that's the case. Kids don't turn out like this for no reason. Susan must've played favorites and been stingy, which is why her sons turned out this way."

"I always said it's important to raise kids the right way. If you don't, they'll end up doing something embarrassing like this!"

"I don't get what's on Susan's mind, though. If she has the money, why not just distribute it evenly to her sons? Why is she hiding the money?"

Each word pierced my heart.

Trembling with anger, I pushed through the crowd and yelled, "That's enough!"

The three of them were shocked to see me.

Ryan rushed over first and grabbed my arm. "Mom, you're finally here! Quick, tell us! Victor asked you for money first, didn't he? He even bad-mouthed me, right?"

Victor squeezed in beside us. "Mom, don't listen to Ryan! He asked you for money to buy an apartment, didn't he?"

"Enough!" I shouted hoarsely, shaking them off. "You've all gone shameless over money!"

They froze at my shouting, saying nothing, just staring at me wide-eyed.

The crowd murmured louder, and someone even said, "Well, since Susan is here, she should just split the money evenly. They've embarrassed themselves enough already."

I took a deep breath and stared at my sons. "You all think the others have taken the money, right? Do you think I'm playing favorites? Let's find out what's really going on!"

I pointed toward the bank down the street and continued, "That's the bank, and I have the bank card with me. Let's go there now and see if I have the money, where it went, and whether I favored anyone at all!"