Family First? Nah. Revenge First. Welcome to My Heatwave Trap! Chapter 09

Family First? Nah. Revenge First. Welcome to My Heatwave Trap! Chapter 09

On the camera feed, Dad heard I wasn’t coming back and immediately pointed at Mom, cursing.

“Look at the worthless daughter you raised. She won’t even help with one small thing. Since she’s

not coming, you go out and buy groceries.”

Ryan quickly backed him up.

“Yeah, Mom. You don’t want me and your grandson to starve, do you?”

Brooke suddenly remembered how to be a good daughter-in-law. She pulled a sun umbrella from

her bag and handed it to Mom.

“Mom, use this so you don’t get burned. And grab some jerky while you’re out. I’m sick of eating

noodles every day.”

Faced with the whole family pressuring her, Mom broke down crying. “It’s over 140 degrees out

there! You’re sending me to my death!”

Hearing her words, my heart felt like it was soaked in water-sour and swollen.

She knew going outside right now meant dying.

But last time, she had been the one forcing me out the door.

Every bit of “kindness,” every act of weakness, had only been for her precious son and grandson.

Mom snatched the phone from Ryan and begged me through tears.

She asked me to think of something-maybe send a friend with food.

I just shook my head and refused.

Exactly the way she had refused to open the door for me last time.

When she realized I was useless to them, Mom chose her grandson and favorite son.

She took Brooke’s umbrella and prepared to leave.

Before walking out, she said coldly to me, “You useless girl, I gave birth to you for nothing. If it

weren’t for you, would I have to go out in this heat?”

“I should’ve drowned you when you were born.”

I stared at her furious, deformed expression and ended the video call.

My dear mother.

You already killed me once.

You were the one who handed them the knife.

Mom left and never returned by evening.

Dad paced around the apartment in a panic, but he didn’t offer to go out himself or tell my to go look for her.

But he never suggested going out himself or sending Ryan to look for her.

The next day, Mom still hadn’t come back.

I knew she wasn’t coming.

She had died outside, just like me.

brother

On the third day after Mom went missing, Dad finally realized that the woman who had been with him all his life-and whom he had bullied all his life-was dead.

He lay weakly on the bed and started wailing.

But the only person who ever listened to him was dead.

His son, daughter-in-law, and grandson didn’t want to hear it.

They left him in the living room and hid together in the master bedroom.

On the seventh day of the deadly heatwave, Dad hadn’t eaten in five days.

That morning, hunger finally drove him to his feet.

He got up from the sofa and headed to the master bedroom to find the others.

When he pushed open the door, he saw Ryan, Brooke, and Tyler huddled together secretly eating

instant ramen.

Everything became clear in an instant.

There had been food the whole time.

They had just hidden it.

Dad exploded, pointing at Ryan and roaring, “There was food here all along! Why did you trick your mom into going out?”

“You already got her killed, and now you selfish bastards are hoarding food and trying to starve me

too?”

“You heartless pieces of shit. I’ll kill you all for your mother!”

Dad grabbed a fruit knife from the table and lunged at Ryan.

In the struggle, the knife somehow ended up in Ryan’s hand.

The one who fell was Dad.