I got a panicked call from Mom first thing in the morning. "Son! Your uncle was drunk driving last night and got into a fatal crash! His wife is already here shaking us down for cash! You better come home quick!"

I rushed my farewells and sped back home.

Seeing my buzz cut, my parents' worry deepened.

"Oh, why on earth did you have to shave your head now?"

Linda emerged from the living room, her face a mess from crying, spewing venom.

"Your son killed my husband! I won't rest until I see a million dollars!"

The ink wasn't even dry on Jack's death certificate, and there she was, on our doorstep, making demands.

Something smelled fishy.

I retorted, "What, if I go get a hair transplant, will that bring Uncle Jack back? Heck no, you won't get a dime from us!"

Ignoring her, she stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

In a flash, she had it pressed against Mom's throat.

"Not paying, huh? Let's see how you like losing someone dear!"

Panic set in. Dad softly tried to reason with her.

"Okay, okay, you said a million, just give us some time. We'll get it."

Linda, half-believing, didn't remove the knife until it nicked Mom, leaving a bloody scratch.

"Make sure you keep your word, or next time, it won't be just a scratch!"

After a tense goodbye to Linda, Mom turned to me, her face lined with worry, "She's off the rails... what if she does something even crazier next time..."

"Don't worry, we'll rely on the cops. She's made her move, but we've got our bases covered."

Mom broke down, nodding through her tears.

I had a solid plan; even if Linda made more noise online or took us to court, we'd be protected by the law.

Just when things seemed to calm down—

Linda dropped another bombshell: she was pregnant.

"What? She's pregnant?"

Susan and Grandma showed up, dropping the bombshell.

Linda, smug, caressed her belly.

"That's right, the last heir to our family. If you want this baby, you know the drill."

Grandma looked pained and uncertain, her eyes darting between me and Susan.

"It's true... he was the last of our line. Jack's gone."

Her implication was clear—we should keep supporting Linda until the child was born.

We all knew that agreeing was a one-way ticket to endless financial drain.

The cost of future baby formula and Linda's retirement care... these expenses are substantial.

Desperate, Grandma turned to her daughters, "Are you heartless? This is our family's future! Agree now, or are you trying to kill me with worry?"

I thought about how Grandma had squeezed everything she could out of her daughters.

Now, with her son gone, she still expected them to prop up her daughter-in-law. Ridiculous.

Grandma's gaze then landed on me, filled with more accusation, "You and your haircut! It's your fault! Jack was too decent to just go out and drink and drive!"

Realizing this was going nowhere and bracing for more fallout, Susan and Mom shared a look and finally said, "Mom, go back home. Let us think this through."

With that, Grandma and Linda left.

Once they were gone, Susan revealed a staggering secret to my mom.

Jack had been infertile all along!

After much prodding, Susan finally spilled the beans, "During a routine work physical, it came out that Jack had fertility issues—his sperm count was too low to get anyone pregnant."

I was stunned and blurted out, "So Aunt Linda must've cheated on him."

Our top priority was finding proof of her affair.

"Look at this!"

Mom gasped, showing us her phone.

It was a video Linda posted. In the clip, she was dressed in tattered clothes, looking pitiful.

Odd, since she'd been wearing a fancy fur coat when she left our place.

"My nephew and my husband had a fight, and that brat went and cut his hair during the New Year! Everyone knows starting the year with drastic changes brings bad luck to your uncle! My husband died the day after he did it!"

The internet was divided.

Some called it out as outdated superstition, saying this whole hair-cutting curse was nonsense.

Others sided with the grieving, pregnant widow, lashing out at us for not supporting her.

[Everybody knows utterly changing your look in New Year is a jinx! This is a long-standing tradition! And yet here comes some disrespectful kid messing with fate. What a tragedy!]

[Look how shabby her clothes are; clearly, she's being mistreated by her in-laws. I support her! The family should pay up!]

[How are people supposed to enjoy the holidays like this? Pay her off already! You can't just kill someone and walk away! Actions have consequences!]

Seeing public opinion shift in her favor, I knew Linda was playing her cards.

She was trying to use the media to corner us into signing a custody deal.

We had to act fast and put a stop to this.