Category: English

On April Fool’s Day, the company organized a team-building trip to India. My girlfriend Barbara’s assistant Sean insisted on visiting a special temple as soon as we landed. He didn’t know that the so-called temple was actually a sex temple. I told my boss this secret to stop Barbara and Sean from going to this temple. But Sean secretly snuck out in the middle of the night. As soon as he reached the temple entrance, six men dragged him into an alley. When we found him, he was lying dead outside the temple, completely naked. After Barbara found out, she blamed him for bringing it on himself. But the day before leaving India, she had someone strip off my clothes and throw me onto a black bus. “You’re the one who got Sean killed. If I had gone with him that night, nothing would have happened. You’re so evil—you’re the one who deserves to die!” I was tortured to death by a group of thugs. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn on the day Sean wanted to go to the temple. This time, not only would I not stop them, I would encourage them to go.

“Howard, Indian temples are cultural heritage sites. How could they be as chaotic as you’re saying?” When I was reborn, all my colleagues had already changed clothes and were ready to go out, but I blocked them at the door. Barbara felt I was making her lose face. She pointed at my nose and cursed, “I think you’re just jealous of Sean and me, so you’re trying to scare everyone with stories about rapists!” The other colleagues chimed in. “Yeah, all the Indians we’ve met have been pretty friendly. It’s not like what he’s saying—that they’re all desperate and sex-crazed.” “I think he’s just jealous. He’s afraid Barbara will go to the temple with Sean and they’ll get together, and then she won’t want him anymore.” “Honestly, Howard, have you been to those kinds of places yourself? Is that why you’re describing it so vividly?” Hearing these words, my heart turned completely cold. Here, there was a sexual violence crime every three minutes, a woman was raped every twenty-two minutes, and a girl had an abortion every hour. But they didn’t take it seriously at all, and they thought it was just media exaggeration. The company had spent big money on a professional tour group for this team-building trip. We stayed in luxury hotels, our tour guide was a highly educated graduate, and the places we visited were all legitimate establishments. So along the way, everyone felt that India wasn’t as chaotic as the internet made it out to be. Barbara’s assistant Sean had seen online that the temple here was very effective for finding true love, so late at night he insisted on going to see it. Before coming here, I had already found out that the so-called temple was actually a sex temple, surrounded entirely by brothels. Not only would it be dangerous for women to go there at night, even men could easily run into trouble. In my previous life, I had desperately tried to stop this from happening. When they wouldn’t listen to my warnings, I went to the company’s senior leadership. But my good intentions resulted in my family being destroyed. “Everyone, please stop talking about Howard like that.” At this moment, Sean stepped forward and spoke up for me. “Howard, I know you’re concerned about everyone’s safety. But don’t worry—my dad knew I was coming to India, so he specially arranged professional bodyguards for me. Nothing will happen.” “If you’re really worried about Barbara, then let her stay here with you.” Sean was nominally Barbara’s intern, but on his first day at the company, people started spreading rumors that he was the company chairman’s son. When Barbara heard that Sean wasn’t planning to let her go, she immediately panicked and slapped me across the face. “If you don’t want to broaden your horizons, don’t drag me down with you.” Then she turned around and fawned over Sean, “Sean, I have to go with you. It’s so late—I’m worried.” Everyone immediately started making jokes. “Is Barbara really worried about safety, or is she afraid Sean will find his true love at the temple?” “With so many of us here, why is Barbara only worried about Sean?” The people present completely ignored the fact that I was Barbara’s boyfriend and kept teasing the two of them. Sean laughed. “Everyone, stop teasing Barbara and me. If Howard gets upset, he’ll probably go complain to Miss Kane again.” At these words, everyone fell silent. Barbara’s look toward me also became disgusted. “Howard, are you some kind of elementary school student? Do you have to go running to leadership about everything? We’re all adults here. If something happens, we can take responsibility for ourselves.” The way she looked at me reminded me of the scene from my previous life when she pushed me onto the black bus.

I shuddered and quickly apologized. “I’ve been watching too many short videos—they’ve messed with my brain. I shouldn’t have stopped you.” “But I heard that the fewer people who go to the temple, the higher the chance of finding true love. Do you want to try?” I was just making it up, but unexpectedly they actually believed me. Someone even searched for tips online and found that someone wearing a miniskirt had met their true love there. So the female colleagues immediately went back to change into miniskirts, and the male colleagues also changed into shorts. Then the whole group left excitedly. Watching their backs, I let out a cold laugh. When they got to the temple and discovered that those people didn’t even spare the men, I wondered if they’d still be so happy. This group had just reached the elevator when they ran into Miss Kane returning from outside. Seeing their outfits and learning their destination, Miss Kane’s face turned red with anger. “Indian women who go out after 9 PM are considered to be consenting to assault. Do you all think your lives are too comfortable or something?” “Hurry up and take off your makeup, change your clothes—nobody is allowed to go out tonight!” Her tone was stern, but Barbara didn’t think it was serious. “Miss Kane, you’re going a bit too far. We’re all adults. We can go wherever we want. You can’t restrict our personal freedom.” Miss Kane’s vision went dark, and she got even angrier. “Fine! I can’t control your personal freedom, but I can control your salaries. Anyone who runs out on their own tonight can forget about their bonus this month.” They were all working people, so they were quite sensitive about money. Several people immediately wanted to go back, but some were still stubborn and unwilling. “Miss Kane, it was Sean who wanted to go. You should…” “Enough.” Sean stepped forward at this point. “Everyone, don’t make things difficult for Miss Kane. If we’re not going, we’re not going. Let’s go back to our rooms.” Only after he spoke did these people obediently return to their rooms. Having seen enough of the commotion, I was about to go back when Miss Kane grabbed my arm. “Howard, you’re the most reliable one among these people. Help me keep an eye on them. Don’t let them go out at this hour. If this makes international news, it’ll affect our entire company’s image.” I told her I’d try my best, but these people were all adults, and if they really wanted to go out, there was no stopping them. As soon as I returned to my room, Sean and Barbara were standing inside the door with several people. One of them was asking Sean, “Sean, why didn’t you tell Miss Kane you wanted to go? If she knew you wanted to go, she definitely wouldn’t have stopped us. After all, your dad is our chairman.” A flash of discomfort crossed Sean’s expression, but he quickly returned to normal. “We still need to give Kane some face when we’re outside. Besides, someone obviously snitched, and once Kane knew, she couldn’t just ignore it.” At these words, they all turned their gazes toward me, who had just returned. My heart sank. I was about to run when Barbara came over and grabbed my collar. “Howard, you’re really shameless. You let us go out, then immediately went and reported us. And you even promised her you’d monitor us. What exactly is your relationship with this Miss Kane?” Sean added fuel to the fire from the side. “Howard, you’re not trying to climb the ladder through Miss Kane, are you? What has Barbara done to wrong you that you’d treat her like this?”

His one sentence completely enraged Barbara. Barbara raised her hand and slapped me hard twice. My face immediately stung with burning pain. I kept saying I didn’t do it, and I even took out my phone, telling her she could look at it if she didn’t believe me. Barbara took my phone and thoroughly checked it. Only after she discovered that I really didn’t have any contact with Miss Kane outside of work did her expression improve a little. Sean looked disappointed. “But I really want to see the temple. Barbara, what should we do now?” Barbara thought for a few seconds, then took my phone and sent a message to Miss Kane. “If we want to go, we’ll go. I just sent Miss Kane a message saying we’ve decided not to go. We’ll wait until midnight to leave. By then, Miss Kane will definitely be asleep.” The remaining people thought this was a good idea. Immediately, someone shared this in the company’s small group chat, asking if anyone else wanted to go. They quickly got responses—most people were willing to go. I sneered inwardly. Going out at 9 PM was already dangerous, and they wanted to wait until midnight—as if they were afraid those perverts wouldn’t be out. A few hours later, they prepared to leave. Just before going out, Sean suddenly turned to look at me. “Barbara, what if Howard snitches? Should we tie him up?” My face went pale. “That’s not necessary, is it? I can just give you my phone.” But Barbara nodded. They somehow found a bundle of rope and tied up my hands and feet. After tying the last knot, Barbara crouched down and warned me, “Howard, just bear with it for a bit. I’ll be back soon.” “I know what you’re worried about, but so many male colleagues are going. I won’t be in any danger.” Then, right in front of everyone, she actually kissed me. Sean’s eyes nearly blazed with fire. I let out a cold laugh. Barbara was truly too naive. Those male colleagues couldn’t even protect themselves—how could they possibly protect her? Sean’s knot-tying technique was very professional. The more I struggled, the tighter the ropes became. So after they left, I shouted for help toward the door, hoping someone from room service passing by might hear me. I had barely shouted a couple of times when the door was pushed open. When I saw who it was, all the blood in my body turned cold. “Sean, why did you come back?” He didn’t answer my question at all. He and two other people dragged me into the bathroom and punched me twice in the stomach. “I knew you wouldn’t be honest. Even tied up, you’re still shouting for help.” I quickly explained, “I just wanted someone to untie my ropes. I wasn’t trying to snitch.” But after I said this, he raised his hand again. “You really think I hit you because I’m afraid you’ll snitch? I just can’t stand you.” “Tell me, what do you have? Why does Barbara like you so much?” “I’m telling you, I’ve set my sights on Barbara. You’d better break up with her quickly, or I’ll ruin your reputation.” As Sean spoke, he kept hitting me. I was in so much pain that cold sweat dripped down. I was beaten to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore and was just about to say I could break up with her right now. But as soon as I pursed my lips, Sean suddenly grabbed my mouth. “What do you mean pursing your lips? Are you trying to show off that she just kissed you? Damn it, I’m going to ruin your mouth right now so Barbara never wants to kiss you again.” As he spoke, he picked up the toilet cleaner from nearby and tried to shove it into my mouth. The pungent acidic smell instantly rushed into my nasal cavity. When I struggled, half a bottle of cleaner spilled onto Sean’s body. He immediately screamed, “These clothes are expensive! How dare you!” He kicked me hard in my lower body. I almost passed out from the pain.

Sean said he needed to change clothes and told the other two male colleagues to shove the remaining half bottle of cleaner into my mouth. After he left, one of the male colleagues, Brown, picked up the bottle, and the other one stopped him. “Maybe we should just forget it. What if he reports us to the police?” Brown scoffed. “There’s not even a surveillance camera here. Even if he reports to the police, as long as we deny everything, the police can’t do anything to us.” “Even if this matter really gets investigated, it was Sean who did it first. When that happens, the chairman will definitely protect him. I don’t want to offend the chairman’s son.” The two of them were originally Sean’s lackeys, and they were both eager to climb the ladder. When Sean outside urged them a few more times, one of them held my mouth open while the other poured all the cleaner into my mouth. The cleaner was acidic. As it flowed down my throat, I felt like my esophagus was being burned through. Worse than the physical pain was the pain in my heart. I didn’t understand. I had never done anything wrong to them at the company, yet they were treating me like this. After they finished, Sean had already changed his clothes. He said Barbara had already called and told them to hurry downstairs. The hands supporting me loosened, and my whole body collapsed on the floor. I looked like I was barely breathing. Brown was a little scared now. “Sean, he looks like something’s really wrong. Should we take him to the hospital?” Sean was dismissive. “It’s just half a bottle of cleaner. At worst it’ll damage his throat a bit. He’ll throw it up himself in a moment.” “I’m going to confess to Barbara at the temple in a bit. I can’t let him ruin my plans.” Then he kicked my stomach. I felt something surging up. A few seconds later, I threw up with a loud retch. The cleaner mixed with vomit stuck to my body, making my scalp tingle with disgust. Sean cursed, “Disgusting.” Then he took out his phone and took a picture of me. “In a bit, I’ll show this photo to Barbara. She definitely won’t like Howard anymore.” Brown flattered him from the side. “Sean, if you ask me, Barbara probably already likes you. After all, you’re tall, rich, and handsome—much more noble than Howard.” Listening to this flattery, I almost wanted to laugh. I had already found out that Sean did have some connection with the chairman, but he was just a poor student sponsored by the chairman, not his son at all. And there were no bodyguards secretly protecting him. Thinking of the scene when they would truly encounter those things and be helpless, I felt satisfied. I lay in the bathroom all night before being discovered by Miss Kane who came looking for people. When she saw me like this, she immediately untied the ropes on my body. “Howard, who tied you up? Where are the other colleagues? Why can’t I reach any of them?” My eyes immediately reddened. “I’m sorry, Miss Kane. They insisted on going out. I couldn’t stop them at all.” When Miss Kane heard it was around midnight, her eyes went even darker. She was just about to take out her phone when a call came through. After answering, Miss Kane collapsed on the floor. “Something terrible has happened.”

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After my wife Levitt got pregnant, I applied to join the polar research team. During the mission, Levitt’s first love Matthew and I both fell into an ice crevasse, our lives hanging by a thread. Faced with the rescue rope Levitt threw down, I resolutely gave up saving myself and left the chance of survival to Matthew. Because in my previous life, I was successfully rescued while Matthew was swallowed by the ice, his body never recovered. After his death, Levitt showed no reaction. She withdrew from the research team to peacefully nurture her pregnancy. It wasn’t until after the child was born that Levitt said to me with a face full of hatred: “This is mine and Matthew’s child. You’re the one who killed my child’s father. He’s dead—what right do you have to live? Go die and atone for your sins in hell!” She pushed me off the rooftop and made it look like suicide. When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn to the moment of the rescue… “Quick, grab the rope!” Levitt stood in the distance and threw a rope that landed right beside me. I instantly became fully alert. Turning my head, I saw Matthew behind me. In temperatures of minus twenty degrees, the two of us clung desperately to the edge of the ice crevasse with our hands, a bottomless abyss beneath our feet. The rescue rope was closest to me, but with Levitt’s strength, she could only save one person. My hands trembled. Gritting my teeth, I made sure Matthew beside me saw the rope. “Matthew, grab the rope quick! I’ll pull you up!” The next second, Matthew firmly grasped the rope. From the corner of my eye, I saw Levitt’s whole body relax with relief as she pulled hard to drag him ashore. “You’re injured. Let’s get back to the base quickly!” Seeing Matthew rescued, I breathed a sigh of relief. In the wind and snow, the two embraced tightly, supporting each other as they left. As she walked away, Levitt tossed the rope on the ground aside. “Christie, I’ll have someone else rescue you!” Gritting my teeth to hold on, my strength completely depleted, I waited until they were far away before my hand slipped and I fell into the ice crevasse. Fortunately, at the critical moment, the tool in my hand wedged into the crevice, temporarily stopping my descent. I don’t know how much time passed. Cold wind rushed through my torn protective suit, my fingers had lost all feeling but I kept holding on, until finally I heard voices from above. “That Christie guy is probably already dead.” “If you fall down there, there’s no way to survive. Who told him to show off and insist on coming out here.” I desperately called for help, finally getting the people on shore to notice this crevice. Looking up, I made eye contact with several people. Seeing me, the few members of the research team all fell silent at once. No one reached out to me, letting me continue sliding down. “Christie, do you know you were wrong?” “Who told you to deliberately lead Matthew this way, trying to harm him, only to nearly kill yourself instead.” Finally someone sneered and tossed down a chunk of ice that hit my face shield. The slight movement made my nerves tense and cold sweat broke out on my back. I humbly begged them to save me. Like watching a clown, several people gathered around the edge of the crevice, their faces full of mockery. “Don’t be a coward! Be a real man, own up to what you did, and climb up yourself!” Lives were at stake, yet they were treating it like a joke. My fingers had lost all feeling, my body was losing heat—I couldn’t hold on much longer. Finally, after they’d had their fill of enjoying my misery, a rope was thrown down from above. I tried to reach it but couldn’t. “Climb up yourself. We’re leaving.” My whole body tensed. I could hardly believe it, but when I looked up, I saw Levitt’s face. “Levitt, help me out. Just pass me the rope.” These words filled her face with disgust. Not only did Levitt not help, she actually took an instinctive step back, then spoke in an icy tone. “Why should I help you? If I hadn’t been there today, Matthew would have been killed by you!” “Climb up yourself. If you manage to survive, you have to apologize to Matthew. If anything happens to him, we’re getting divorced!” “You don’t deserve to be this child’s father!” Losing strength, I listened as the sounds above went quiet. No matter how humbly I called for help, no one was willing to lend a hand. I couldn’t wait any longer. I would die.

I couldn’t wait any longer. Taking a gamble, I let go and lunged for that rescue rope. Fortunately, I caught it. Using every ounce of strength to climb ashore, my heartbeat was thunderous. All around was a vast expanse of white, not a single person in sight. They really hadn’t saved me—they’d all left. Whether I could survive or not, they simply didn’t care. The base was still over ten kilometers away. Having narrowly escaped death, I felt no sense of relief. Even with a GPS locator on me, just walking back like this could cost me half my life. But right now… Gritting my teeth, I plunged headfirst into the wind and snow. In extreme cold conditions, equipment at the base was prone to malfunction. Wearing gloves made it inconvenient to repair equipment, and when I fell into the ice crevasse, I had already lost my gloves. Between the exertion and the freezing cold, my fingers had long since lost all feeling. As a meteorologist, I understood environmental changes better than anyone. The snow fell heavier and heavier, wind pierced through my damaged protective suit, the road was a white blur with visibility less than ten meters. Cut off from contact with the base station, cold and hungry, I gritted my teeth and pushed forward. I had originally given up my research position back home and applied to join the polar research team for the sake of pregnant Levitt. Worried she’d suffer hardship, I willingly took on more suffering myself. But in the end, I was just making a wedding dress for someone else. The little life I’d most looked forward to wasn’t mine. The person I trusted most, lying beside me in bed, had also chosen to abandon me. My legs numb, I walked forward, my whole body trembling uncontrollably. If I could just survive… Holding onto that one breath, I don’t know how long I walked before finally seeing the base station with its lights on. In that moment, my heart settled. Trembling, I pulled at the door once, twice… The door was locked tight. No matter how I knocked, it wouldn’t budge. Outside, the cold wind was bone-piercing. Inside, people heard the commotion and sat in a circle. Levitt held hot tea for Matthew and covered him with another blanket. “Lucky bastard actually made it back alive!” “I knew nothing good would come of him joining the research team. This time we definitely can’t forgive him easily.” Levitt looked with concern at the scrape on Matthew’s leg, and in front of all the team members, she forbade anyone from opening the door. My fingers numb and without feeling, my legs also insensible to the cold, I gritted my teeth and held on, staring fixedly at that door, refusing to give up calling for help. Finally… “You can come in if you want.” Coughing twice, Matthew looked at me, his eyes harboring ill intentions. “If you want to come in, then kneel down and apologize to me.” “Oh my, forgiving him just like that—isn’t that letting him off too easy?” Levitt frowned, playfully scolding and roughhousing with him, completely ignoring my calls from outside the door. Reaching out to touch her belly, Matthew’s tone was light. “It’s fine, I won’t hold it against him. After all, he’s the child’s father and your lover.” “I don’t blame him. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t gone abroad back then, you wouldn’t have…” The rest of the words went unspoken. As the two looked at each other, their eyes were full of affection, with no room for anyone else. My heart ached and convulsed. Even though I’d experienced this once before, I still couldn’t help feeling miserable. The happiest moments of my life could be counted on one hand. After my parents died early, I grew up on charity. The first time I met Levitt was at university. The first time I saw her, I felt an inexplicable fondness for her. But Matthew was by her side, so I silently stayed beside her, thinking this affection would remain buried forever. Until one day, Levitt came to me on her own initiative. “Christie, let’s date.” For the first twenty years of my life, it was the first time I felt I’d won fate’s lottery. I desperately tried to be good to her, pouring all my efforts into helping her pursue her dreams. She wanted to do polar research, so I took care of her family and supported her with everything I had. After she got pregnant, I even gave up my own work and actively came to the polar region to accompany her, just to take good care of her. The happiest moments of my life were dating Levitt, marrying her, and nurturing new life together. But only now did I realize how foolishly naive and completely wrong I’d been. The people inside were laughing. A single door separated two worlds. As I knelt on the ground, I heard Matthew and Levitt pouring out their hearts to each other. “If I wasn’t trying to spite you, how could I have agreed to date and marry Christie?” “Levitt, I regret it. If I hadn’t gone abroad back then, we wouldn’t have…” Matthew’s hand rested on Levitt’s lower abdomen, his expression gentle. Covered with a layer of snow, I watched Levitt’s completely different tender expression and smiled bitterly. Getting together now isn’t too late, is it? After all, the child in her belly is Matthew’s.

I could die anywhere, but absolutely not at the base entrance. With only one breath left, I was finally allowed inside. Staggering to my feet, for those last few steps, I practically crawled into the building. Seeing me in this state, Levitt looked even more disgusted. “Stop with the pity act, Christie. It makes me sick to watch.” I didn’t defend myself. I moved closer to the heat source to warm up. The snow on my clothes melted and soaked the floor, leaving a puddle of water. “That’s disgusting. Make sure you clean it up.” I was shivering from cold, too preoccupied to respond. Several fingers on my left hand still had no feeling. Levitt left. She was concerned about Matthew’s scraped shin and insisted the base station doctor examine him. When she saw me coming to find the doctor, she blocked the doorway completely, refusing to let me advance a single step. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t come here!” “The base doctor is busy. They don’t have time for your minor issues. Don’t you dare go near Matthew. Get lost!” Full of wariness, she said I wasn’t acting like a man while driving me back to my room. I changed into a fresh set of clothes, but my fingers still had no feeling. Looking at my discolored fingers, I frowned and tried to get past her. “I just need to see the doctor for a moment. You…” Slap! Before I could finish speaking, I was hit with a slap. Glaring at me with furrowed brows, Levitt blocked my way firmly, not allowing me to advance a single step. Amid the jeering, she glanced at me smugly, then quickly looked away. “Stop pretending. What could possibly be wrong with you? You climbed out of an ice crevasse and walked all the way back to the base station. You’re tough as nails. Matthew is different from you.” “See the doctor tomorrow. Tonight you’re not allowed near the infirmary!” My face burned. My anger had also been provoked. I tried to speak again but was pushed away from the infirmary by others. “Alright, alright, go back to sleep!” “Your own wife is pregnant and you still want to hit people? Go tomorrow.” “Levitt already told you. What more do you want, coward?” Matthew stood with his arms crossed watching me, his face full of disdain. Hearing the other team members curse at me, he curved his lips and silently mouthed at me. “Worthless.” I was driven back to my room. Lying in bed, I received a video on my phone. Levitt lay in Matthew’s arms, sleeping sweetly. Red marks showed on her neck, and there was a small cut at the corner of her mouth. Matthew had deliberately filmed this to show me. But right now, more than jealousy, I needed a doctor. At this moment, the only doctor at the base was busy following Levitt’s orders to “take care of” Matthew. Levitt did it on purpose. She stood guard all night, not allowing me near the infirmary. Only early the next morning was I finally able to see the doctor. “Your fingers… I’m afraid they’re already severely frostbitten…” “The base station doesn’t have the medical facilities for this. You need to get to a hospital for treatment as soon as possible.” Even though I’d had a premonition, hearing the doctor’s words still made my heart sink. Getting from the polar region to an outside hospital for treatment was easier said than done, but I couldn’t worry about that now. I couldn’t become disabled. I had to save my hand. The first thing I did upon returning to my room was call for outside help. After receiving confirmation, I breathed a sigh of relief. Headquarters would send a helicopter. As long as I received treatment in time… I stayed in my room all day. It wasn’t until I heard the roar of a helicopter that I pushed open my door. By the time I arrived, two figures stood in front of the helicopter, preparing to board. “We’re the injured! Matthew is hurt. Take him to the hospital to recover. I need to go with him!” Seeing me, Levitt’s face was cold. Touching her belly, she tried to squeeze onto the helicopter. “They can only take two people at a time. I need to go to the hospital for a prenatal checkup.” “Christie, you wait for the next one.” When the next one would be, I had no way of knowing. Compared to being abandoned in the ice crevasse, this moment felt even more chilling. Watching Levitt’s resolute back, my chest felt cold. “Levitt, I can’t wait any longer. My hand…” “Stop talking. Let’s go.” Matthew put his arm around her shoulder. Through his face shield, he flashed me a mocking smile, waved at me victoriously, and signaled the pilot to take off. The roar echoed in my ears. Before takeoff, Levitt looked at me, her face full of disappointment. “Stop the act. It makes me sick.”

The repeated rejections sparked anger in me. Ignoring the mockery from other base members, I organized some materials and luggage and called for rescue again. This time, I finally got help. When I removed the glove wrapping and exposed my fingers, the doctor gasped and looked at me again. “Let’s go do some tests first.” Only simple treatment had been done at the base station. The three most severely affected fingers had changed color, the tips turned black. The test results were not optimistic. The frostbite had damaged skin, muscle, and nerves. The doctor’s assessment was that amputation would be necessary. “The frostbite has reached the point of tissue necrosis. There may be infection later. We can only amputate as soon as possible.” “I’m very sorry…” Even though I’d anticipated it, when I heard the results, I still stood there stunned. After a long while, I wiped my face. “Alright, then let’s proceed with surgery as soon as possible.” In my previous life, Levitt always said I owed Matthew my life. This way was good too—at least this time both his life and mine were saved. Thinking this way, when I signed the surgical consent form, my fingers still trembled uncontrollably. Loving Levitt had cost too much. I felt it wasn’t worth it. Lost in thought, the sound of arguing next door brought me back. Familiar voices reached me. “Your injury looks so serious, yet the doctor says it’s nothing. They have no medical ethics at all.” “You’re a top scientific researcher. If something happens to you, I’ll definitely make them pay.” It was Levitt and Matthew. They were at this hospital too. Matthew had only suffered some scrapes, yet Levitt was extremely anxious. Hearing someone tell the “couple” to calm down, she didn’t correct them, just frowned and threw a tantrum. During the argument, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of me in the crowd. She instinctively frowned and turned cold, but seeing me, she still walked straight toward me. “Christie, explain to them. Why should others get priority treatment? Matthew should be treated first!” My gaze fell on a blood-covered man being carried into a ward nearby, then looked at the silent Matthew. I found it laughable. Who needed treatment more urgently? Wasn’t it obvious? But she acted as if she couldn’t see it. “Don’t get angry. You’re going to be a mother. There’s no need to…” I meant it as comfort, but Levitt frowned at me and threw the examination report in her hand at my face. “If you know that, why aren’t you helping me? Whose fault is it that Matthew got injured!” “If it weren’t for you, how could he have gotten hurt? You’ve upset my pregnancy too.” Watching her transfer all her anger onto me, the last bit of love in my heart dissipated completely. She wanted Matthew to stay in the hospital to rest, and claimed she’d been upset by me and needed my care. The doctor looked at me, wanting to speak but stopping short, but I held them back. Even if she didn’t say it, I would have stayed at the hospital anyway. The day after tomorrow, I would have surgery. Levitt demanded the best room and wanted to stay next to Matthew so she could take care of him anytime. Facing this pair of lovers day after day, my heart had long since lost all turbulence. I prepared divorce papers. After my surgery, I would voluntarily withdraw from the research team and divorce her. But before that… Completely unaware of my emotions, Levitt devoted all her attention to Matthew. The only time she got distracted was when she saw research papers in my hospital room. After flipping through them, she lowered her head and took a pen to scribble on the research papers. “How can these research reports count as only your achievement? Matthew almost lost his life because of you. You have to add his name!” With a wave of her hand, Levitt wrote Matthew’s name on the papers. The further she read, the more her brow furrowed. “How could these coordinate points be so dangerous? You’re just a meteorologist. Matthew specializes in measuring ice layer thickness and terrain. Your viewpoints don’t hold up at all!” The papers in her hand were thrown to the ground and stomped on. Levitt lifted her chin, looking at me with contempt. “Forget it. All you can write is this garbage anyway.” “Matthew is going back to the research team tomorrow. The first places he’ll go are those points you marked. Just wait.” “He’ll disprove your arguments and prove you’re wrong.” I jerked my head up to look at her. Hearing where Matthew planned to go, I tried to stop them, only to be met with her loud mockery. In the end, I watched helplessly as she sent Matthew off. Through the window, the man hugged Levitt and flashed me a provocative smile. Behind me, medical staff knocked on the ward door and confirmed my information with me. “Mr. Christie, it’s time to prepare for surgery.” “Alright.” Before leaving, I glanced at the two of them. From now on, we would have nothing to do with each other.

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My mom was famous for being the perfect wife and mother. The house was always spotless, meals always on the table right on time. Growing up, the thing she said to me most often was: “Aria, the way you are, what man is ever going to marry you?” Later, I got married. My husband was considerate and handled all the housework. Watching him cook in the kitchen, my mom stood nearby, her brow furrowed tight. “Aria, how can you let a man do these things?” My husband poked his head out from the kitchen, smiling. “Mom, nowadays couples share responsibilities.” She didn’t say anything more, but her expression stayed dark all afternoon. Until that day my husband worked late and I cooked dinner. I put too much salt in the food. It was a bit salty. My mom put down her fork, stood up, and walked behind me. She placed both hands on my shoulders. Her grip suddenly tightened. She forced me to my knees in front of my husband. She looked down at me, her tone flat. “Men need to be firm, or women won’t listen. Your father taught me to be obedient this way back in the day.”

The moment my knees hit the tile floor, Lucas rushed over. “Mom!” He pulled me up in one swift motion, anger compressed in his voice. “What are you doing?” I kept my head down, staring at my reddening knees, my head buzzing. My mom looked at Lucas, then at me, and spoke with heavy sincerity. “I wanted to teach you a lesson last time. A woman not cooking, making a man do it—what does that look like?” Lucas positioned me behind him, his brow knitted tight. “Mom, what era are we living in? Who still cares about this stuff? Aria and I are husband and wife. What does it matter who cooks?” “It matters.” My mom walked around him and stood in front of me, looking down at me from above. “Aria, you listen to me. Men work hard outside earning money to support the family. When they come home, they should be comfortable. You make Lucas cook and wash dishes—what will people think of you? What will they think of our family?” I lifted my head and looked at her. “Mom.” I stood up, my legs still a bit weak. “Lucas likes doing it. He’s happy to cook, and I’m happy to eat. Our household is our business.” My mom’s expression darkened. She stopped looking at me and turned to Lucas instead. “Lucas, you’re a good kid, I know that. But you can’t spoil her like this. You can’t spoil a woman. Spoil her and she’ll walk all over you.” Lucas froze for a moment, like he didn’t understand. “What are you saying?” “I’m saying.” My mom spoke each word deliberately. “Women need to be managed. If she doesn’t listen, you need to show her who’s boss. Your father—at first he couldn’t bear to raise his hand either. Later he understood: spare the rod, spoil the child.” My head exploded with a thunderous boom. “Mom!” I was practically shouting. “What are you saying?!” My mom turned to look at me, something unfamiliar in her eyes. Like disappointment, yet also like certainty. “Aria, you think I’m trying to make things hard for you?” She sighed and reached out to touch my face. I turned my head away. Her hand hung in midair, then withdrew. “I’ve been through this, I know how to live. Men need to act like men, women need to act like women. You’re young now, you don’t understand. In a few years you’ll know…” “I don’t want to know.” I interrupted her. “Mom, how you and Dad live—that’s your business. How Lucas and I live—that’s our business.” My mom looked at me for a long time. Then she raised her hand and slapped me across the face. “What kind of attitude is this?” Her voice remained calm. “Talking back to your mother? This is the manners you learned after getting married?” Lucas stepped in front of me in one stride, blocking me behind him. “Mom, you’ve gone too far.” My mom looked at him and actually smiled. “Lucas, I’m helping you. If you don’t control her today, tomorrow she’ll be walking all over you.” Lucas’s face flushed red, his chest heaving violently. I could feel his hand holding mine trembling. “Mom.” He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady. “Our household doesn’t have those kinds of rules. I won’t hit Aria, and I won’t let anyone else hit her.” My mom’s expression finally changed. She looked at Lucas, then at me behind him. Her lips moved like she wanted to say something. In the end, she said nothing. She turned and went into the guest room, slamming the door shut with a bang. The guest room door opened. My mom came out, fully dressed, carrying that canvas bag she’d used for over a decade. “I’m going home.” She stood in the middle of the living room, not looking at me or Lucas. “You two live your lives. I won’t interfere.” Lucas stood up. “Mom, it’s so late…” “Don’t worry about me.” She cut him off, finally turning her gaze to me. “Aria, I hit you today for your own good. You don’t appreciate it. When you suffer later, don’t come crying to me.” I stood up, meeting her gaze. “Mom, I won’t think you hitting me means you’re doing it for my own good. And I won’t think you’re right just because you say it’s for my own good.” My mom looked at me, her expression complex. Anger, disappointment, and something else I couldn’t read. After a long moment, she picked up her bag and walked to the door. Then she pulled it open and walked out. I stood there, tears finally falling. Lucas came over and pulled me into his arms. “It’s okay now.” He gently patted my back. “It’s okay now.” I buried my face in his chest and said in a muffled voice: “Lucas, I’ll never become like her.” He held me tighter. “I know.” Before bed, I received a SnapChat message from my mom. Very long. I read it for a long time. The last paragraph said: “You think I wanted to hit you? You think I want to be the villain? This is how I lived my whole life. Your grandmother taught me this way too. If a woman doesn’t bow her head, life becomes impossible. You don’t understand now, but you will later.” I stayed silent for a while, then replied. “Mom, I don’t want to understand.”

Two months later, I found out I was pregnant. Somehow the news reached my mom. The very next morning, she showed up at our door carrying bags large and small. “You’re pregnant and didn’t tell me?” She complained as soon as she came in. “The first three months are most critical. You young people don’t know anything. I need to move in and take care of you.” Lucas and I exchanged glances, neither of us saying anything. She just moved in like that. Honestly, for that month, my mom truly devoted herself. She varied the meals every day, handled all the housework, even insisted on washing Lucas’s underwear. Lucas tried to stop her a few times. She said “men’s hands are too rough, they’ll ruin the clothes,” and insisted on doing it herself. I thought maybe she’d changed. After getting pregnant, Lucas accompanied me to every prenatal checkup, saying it was to monitor fetal development. That day, after the ultrasound, he looked at the screen with bright eyes, smiling tenderly. “Strong heartbeat, developing well,” he pointed at the blurry little figure on the screen, “a healthy little girl.” “A daughter?” He squeezed my hand. “Are you happy?” I nodded, a strange warmth rising in my chest. A little girl, wearing pretty dresses, with little braids, like what I wanted to become as a child but never did. Just as he finished speaking, my mom came out of the kitchen carrying a fruit plate. “What daughter?” Lucas answered with a smile. “Mom, I said Aria’s probably carrying a daughter.” The fruit plate landed on the coffee table with a dull thud. My mom’s expression changed. She came over and sat down next to me, looking at me and asking each word deliberately: “Did you get it checked? You’re sure it’s a daughter?” “Not yet.” I said. “It might not be accurate.” “Then it’s not accurate.” She spoke decisively. “Definitely not accurate.” Lucas looked confused. My mom interrupted him, her voice rising. “Your father looked too back then, said I was carrying a son. And the result? I gave birth to her!” She pointed at me, her finger trembling. I suddenly understood what she wanted to say. “Mom.” I spoke slowly. “You want a grandson?” “I want one?” She looked at me, her expression complex. “Aria, I’m thinking of you. If your first child is a daughter, what will your in-laws think? Lucas won’t say it, but will he really be happy inside?” “Mom.” Lucas spoke seriously. “I like daughters.” My mom acted like she didn’t hear him and continued: “While it’s still early, get it taken care of. Rest up, get pregnant again next year.” I shot to my feet. “Mom, what are you saying?!” She was even more agitated than me. She stood up and grabbed my wrist. “Aria, wake up! This is important, you can’t be reckless! The first child must be a son—that’s the rule! If you give birth to a daughter, you’ll never hold your head up in your in-laws’ family!” “Our family doesn’t have that rule.” Lucas came over, pulled my hand from her grasp, and protected me behind him. “Mom, I’ve told you—our affairs are our own business. I like daughters. Having a daughter makes me happy.” “You’re happy?” My mom looked at him and let out a cold laugh. “You’re happy now. When you’re old and everyone else has kids and grandkids running around while you have no one, will you be happy then?” Lucas took a deep breath, like he was trying hard to restrain himself. “Mom, I don’t like hearing that. Why can’t a daughter carry on the family line? Besides, having boys or girls is determined by biology, not by what we want.” My mom glanced at me but said nothing.

The next evening, just as I was about to go to bed, my mom came in carrying a bowl of herbal medicine. “This is gender-changing medicine.” She said. ” I had someone get it from back home—it wasn’t cheap. They said if you drink this, even a daughter can turn into a son” I looked at the bowl, feeling somewhat powerless. “Mom, have you lost your mind?” “You’re the one who’s lost your mind!” Her voice turned shrill. “I’m doing this for your own good, spent so much money to get this, and you’re still ungrateful?” Lucas, who had just finished showering and emerged from the bathroom, took the bowl and sniffed it. His expression changed. Changed drastically. “Mom.” His voice was tight. “Who gave you this medicine?” Lucas slammed the bowl down on the table heavily, anger compressed in his voice. “This is full of abortion drugs! If you drink this, forget changing gender—both mother and child won’t survive!” My mom froze. “That’s impossible.” She shook her head. “They said it was a traditional family recipe…” “I’m a doctor!” Lucas cut her off. “It’s all abortion medication! Are you trying to kill Aria?” “So what if it aborts? It aborts, that’s all.” My mom spoke matter-of-factly, chin raised. “It’s just a girl anyway. What’s so precious about her? When she grows up, she’ll belong to someone else’s family. Get rid of it now, have another one later.” My whole body trembled. “Mom.” My voice shook. “What you just said—are you serious?” “When have I ever joked with you?” She took a step forward. “Aria, don’t be foolish. I’ve been through this, I know the suffering of not having a son. Your father back then…” “Don’t mention Dad!” I yelled at her for the first time. “The suffering you endured your whole life was because you married someone like Dad! He hit you, cursed you, treated you like a work animal. You don’t hate him—instead you learned his ways, and now you want to use them on me?” My mom froze. “You think I didn’t see?” My eyes burned. “When I was little and he got drunk and hit you, you hid in the kitchen crying. The next day you still served him tea and water. I asked you why you didn’t leave. You said women have to accept their fate. But now? You want me to accept this fate too?” “I’m doing this for your own good!” “For my own good?” I pointed at the bowl of medicine. “That’s abortion medication, and you brought it for me to drink—that’s for my own good?” “So what!” Her voice turned shrill. “It’s just a girl in your belly! What good is a girl? Have I denied you food or clothes since you were small? But once you got married you sided with outsiders, talking back to your own mother—this is the punishment for raising a daughter!” I looked at her and suddenly laughed. “Mom, I’ll never become like you in this lifetime. My daughter won’t either.”

Nine months later. In the early morning of early March, after six hours of labor in the delivery room, I finally heard crying. Lucas held my hand, covered in sweat. When the nurse brought the baby over, he looked at me first. Tears dropped onto the back of my hand. “Aria, it’s a daughter.” His voice choked, his eyes completely red. “She’s beautiful.” I looked down at that wrinkled little face and suddenly smiled. How wonderful—a daughter. We named our daughter Dot. Lucas held her and wouldn’t let go, clumsily learning the positions the nurses taught. He kept murmuring “Daddy’s little sweetheart,” “Daddy’s little princess”—he murmured so much even the nurses laughed. The delivery had exhausted all my strength. My eyelids felt heavy as lead. “Sleep.” He gently patted my hand. “I’ll go handle the birth certificate, then come right back to watch over you.” “Watch the baby…” “Don’t worry, I’m sitting right outside the door.” I nodded, watching him tiptoe out. I closed my eyes, heard him carefully leave, heard my mom talking with the nurses in the outer room. My daughter occasionally whimpered twice, like a little kitten. Then everything went quiet. When I opened my eyes again, the light in the room had changed. The light coming through the curtain gap had shifted from golden to gray-white—who knows how much time had passed. I instinctively looked toward the baby bed. Empty. The blanket was folded neatly, the sheets without a single wrinkle, as if no one had ever lain there. My heart seized violently. I propped myself up. “Mom?” My mom walked in from the outer room, carrying a thermos. “You’re awake? Perfect timing. I made you chicken soup. Drink it while it’s hot.” “Where’s the baby?” My voice trembled slightly. She glanced at me, set the thermos on the bedside table, and said: “Sent away.” “…What?” “Sent away.” She brushed dust off herself. “It’s just a girl. What’s the point of keeping her? I had someone find her a good family. Their situation’s quite good—she’ll have a good life.” My head felt like someone had punched it hard, buzzing. I stared at her blankly, like looking at a stranger. “Have you lost your mind?” I heard my own voice, so shrill it didn’t sound like it came from my own throat. “That’s my daughter!” “What’s so good about raising a girl?” She frowned. “Don’t you understand? Give birth to a daughter and you think your mother-in-law will be happy? You think Lucas really doesn’t want a son? I’m thinking of you…” “Thinking of me?” I threw off the covers. My legs were so weak I almost couldn’t stand. “That’s my daughter! Flesh of my flesh! What right do you have to give her away?” “I’m your mother!” “You don’t deserve to be!” The moment those words left my mouth, I saw hurt flash across her face. But quickly, that emotion was replaced by impatience. “Enough, enough. Stop making a scene. Their situation’s good—she won’t suffer. You rest, have a son in a couple years, and you’ll thank me then…” I grabbed my phone, my fingers shaking so badly I could barely press the screen. “What are you doing?” Her voice changed. “Calling the police.” “Have you lost your mind?” She rushed over to grab my phone. “That’s your own mother! You want to send your own mother to jail?” I dodged her hand and pressed those three numbers. “Yes, I’m calling the police.” I stared directly into her eyes, each word deliberate. “Hello, I want to report a crime. Someone took my child and gave her away without my consent.” “This is human trafficking. Please come immediately!”

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Everyone in Manhattan’s elite circles knows that Sterling Vance, the ruthless and bloodthirsty CEO of Vance Enterprises, fears absolutely nothing in this world—except for a single frown from his older sister, Evelyn. Rumor has it that during the vicious, bloody inheritance war against our half-siblings, I was the one who took the literal bullets and arrows for him, paving his way to the throne. He suffers from severe insomnia. He can only fall asleep if he breathes in the custom-blended, soothing essential oils that I personally mix for him. But no one knows the truth. All those bullying incidents and assassination attempts he faced back then? I orchestrated them from the shadows. There is absolutely nothing biologically wrong with Sterling’s body. I spiked his essential oils with an untraceable chemical compound, ensuring that he would experience brutal withdrawal symptoms without it. He could never, ever leave me. With my own hands, I tamed this vicious wolf pup into a loyal dog who only recognizes me as his master. After helping Sterling thoroughly secure absolute control over the conglomerate, I voluntarily requested a transfer to our European branch to expand our market. It was a three-year stint. When I returned to the States three years later, there was a new face by Sterling’s side: a female security consultant, freshly retired from an overseas private military contractor. This consultant didn’t care for haute couture; she preferred tactical camo. She spent her days lounging in the top-floor executive suite, calling Sterling “bro” and treating him like one of the guys. She even slept directly in his private executive lounge. The first time she met me, she clamped a cigarette between her teeth and scoffed. “You’re the boss’s sister, not his wife. Why are you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?” The entire socialite circle was watching, waiting for a joke. They assumed that I, the former shadow-ruler of the Vance family, had lost my power, and now any random stray dog could step on me. It’s a shame. They didn’t realize that my absolute favorite game is psychological warfare. Especially when dealing with the kind of woman who uses the “I’m just one of the guys” banner as an excuse to sleep with her “bro.” …… The grandfather clock outside the penthouse office struck 3:00 AM. I sat on the French velvet sofa, casually toying with a cold, metallic lighter in my hand. My executive assistant, Arthur, pushed the door open. Despite the freezing air conditioning in the hallway, his forehead was slick with cold sweat. “Ms. Vance, Mr. Vance is… sleeping at the office again tonight.” I picked up the black coffee in front of me and took a slow sip. “With Consultant Miller keeping him company?” Arthur lowered his head even further. “Yes. Consultant Miller said the security system is undergoing an upgrade, and there are a few vulnerabilities she needs to troubleshoot with Mr. Vance overnight. She… she also said that mercenaries like her aren’t picky, so she’d just crash on the sofa in Mr. Vance’s lounge.” I set my coffee cup down. The porcelain clinked against the glass coffee table with a dull thud. Arthur’s shoulders violently flinched. Roxy Miller. Lately, that name had been echoing like thunder through the halls of the Vance Building. A female bodyguard who had spent three years dodging bullets in overseas warzones. She signed a massive security contract with Vance Enterprises, but instead of staying in the five-star hotel suite the company provided, she squatted in the CEO’s office every single day. She perpetually wore cargo pants and sported a choppy wolf-cut. She never knocked before entering a room, claiming it was a “professional habit” from the warzone. And incredibly, Sterling allowed it. At that exact moment, the faint sound of a man and woman laughing drifted down the hall from the executive suite. I stood up, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles on my designer suit. “Let’s go. Time to deliver the CEO’s essential oils. His insomnia can’t handle a break from my medicine.” Arthur looked like he wanted to say something, but ultimately walked ahead of me and swiped his keycard to unlock the security doors. The door to the executive office wasn’t fully closed. As soon as I reached the threshold, the conversation inside drifted out with perfect clarity. “Sterling, have your abs shrunk lately? Men who sit in offices all day really lose their edge. Come on, feel my core. Hard as a rock, right?” It was Roxy’s voice. She purposely lowered her voice to a raspy, tomboyish pitch, trying to sound effortlessly cool. Then came Sterling’s low, resonant chuckle. “Consultant Miller is certainly hiding some impressive skills.” “Damn right! When I was running ops overseas, I slept in the same tent as six-foot-four, two-hundred-pound mercenaries. We took bullets for each other. We aren’t like those high-maintenance Manhattan princesses back home, rushing to the ER over a papercut. So pathetic.” I pushed the door open. The entire scene inside was laid bare before my eyes. Sterling was sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, reviewing financial reports. Roxy had half her body draped across the desk, one combat boot resting casually on the edge of the CEO’s leather chair. She was holding a greasy box of takeout fried chicken, her mouth smeared with oil. Draped over her shoulders was Sterling’s bespoke suit jacket. The oversized, tailored jacket hung loosely over her frame, revealing the tight black tank top she wore underneath. Seeing me enter, Roxy paused, then casually tossed a chicken bone into the trash can. She didn’t stand up. She just tilted her chin at me. “Well, look who it is. The Princess. Shouldn’t you be getting your beauty sleep? Coming to talk business with Sterling in the middle of the night?” Sterling looked up, his gaze landing immediately on the velvet box in my hand. “Evelyn.” I walked over, pulled the glass vial of essential oil from the box, and set it on the desk. “Time for your medicine.” Roxy reached out to grab the vial. “What kind of magic water is this? Let me get a whiff for Sterling. Rule of the squad: anything that goes in the mouth or nose has to pass security.” My face turned to ice. With a flick of my wrist, I smoothly dodged her hand. “Consultant Miller, this is prescription medication.” Roxy’s hand grasped empty air. She let out a dry, awkward laugh, then proceeded to wipe her greasy fingers directly onto the hem of Sterling’s suit jacket. “Don’t give me that attitude, Princess. I’m a straight shooter. I don’t understand all these passive-aggressive high-society mind games.” With that, she forcefully wedged herself onto the armrest of Sterling’s chair, throwing an arm casually around his shoulders. “Right, Sterling?” Sterling didn’t push her away. He just looked at me quietly, his dark eyes unreadable. “Evelyn, Roxy is wild. Try to be tolerant.” The following evening, the corporation hosted a private banquet at an exclusive club to formally welcome Roxy’s security team. I sat directly to Sterling’s right. Roxy had swapped her usual gear for a black leather jacket, sitting with her legs manspreading in the seat of honor to his left. After a few rounds of drinks, Jax stood up. He was Roxy’s second-in-command—a former rich kid adrenaline junkie who had followed Roxy overseas for a few years and now acted like he was enlightened and superior to the rest of the world. “Mr. Vance, if you ask me, the fact that our overseas branch survived this recent crisis is entirely thanks to Roxy. She might be a woman, but she’s more ruthless than most men. She’s a hundred times better than those fragile, delicate little rich girls who only know how to swipe credit cards and carry Birkin bags!” As Jax spoke, he shot a highly provocative glare directly at me. A few corporate security executives exchanged nervous glances, offering dry, awkward chuckles to appease him. Roxy picked up a whiskey decanter, downed half a pint of straight liquor in one breath, and heroically wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Jax, cut the bullshit. I just can’t stand those fake, dramatic ‘mean girls’. A woman should hold up her own sky. Spending all day getting plastic surgery and plotting to steal a man’s money? Pathetic.” She pushed her chair back and walked to the dartboard in the center of the private room. “Mr. Vance, just drinking is boring. How about I show everyone a little trick to liven things up?” Sterling leaned back in his chair and nodded. “Go ahead.” Roxy grabbed a handful of professional, steel-tipped darts from the table. Her movements were indeed sharp. However, with every single throw, the trajectory of the darts intentionally or unintentionally skimmed incredibly close to where I was sitting. For her final throw, she spun around with sudden, violent force. The steel tip of the dart slammed directly into the solid wood paneling right next to my ear. It was exactly three inches from my temple. The gust of wind it generated literally brushed the hair against my cheek. The private room fell into a deathly silence. Roxy clapped her hands together and burst into loud, obnoxious laughter. “Oh man! Did I scare you, Princess?! My bad, I’ve got a heavy hand. If I frightened you, I’ll take a penalty shot!” Her mouth was apologizing, but her eyes were brimming with malicious, triumphant satisfaction. I sat perfectly still in my chair. My eyelashes didn’t even tremble. “Consultant Miller’s hand-eye coordination is certainly impressive. It’s a shame her brain’s aim seems to be a little off.” Roxy’s face instantly stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean, Princess? Looking down on us security grunts?” “I simply think that since you claim to be Mr. Vance’s ‘brother,’ you severely lack boundaries. Brandishing a lethal weapon at the Executive Vice President during an official corporate dinner? In any other company, you would already be sitting in a police interrogation room for reckless endangerment.” Roxy turned to look at Sterling, pouting her lips in a grotesque imitation of a wronged “bro.” “Sterling, look at your sister. I told you I was just a rough-around-the-edges grunt. I don’t know the rules. That was just a slip of the hand, I wasn’t targeting her. Does the Princess just hate my guts because she thinks I’m stealing her spotlight?” Sterling set down his wine glass. “Evelyn, Roxy had a bit too much to drink. It was just a joke.” I turned to look at Sterling. He avoided my gaze, tilting his chin at Roxy. “Go back to your seat.” Roxy shot me a smug, victorious eyebrow raise and turned to walk back. As she passed Jax, the two of them shared a knowing smile and violently high-fived. After the banquet ended, I intercepted Sterling in the underground VIP parking garage. “What do you really think of Roxy?” Sterling stopped walking, signaling for his bodyguards to step back. “What are you trying to say, Evelyn?” “Her intentions toward you aren’t clean.” Sterling let out a low chuckle, looking down to light a cigarette. “Is my sister jealous?” I stared at him. “I am simply reminding you that corporate secrets and personal safety leave zero room for crossed boundaries. She uses the ‘good bro’ excuse to get close, but her actions are becoming increasingly inappropriate.” Sterling’s fingers, holding the cigarette, reached out. He gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re overthinking it, Evelyn. Roxy saved my life once. She’s a straight shooter, she doesn’t have any hidden agendas. Besides…” He lowered his head. His warm breath brushed against the side of my neck, his voice turning dark and husky. “I can only stand the scent of my sister.” I swatted his hand away. “I hope the CEO remembers what he said today.” Sterling stared at his empty hand, his eyes darkening. He didn’t argue. He simply pulled open the door of the Maybach and got in. Watching the taillights fade into the distance, my heart was filled with nothing but cold mockery. A straight shooter? If she were truly a straight shooter, she wouldn’t intentionally wear his suit in his office, and she wouldn’t try to publicly humiliate me at a corporate dinner. I had gotten bored of these pathetic, low-tier power plays back when I was a teenager surviving the Vance family inheritance wars. Half a month after Roxy integrated into the company, my custom-blended essential oil disappeared from Sterling’s desk. It was the one thing he absolutely required every single night. The formula belonged exclusively to me. It contained a highly addictive, incredibly difficult-to-extract compound. I pushed open the door to the executive suite. Before I even stepped inside, I was hit by the pungent, nauseating stench of cheap coffee mixed with synthetic air freshener. Inside, Roxy was directing the cleaning staff to throw the custom-built diffuser I had placed on Sterling’s desk straight into the trash. “Throw it out, throw it out! What is this girly, fragile nonsense? It gives me a massive headache.” I walked into the room, my heels clicking sharply against the floor. “Put it down.” The cleaning lady’s hands shook in terror. She looked at me helplessly. Roxy turned around, holding a cup of iced Americano. “Oh, look who it is. Perfect timing, Princess. I’m just helping Sterling clear out all this useless garbage.” “That is Mr. Vance’s sleep medication.” “Sleep medication? Looks more like a hypnotic poison to me.” Roxy swaggered over, swirling the ice in her plastic cup. “Princess, a man needs to have a man’s bloodlust. Breathing in these soft, fragile perfumes all day is grinding away all of Sterling’s wolf-like instincts. Overseas, when we can’t sleep, we chug black coffee and spar for two rounds! That’s what real men do!” I looked at her with eyes like ice. “He has severe clinical insomnia. If he stops his medication, his body will collapse.” “That’s just a bad habit you spoiled him into having!” Roxy raised her voice aggressively. “What insomnia? It’s just him being overly sensitive. Drag him to the boxing gym, let him go ten rounds until he’s dead on his feet, and I guarantee his head will hit the pillow and he’ll sleep like the dead. Sterling has just been crippled by a control freak like you.” Just then, Sterling walked out of his private lounge. He was wearing a white dress shirt, the collar unbuttoned. Underneath his eyes were heavy, bruised, dark circles. It was obvious he hadn’t slept at all last night. “What’s the yelling about?” I pointed at the diffuser in the trash can. “Sterling, Consultant Miller just threw away your medication.” Sterling frowned, looking at Roxy. Roxy immediately walked over and bumped her shoulder against his, playing the loyal comrade. “Sterling, I’m doing this for your own good. Smelling all those random chemical perfumes damages your nervous system. Look how pale you are—it’s because you lack physical exertion. Starting today, after work, I’m taking you to the gym to spar. I promise you’ll sleep like a log tonight.” Sterling rubbed his throbbing temples. “My head really has been killing me lately.” I stared at him. “Are you going to keep her ridiculous theory, or are you going to keep the essential oil?” Sterling fell silent. Roxy grabbed his sleeve and gave it a shake. “Sterling, just trust your bro this one time, okay? Would I ever hurt you? We’ve literally dodged bullets together.” Sterling lifted his head and looked at me. “Evelyn, Roxy means well. This medicine… stopping it for a few days to see what happens won’t hurt.” My hands, buried deep in the pockets of my trench coat, violently clenched into fists. My manicured nails dug so hard into my palms that they sent a sharp, piercing spike of pain through my hands. “You’ve made up your mind?” “Yeah. I want to try Roxy’s method.” Roxy shot me a smug, triumphant look, lifting her chin in victory. “Hear that? Lady, hurry up and throw that garbage out!” I looked at the empty, barren desk. The absolute last trace of lingering warmth in my heart completely froze over. “If that’s your decision, then I won’t interrupt Mr. Vance’s journey to reclaim his ‘manhood.’” I turned and walked out of the executive suite. Behind me, I could hear Roxy’s entirely undisguised voice. “Sterling, look at her face. It’s like someone owes her a billion dollars. It’s so much more relaxing when it’s just us bros hanging out, right?” Sterling didn’t answer. But I heard the sound of him grabbing his suit jacket off the chair. On the second subterranean level of the Vance Building was a private, state-of-the-art boxing gym built specifically for Sterling. Today, Jax was there too. Inside the octagon, Roxy and Sterling were sparring with heavy gloves. The hits were brutal and wet with sweat. During a break, Sterling sat by the edge of the cage. His thumb subconsciously rubbed the watch on his wrist. It was an antique Patek Philippe. When he turned eighteen, I used the very first bonus check I ever earned, scoured the antique markets of Europe, and bought it for him. He had worn it every single day since. He never took it off. I was walking past the gym on my way to the elevators, not intending to stop. “Princess!” Jax had sharp eyes and shouted loudly across the room. “Since you’re here, why don’t you come down and give us some pointers? Oh, wait, I forgot. You’re a refined intellectual. You can’t stand the sight of blood.” Roxy took out her mouthguard and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Jax, don’t embarrass the Princess. She’s a hothouse flower. She’s never seen a real fight in her life. She probably wouldn’t even dare to kill a chicken.” The two of them bounced off each other, drawing low, muffled chuckles from the surrounding security team. Sterling leaned against the cage mesh, not uttering a single word to stop them. He just looked at me faintly from a distance. I stopped walking and stood on the staircase leading down. “I admit, I don’t understand the primitive ways barbarians vent their frustrations.” Roxy’s face instantly darkened. “Barbarians? Princess, this is called power! If we weren’t out there bleeding and risking our lives, how could you possibly sit comfortably in an air-conditioned office signing contracts?” Saying that, she violently vaulted over the top of the octagon cage, jumping to the floor outside. Her movements were too aggressive. As she landed, she slammed heavily into Sterling with a loud thud. “Oof!” Sterling’s wrist slipped. The clasp of the antique watch snapped open, and the timepiece flew off his wrist. The mechanical watch sailed through the air in an arc and slammed brutally onto the unforgiving concrete floor. A sharp, devastating CRACK echoed through the room. The crystal glass shattered. The intricate, delicate gears and cogs scattered violently across the ground. The air instantly froze. I stared at the scattered gears on the floor, my heart violently clenching. Sterling shot up from his seat. The atmospheric pressure around him instantly dropped to absolute zero. His face was terrifyingly dark. Roxy seemed startled for a second, but quickly shrugged it off with a look of total indifference. She walked over and casually kicked the shattered watch with the toe of her combat boot. “Whoops. It broke. My bad, Sterling, I couldn’t stop my momentum.” She looked up, acting as though it was completely trivial. “It’s just a busted old watch, right? I’ll deduct it from my commission and buy you the newest Rolex. It’ll look way cooler than this antique junk.” Sterling stared intensely at the shattered watch on the ground. His hands curled into tight fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging threateningly. I looked at him, waiting for his reaction. Waiting for his apocalyptic, thunderous rage. However, Jax rushed over to run interference. “Mr. Vance, Roxy didn’t do it on purpose! Out with the old, in with the new, right? It’s just a watch. How could a watch compare to the bullet Roxy took for you in the rainforest?” Sterling’s fists tightened, relaxed, and tightened again. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. When he opened his eyes again, the violent, murderous rage had been forcibly suppressed. “Forget it.” His voice was incredibly hoarse. “If it’s broken, it’s broken.” Roxy let out a massive sigh of relief. She walked over and familiarly slung her arm around Sterling’s neck. “That’s my guy! We’re real men, we don’t hold grudges over a piece of metal. Come on, let’s keep sparring!” I stood rooted to the spot, looking at the mechanical wreckage on the floor. I knew the game was over. Sterling turned his head and looked at me. In the depths of his pitch-black eyes, there was a flash of frantic struggle and panic. “Evelyn, you heard her. Roxy didn’t do it on purpose. Just go back to your office.” I slowly walked down the stairs. I bent down and, piece by piece, picked up the shattered watch face and the scattered gears. The edges of the broken glass were razor-sharp. It instantly sliced open my palm, beads of crimson blood welling up and rolling down my skin. But I couldn’t feel the pain. I only felt a bottomless, freezing cold that instantly spread from the soles of my feet to my very bones. “Sterling.” It was the first time I had ever called him by his full, first name. “Do you truly believe this is just a ‘busted old watch’?” Sterling awkwardly avoided my gaze. “I’m tired. Evelyn, just leave.” I gripped the blood-stained gears tightly in my hand. “Okay.” I nodded. My voice was so calm that even I was surprised by it. “Since the CEO finds my presence so irritating, I will disappear completely. I wouldn’t want to ruin this beautiful moment of brotherhood.” I turned around and walked out of the gym, step by step. Behind me, I could hear Roxy’s contemptuous laugh. “Sterling, look how dramatic she is. It’s literally just a watch, is it really that serious?” Is it really that serious? Of course it is. Because it wasn’t just the watch that shattered. It was ten years of my blood, sweat, and tears poured into him. And it was the very last shred of my patience. When I returned to the top-floor office, I called for Arthur. “Book me a flight. Pack my things.” Arthur froze. “Where is Ms. Vance going? Didn’t you just finish the European handover?” I tossed the blood-stained, shattered watch onto the desk. “I’m going to the coastal villa.” “But what about Mr. Vance…” “Don’t tell him. Revoke all his access permissions to my itinerary.” I looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the city’s neon lights flickering to life in the gathering dusk. “From this day forward, Evelyn Vance no longer exists within Vance Enterprises.” The rain outside the coastal villa felt even more desolate and isolated than in the city center. I wrapped a cashmere shawl around my shoulders, sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to the waves and the rain violently lashing against the glass. There were no endless trans-Atlantic conference calls here. No fake, sycophantic corporate smiles. I slept the most peaceful, uninterrupted sleep I had experienced in three years. On the first night after I left, the top floor of Vance Enterprises was unnervingly quiet. Sterling finished reviewing the final merger acquisition file. Out of pure habit, he reached toward his left side. He grasped empty air. Usually, at this exact time, I would be sitting on the sofa, holding his custom-blended essential oil, waiting for him. He ripped his tie off in frustration and called out loudly. “Evelyn?” No response. The only person to push the door open was his assistant, Arthur. He stood in the doorway, too terrified to even breathe properly. “Mr. Vance… Ms. Vance is… not here.” “Where did she go?” “Ms. Vance said she was feeling dizzy, so she went back to her apartment to rest.” Sterling didn’t press the issue. He rubbed his violently throbbing temples, stood up, and walked into his private executive lounge. The lounge reeked of a pungent mix of cheap tobacco and men’s cologne. Roxy was sitting cross-legged on his custom leather bed, holding a stack of security blueprints. Seeing Sterling walk in, she patted the mattress next to her. “Sterling, get over here! These camera blind spots are pretty interesting, let’s run through them.” Sterling walked over and sat on the edge of the sofa. The stinging stench shot straight up his nose, making his eyes burn and his stomach violently churn in disgust. “That smell is way too strong. Open the window.” Roxy waved her hand dismissively. “The strong smell is what keeps you awake! Sterling, you’re way too delicate. You’re so used to breathing in those sickly-sweet perfumes. It’s good to switch it up and get a taste of something wild. You’ll get used to it.” Sterling lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes. All he could think about, the only thing his brain could process, was the faint, lingering scent of cold, clean cedarwood. It was my scent. He rolled over. He couldn’t sleep at all. His head was splitting open. It felt like ten thousand needles were stabbing directly into his cerebral cortex. “Roxy.” “Yeah?” “Get out.” Roxy froze. “Get out? Go where? I thought we agreed to pull an all-nighter troubleshooting the vulnerabilities?” “I want to be alone.” Sterling’s voice was dark and freezing. Although Roxy was arrogant, even she could tell his mood had turned lethal. She pursed her lips and rolled up the blueprints. “Fine, fine, fine. You’re the boss, whatever you say. I’ll come find you tomorrow.” After Roxy left, Sterling cranked the ventilation system to its maximum setting, desperately trying to eradicate the cheap stench from the room. But the migraine didn’t fade. It escalated violently. He tossed and turned on the sofa until the sun came up. At the morning executive briefing, Sterling sat at the head of the table, his eyes heavily bloodshot. The senior executives were terrified into absolute silence. Roxy sat in the back row, winking and making faces at Jax, implying that the “battle” last night had been intense. The second the meeting ended, Sterling marched straight to my Vice President’s office. “Evelyn.” He pushed the door open. The massive office was completely empty. The desk was spotless. Every single personal item had been cleared out. The only thing remaining was sitting dead center on the desk: a pile of shattered antique watch gears, resting on top of a formal letter of resignation. Sterling’s heart slammed violently against his ribs. He rushed over. In the blank space of the resignation letter, four words were written in pristine fountain pen ink: Take care of yourself. The knuckles of the hand gripping the paper turned bone-white. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably. Arthur stood in the doorway, cold sweat soaking his shirt. “Mr. Vance… Ms. Vance cut off all contact last night and went to the coastal villa… for an extended leave of absence.” “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me earlier?!” Sterling violently swept his arm across the desk, sending the folders and the pen holder crashing to the floor, letting out a roar of absolute, unhinged rage. “I… I didn’t dare…” Sterling collapsed into the desk chair, staring obsessively at the pile of blood-stained watch parts. The dried blood had turned a harsh, glaring crimson. He reached out to touch the red stain, but his fingertips recoiled violently as if he had been burned by fire. An unprecedented, suffocating terror wrapped around his heart like a thorny vine. She left. The sister who had thrown herself in front of a speeding car during the family inheritance war, who gave him the only path to survival, who guarded him every step of the way until he sat on the throne of Vance Enterprises… had been completely driven away by him. Sterling fell violently ill. A 104-degree fever. He was delirious, muttering incoherently in his sleep. The private medical team Vance Enterprises paid millions for worked around the clock, but they couldn’t find a single biological cause for the fever. All they could do was keep him on an IV drip. Roxy paced around the top-floor penthouse, frantic like a rat on a hot stove. “You bunch of useless hacks! You can’t even break a simple fever?! What is the point of the company paying you people?!” She snatched a cup of water from a nurse’s hand, attempting to force-feed Sterling fever reducers. Sterling’s eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw clamped shut like a vice. The water spilled down his chin and soaked into his collar. “Sterling, open your mouth! It’s Roxy! It’s your bro!” Roxy screamed at him, violently shaking his shoulders to wake him up. Sterling’s brows were tightly knitted. He mumbled something incomprehensible through his fever dream. Roxy leaned in close to listen. “The essential oil… the scent…” “What essential oil?!” Roxy whipped around and glared at Arthur. Arthur kept his head down, answering quietly, “Mr. Vance is asking for the soothing essential oil that Ms. Vance personally blends.” “That garbage again?!” Roxy slammed the water cup brutally onto the nightstand. “I refuse to believe this bullshit! You’re telling me he can’t survive without that controlling bitch?!” She turned, stormed into the master bathroom, grabbed a towel soaked in ice water, and violently slapped it directly onto Sterling’s face. “Sterling, wake the fuck up! Stop acting like a coward and letting a woman control you!” The freezing shock sent violent tremors through Sterling’s comatose body. He hacked and coughed violently, his face flushing an alarming, sickly, feverish red. “Get out…” He struggled to open his heavily bloodshot eyes, his voice a raspy, jagged whisper. “Get her… the fuck out…”

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In the chaotic emergency room, the doctor looked at us with frantic urgency. “What kind of venomous snake bit her?! I need an exact species right now so we can locate the correct antivenom!” I opened my mouth to speak, but my roommate cut me off, her voice panicked and shaky. “It was a coral snake! It… it was definitely a coral snake!” The blood drained from everyone’s faces. We had just returned to our dorms after winter break. Without telling anyone, she had smuggled a highly venomous reptile into our room. The snake had escaped its enclosure and bitten our roommate, who slept on the bottom bunk. We had sprinted all the way to the hospital carrying her. A few minutes later, and she might not have made it this far. Now, the doctor desperately needed the species to administer the life-saving antivenom. But my roommate, Chloe, had always possessed a twisted sense of humor. While we were terrified and hyperventilating, she kept changing her story. She absolutely refused to tell the truth. Watching her dramatically massage her temples, pretending she couldn’t remember, my entire body shook with rage. Chloe was notorious on campus for her “pranks.” No matter the situation, she loved messing with people. She wasn’t satisfied until she pushed someone to the point of tears. When people inevitably got angry, she would just brush it off with a breezy, “I’m just messing with you. Don’t be so sensitive.” But this was life or death. This was not a joke. Mia had fallen into a deep coma after the bite. The doctors needed to confirm the snake’s species to administer the antivenom. Every passing second was a step closer to death. Sure enough, when the doctor heard Chloe’s answer, his expression turned grim. “Are you absolutely certain? I need you to confirm one more time. What kind of snake bit her?” Chloe furrowed her brows in exaggerated concentration, then slowly shook her head and crouched down on the floor. I was losing my mind. I lunged forward and grabbed her by the collar of her hoodie. “Stop messing around! Tell the doctor what kind of snake it is right now! Are you trying to kill Mia?!” Her eyes welled up with fake tears. She bit her lip and said, “It’s a cobra! It’s definitely a cobra!” My other roommates and I exchanged a look, collectively letting out a massive sigh of relief. The doctor visibly relaxed and immediately turned to the nurse, ordering her to prep the cobra antivenom. Just as the nurse was about to sprint out of the room, Chloe suddenly spoke up again. “Wait!” “I think I might be remembering it wrong… Was it actually a cobra…?” We stood there, holding the unconscious Mia, our faces turning a ghostly white. “Chloe! Stop playing games! This is a medical emergency!” “The doctor needs the exact species to give her the right medication! If you keep stalling, it’s going to be too late!” Hearing our panic, Chloe actually let out a nonchalant little laugh. “Who’s playing games? I’m just worried that if I give them the wrong name, it might actually hurt her!” “Let me think… Nope, I was right. It’s a cobra!” The commotion was drawing the attention of everyone in the ER waiting area. Whispers broke out around us. “She secretly kept a venomous snake and now she’s playing guessing games? Is she trying to commit murder?” “Joking around at a time like this… that is psychopathic.” My fingertips were trembling. Not from fear, but from an overwhelming, blinding rage. Chloe was flipping her story back and forth, casually playing Russian roulette with Mia’s life. If she stalled any longer, the neurotoxins would completely shut down Mia’s system. It would be too late. Seeing the doctor preparing to administer the medication based on her “cobra” claim, I caught a sick flash of excitement in Chloe’s eyes. A cold chill shot down my spine. I shoved my way past the gurney and blocked the doctor. “Doctor, she is intentionally messing with you! Everything she just said is a lie!” “Please, I’m begging you, ask her one more time! Make her tell the truth!” My eyes were stinging with unshed tears. Mia, lying in my arms, was ice cold. Her breathing was so shallow I could barely feel it against my skin. The doctor frowned deeply, his sharp gaze darting between me and Chloe. The triage nurse immediately sensed the bizarre dynamic. She turned to Chloe, her voice hardening into a sharp command. “I am going to ask you one last time. What is the exact species of the snake? If you are obstructing a medical emergency with a prank, I will call the police immediately!” For years, we had tolerated Chloe’s twisted pranks. We had complained to our Resident Advisor several times, but he was a spineless guy who just wanted to keep the peace. “She just likes to goof off. She doesn’t mean any harm,” he would always say. For the sake of dorm harmony, I bit my tongue and let it slide, time and time again. Until winter break ended, and she secretly smuggled a highly venomous exotic pet into our room. The snake escaped and bit Mia. By the time we found her, she was already slipping into unconsciousness. We didn’t even have time to be angry; we just picked her up and ran like maniacs to the campus hospital. And now, after barely making it to the ER, Chloe was still treating this like a game. My eyes were bloodshot, and my voice shook violently. “Please, Chloe. Mia is fading fast. Can you please just stop this?” “If you just help us save her right now, I swear I will never complain about any of your pranks ever again.” The bystanders in the ER started chiming in. “Young lady, a life is on the line. Stop playing around.” “Save the girl first! If you keep stalling, she’s not going to make it!” Listening to the chorus of criticism, Chloe just rolled her eyes, completely unfazed. “It’s not that big of a deal. I was just pulling a little prank. Why is everyone overreacting?” Seeing that the doctor’s face had turned livid and he was reaching for the phone to call campus security and the police, Chloe finally dropped the smirk. She relented, sounding deeply annoyed. “Fine, fine! I’ll stop joking!” I let out a massive sigh of relief. But then, Chloe looked around at the crowd, her eyes finally settling on us, and she slowly, casually added: “It was a coral snake. Highly venomous. I just remembered.” The doctor’s face went completely pale. Before I could even process what was happening, he shouted at the nurse to stop, physically grabbing her arm to prevent the injection of the cobra antivenom. Seeing Mia’s lips turning a bruised shade of purple, Chloe spoke up again, her tone agonizingly slow. “Jeez, why do you guys look so stressed?” “I mean, the lights were out in the dorm, it was pitch black… I didn’t get a great look at it. I was just worried that if I gave you the wrong name, it would cause a problem!” “I’m just being cautious. I need to really think about it…” “Wait, no, no. It wasn’t a coral snake. It definitely was a cobra.” After delivering that completely contradictory statement, she clutched her chest and let out a dramatic sigh, as if she had just solved a complex math problem. I thought I was going to have a stroke. Holding the dying Mia, my last shred of self-control snapped. I screamed at the top of my lungs: “Chloe! IS THIS A FUCKING GAME TO YOU?! IF YOU STALL ANY LONGER, MIA IS GOING TO DIE!” But hearing my scream, Chloe didn’t look guilty. She looked offended. “How can you talk to me like that? Aren’t we roommates? It’s not like I did it on purpose!” “Oh, so you only care about her? My feelings don’t matter at all, right?” “I knew it! You guys are always ganging up on me! You’re bullying me!” “I can’t believe you’re treating me like this! If I knew you were going to be this mean, I wouldn’t have even come!” With that, she spun around and started storming toward the ER exit. My face went white. I shoved Mia into the arms of our other roommate and sprinted after Chloe, grabbing her arm in a vice grip. “Chloe! That’s not what I meant! Mia is literally dying, I’m just panicking! I didn’t mean to yell at you.” “The hospital has every antivenom in stock. As long as you tell the doctor exactly what kind of snake it is, we can save her right now, okay?” Chloe yanked her arm away and pointed a finger aggressively in my face. “This is your fault!” “If you hadn’t been screaming and making a huge scene in the dorm, maybe I wouldn’t have been so startled and I would have seen clearly what kind of snake bit her!” “It’s just a snake bite! My snakes are usually so well-behaved…” “You know what? I bet you’re targeting me! I bet you secretly let the snake out to bite her just so you could frame me for it!” My eyes went wide. I stared at Chloe, completely incapable of comprehending the sheer delusion coming out of her mouth. When the semester first started, I saw her sitting alone in the dining hall and went out of my way to befriend her and make her feel included. But ever since she got obsessed with exotic reptiles, everything changed. She spent every day in the dorm messing with various venomous snakes, completely ignoring our unified protests and genuine fear. She would bang around with their glass enclosures in the middle of the night, totally oblivious to anyone else’s existence. For the sake of dorm peace, I tolerated it. Until a few days ago, when she smuggled a new, highly venomous snake into the room in a locked box, calling it her “newest baby.” We had gone to the RA multiple times, but he was a coward who just wanted to avoid paperwork. He did absolutely nothing. Left with no choice, we lived in constant terror, reminding her every single day to make sure the latches were secured. But she always brushed us off. Until tonight. Just after lights out, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the bottom bunk. Mia was crying hysterically, saying something had bitten her. Chloe didn’t panic. Instead, she stood by her bed, clapping her hands and laughing. “See? Isn’t my little baby so pretty?” Mia was trembling violently in agony, her face turning a ghastly white. Ultimately, it was the rest of us who practically carried Mia all the way to the campus hospital. Mia had always been frail; her immune system couldn’t handle a massive dose of neurotoxin. She lost consciousness halfway to the ER. When we arrived, my first instinct was to call 911. But the other roommates begged me not to, saying we should contact the school administration first to avoid a massive scandal. Because we desperately needed to get in touch with Mia’s parents, I swallowed my anger and called the RA instead. But I never imagined that our constant appeasement would only embolden Chloe’s psychotic behavior. Even now, with a girl dying in front of her, she was still trying to prank us, refusing to name the snake. Watching Mia’s breathing grow shallower and shallower, the tears poured down my face. The triage nurse looked heartbroken, but medical protocol dictated they had to know the exact venom type before administering the serum. A mistake could be instantly fatal. I clutched Mia, sobbing as I begged Chloe. “Chloe, please, I am begging you, stop the prank. If we wait any longer, Mia is going to die. She’s your roommate!” The other roommate, her eyes red, chimed in softly. “Please. We’re begging you.” But Chloe just flashed her signature, infuriating smirk. “Ugh, relax! Stop rushing me. The more you rush me, the more nervous I get, and the harder it is to remember…” She turned and looked me right in the eye. “Victoria, I know you’re stressed, but you need to chill.” Saying that seemed to genuinely amuse her, and she let out a loud, bubbly giggle. I stared at her, suppressing a volcanic rage. “Chloe, if you intentionally give the doctor the wrong species, you are actively delaying life-saving treatment. You will be legally responsible.” Hearing that, Chloe finally shut her mouth. But her eyes were full of spiteful resentment at being called out. The ER doctor, finally understanding the twisted dynamic at play, spoke with cold authority. “Since the species is unconfirmed, we will proceed with broad-spectrum emergency stabilization. Please clear the doorway…” I let out a massive sigh of relief and nodded gratefully at the doctor, preparing to help wheel Mia’s gurney into the trauma bay. Just as the wheels started moving, Chloe suddenly shouted: “Wait! I remember!” “It’s the new snake I got today! It must have slipped out of the transport box!” She held up her phone, her eyes darting nervously but her posture projecting absolute confidence. “I’ll just pull up my order history right now! The receipt will say exactly what species it is!” Outside the trauma bay doors. Chloe stood frozen in place, holding her phone up, swiping aimlessly at the screen, putting on a highly theatrical show of searching for an email. First she claimed her phone was lagging. Then she claimed the hospital Wi-Fi was blocking the site. She dragged this agonizing performance out for nearly ten minutes before finally shoving the screen in our direction. “See? Found it… I told you guys to stop rushing me…” The screen did indeed show an exotic pet retailer’s confirmation page. The people standing nearby naturally leaned in to look, and their faces instantly contorted in shock. “Oh my god! That is an incredibly lethal species! This is insane!” “And we were actually feeling sorry for her earlier! She literally caused this entire nightmare herself!” Chloe’s face twisted into an ugly scowl. “I’m an exotic pet enthusiast. What’s the big deal if I keep a venomous snake? How does that affect any of you?” “Doctor, look, the receipt is right here! Now you know exactly what it is!” The doctor’s face darkened into a furious scowl. “Nobody move! Let me see that receipt clearly so I can authorize the correct antivenom!” I stared at the glowing screen. Something felt deeply, instinctively wrong. Sure enough, the very next second, she yanked the phone away and locked the screen. I reached out to grab the phone from her hand, but Chloe suddenly slapped her own forehead, looking incredibly annoyed. “Oh, shoot! I totally forgot! I ordered three different snakes in that shipment. Which one was the one that got out?” I was shaking with a rage so intense it felt like my blood was boiling. The dam finally broke. “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!” I screamed. “There is a limit to these sick jokes! Would it kill you to just shut your mouth and tell the truth?!” “You’re intentionally dragging this out! Why do you have to cause chaos right now?!” “If Mia dies because you stalled, I swear to God, I will never, ever let you get away with this!” Chloe seemed to finally realize that I was genuinely, dangerously furious. A flicker of panic crossed her face. “No… Victoria… I was just messing around with you guys. Why are you getting so mad?” At that moment, my other roommate finally snapped and screamed at Chloe. “Chloe! If you don’t have anything helpful to say, then shut the fuck up!” “Is this a time for jokes?! Mia was envenomated! If you delay this any longer, she is going to die!” “I… I didn’t mean to…” Chloe muttered, lowering her head under the verbal assault. But I could clearly see the defiant, unrepentant glare in her eyes. She truly, genuinely didn’t believe she had done anything wrong. But Mia’s body was growing colder by the second. I didn’t have time to entertain Chloe’s psychotic games anymore. I turned to the ER doctor, my voice hoarse and pleading. “I know your protocols require exact confirmation. I’m not trying to make your job harder.” “But if there is absolutely no way to confirm the species, is there anything else you can do? Please, just try to save her. Her breathing is almost gone. She can’t hold on much longer.” I bowed deeply at the waist, a gesture of absolute desperation. The doctor and the charge nurse exchanged a heavy look, and finally, the doctor nodded. As the nurses began rolling the gurney into the trauma bay, Chloe was still muttering in the background. “Why is everyone being so dramatic… it’s just a snake bite. Give her a shot and she’ll be fine. It’s not like people don’t get bit by snakes all the time…” I pretended she didn’t exist. I just held onto Mia’s cold hand, praying silently over and over again that she would pull through. Chloe mumbled a few more complaints, and when she realized no one was paying attention to her, she finally shut up. But right at that exact moment, the heart monitor hooked up to Mia flatlined. I watched in horror as the medical team swarmed the gurney, launching into a frantic, desperate resuscitation protocol. I was pulled to the side, forced to repeatedly review a binder of snake profiles with a toxicologist in a blind attempt to identify the species visually. As I waited for news from the trauma bay, my heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. A suffocating wave of dread washed over me. I stared unblinking at the red “IN USE” light above the trauma bay doors, terrified of what it meant when it turned off. In a daze, Chloe’s voice echoed in my memory. Right before they wheeled Mia in, she had muttered: “I just couldn’t remember clearly, it’s not like I did it on purpose.” A violent shudder racked my body. Did she truly not understand that intentionally being vague in a life-or-death medical emergency was the exact same thing as murder? No! She knew exactly what she was doing. Just like she knew that keeping highly venomous reptiles in a tiny college dorm was strictly prohibited, yet she hid them under her bed anyway, completely disregarding our safety. She also knew that the moment Mia was bitten, she was racing against the clock. Yet she intentionally lied, stalled, and played games with the doctor. The realization made my chest physically ache. And then, from down the hall, I heard Chloe’s shrill, complaining voice again. “Stop trying to scare me! You hospitals just love to exaggerate everything!” “It’s just a tiny snake bite! Why are you making it sound like she has terminal cancer?!” “We’re not doing this! Wheel her back out here right now!” My stomach plummeted. I shoved through a pair of double doors and saw Chloe—who had “volunteered” to go to the billing department—throwing a massive tantrum at the payment counter. The young billing clerk looked completely overwhelmed and distressed. I sprinted over and grabbed the clerk’s arm. “Excuse me! I’m her roommate! What’s happening? Are they not working on her?!” The clerk recognized me from the ER and quickly explained: “Miss, the venom is spreading through your roommate’s system incredibly fast. The doctors ordered an immediate dose of a specialized, broad-spectrum anti-venom cocktail. But this young woman refused to authorize the charge or provide insurance info, and it caused a massive delay in the pharmacy…” Before she even finished her sentence, I felt my knees almost buckle. The months of accumulated frustration and rage detonated inside me. I spun around, my eyes blazing, and screamed at Chloe: “Chloe! If Mia dies in there, are you prepared to carry that charge for the rest of your life?!” Without waiting for her to spout another delusional excuse, I slammed my own debit card onto the counter. But when I checked my banking app, I was hundreds of dollars short. Seeing me panic, Chloe strutted over, looking incredibly smug and self-righteous. “I told you guys you were overreacting. There’s no need for all this expensive medical drama.” “Just listen to me. We’ll take her back to the dorm, let her sleep it off, and she’ll be fine. There’s no reason to throw away money on this scam.” I was shaking so hard I could barely stand. I opened my mouth to scream at her again. But then, the heavy doors of the trauma bay swung open. The lead ER physician walked out, his face utterly grim. “I am so sorry. We did everything we could.” My legs instantly gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold linoleum floor. At that exact moment, our Resident Advisor, Mr. Harris, came sprinting down the hallway, looking frantic. He saw the white sheet pulled over the gurney and let out a trembling, horrified yell: “What happened?! You said you were getting the antivenom! How is she dead?!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “399941”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I was seven months pregnant. After my prenatal checkup, I dozed off in the passenger seat on the ride home. When I woke up, the baby in my belly was gone. I instantly freaked out, but my husband just smiled at me with absolute adoration. “Still half-asleep? You were never pregnant, honey. What baby?” I thought it was a sick joke and forced him to turn the car around and speed back to the hospital. But the nurses said I was there for a routine physical, not a prenatal exam. The OB-GYN shook her head and swore she had never seen me in her life. Even my own mother called me, her voice red and teary. “Sweetheart, is the stress of trying to conceive getting to you? Why don’t we go see a psychiatrist?” But just two hours ago, I had literally watched the tiny, beating heart of my child on the ultrasound monitor. How could a seven-month pregnancy just vanish into thin air like a magic trick? I refused to believe I was crazy. I called the cops, demanded security footage, and tore through the clinic’s records. There was absolutely zero trace of my pregnancy or my checkups. Everyone was convinced I had lost my mind. In a haze of heavy sedatives and utter despair, I slipped and fell from the hospital roof. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the morning of my prenatal checkup. 1 “Chloe, time to get up. We can’t be late for your checkup today.” Mark’s voice floated through the bedroom door, as gentle and loving as always. I groggily opened my eyes, my hand instinctively dropping to my stomach. I froze for two seconds, then shot up in bed and yanked up my pajama shirt. It was round and heavy. The little one inside seemed to be startled by my sudden movement and gave me a sharp kick. My eyes instantly welled up with tears. In my previous life, today was the exact day Mark accompanied me to the Women’s Clinic for my seven-month checkup. After it was over, I felt incredibly drowsy and dozed off in the passenger seat. When I opened my eyes again, my stomach was completely flat. The baby was gone. My husband claimed I had never been pregnant. The nurses said I was there for a basic physical. Even my own mother told me my anxiety over getting pregnant had caused me to hallucinate. I refused to accept it. I caused a massive scene at the hospital, and eventually, security dragged me away and admitted me to a psych ward. But even as I fell from that rooftop to my death, I couldn’t understand it. How could a seven-month-old fetus, a baby I had felt moving inside me, just vanish without a trace? They all said she was a figment of my imagination. But right now, she was unequivocally resting inside my belly. I stroked my stomach, the tears silently falling down my cheeks. “What’s wrong, honey? Did you have a nightmare?” Mark leaned halfway into the room, pausing when he saw my red, teary eyes. I looked at him, my emotions an absolute tangled mess. In my previous life, he was exactly like this—gentle, considerate, the absolute best husband in the world. But after the baby disappeared, he was the one who swore I had never been pregnant, and he was the one who followed the doctor’s advice to lock me in a psychiatric facility. In this life, I didn’t know if I could trust him at all. But no matter what, until I uncovered the truth, I couldn’t tip my hand. “I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well,” I forced a tight smile. “I don’t feel like going out today. Let’s reschedule the checkup.” Mark paused, walking over to feel my forehead. “Are you feeling sick?” “Just really exhausted.” “Alright then. I’ll call the clinic and push it back three days,” he said, looking down at his phone. “That specialist is in the office on Wednesday anyway.” Watching his profile, my mind raced. In this life, if I just hid at home and refused to go to the clinic, would my baby be safe? But how long could I hide? I had to figure out exactly what happened in my previous life. Why did every single person swear I was never pregnant? I closed my eyes, pressing my palm against my skin, feeling the subtle movements of the little life inside me. It’s not a hallucination. I had three days to uncover the truth. The first day, I found nothing out of the ordinary. All I could do was take photos of every single prenatal medical record I had accumulated over the past seven months and back them up to a secure cloud drive. I remembered that in my past life, when I frantically searched the house for my old ultrasound printouts, they were all gone. Even the hospital’s security cameras magically had no record of me. But I still felt paranoid, so I booked a last-minute maternity photoshoot at a local portrait studio. During the shoot, I paid the assistants extra to take a ton of behind-the-scenes videos on my phone, clearly documenting me walking around with a massive baby bump. Only then did my anxiety ease slightly. Next, I called my mom. “Mom, I’m really craving your homemade lasagna.” “Of course, sweetie! I’ll make a huge batch and bring it over. You’re eating for two now, you need the calories.” “Mom, do you remember how many months pregnant I am right now?” “Seven months, Chloe. How could your own mother forget that?” I recorded that entire conversation. In my past life, my mother had looked a police officer dead in the eye and told him I was never pregnant. In this life, no matter what crazy tricks they pulled, these audio files weren’t going to just vanish. The day of the rescheduled checkup arrived. Mark went to the billing counter to handle the copay, leaving me sitting on a bench in the waiting area. A nurse in standard pink scrubs walked over. Seeing my belly, she offered a warm smile. “Carrying high and pointy like that, I’d bet money it’s a boy.” Mark returned just in time to hear her and chimed in smoothly. “Boy or girl, I don’t care. If it’s a boy, we’ll protect his mom together. If it’s a girl, I’ll protect both my girls.” The nurse covered her mouth and giggled. “Oh my, your husband is so sweet.” I couldn’t bring myself to smile. I remembered this nurse. In my past life, she had said those exact same words: Carrying high and pointy, I’d bet money it’s a boy. But later, when I tore through the hospital looking for her, she had stared at me with wide, innocent eyes. “Ma’am, are you confused? You were here for a routine physical, not a prenatal exam.” This time, I had quietly opened the voice memo app on my phone and recorded her every word. The examination room was on the third floor. The OB-GYN doing my ultrasound was a middle-aged woman in her early forties with a gentle demeanor. Dr. Evans. In my past life, she was the one who examined me too. When the baby disappeared and I charged into her office demanding answers, she had looked completely bewildered. “Ma’am, I have never seen you before in my life. Are you sure you have the right doctor?” But my memory was crystal clear. It was her. I stared at her face. She was looking down, adjusting the monitor, completely oblivious to my intense glare. “Alright, go ahead and lay back. Lift your shirt for me.” I lay down. The cold gel hit my skin, and the probe slid across my stomach. The familiar, tiny silhouette appeared on the screen. “Developing beautifully,” Dr. Evans said. “The head circumference is slightly above average. Just keep an eye on your sugar intake so the baby doesn’t get too big for delivery.” I stared at the monitor, my eyes tearing up again. “Dr. Evans, could I take a quick picture with you?” She paused, surprised. I quickly added, “First-time mom. I just really want to document the journey.” She smiled warmly. “Of course. Go ahead.” I pulled out my phone, switched to the front camera, and leaned in close. Click. I looked down at the photo. Dr. Evans’s face, my face, and the ultrasound monitor clearly showing the baby in the background. It was all there. Crystal clear. Let’s see you try to deny this in this life, I thought fiercely. Walking out of the exam room, I purposely tracked down that nurse. “Nurse Rachel, could we grab a quick picture?” I held up my phone. “I’m making a pregnancy vlog for the baby.” Rachel was incredibly accommodating. “Where’s your husband? Let’s have him take a full-body shot of us.” Mark was pulled over, and he snapped several photos of Rachel and me. In every single photo, my massive baby bump was front and center. “Why are you so hyper today?” Mark asked with a chuckle. I put my phone in my purse. “First pregnancy, remember? I just want to make a lot of memories.” In reality, I wanted to make a lot of evidence. This time, I had photos, videos, audio recordings, and multiple witnesses. I refused to believe they could pull off whatever they did last time. Walking out of the hospital, Mark helped me into the passenger seat. “Tired? Take a quick nap. I’ll wake you when we get home.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to go home. I want to go to that famous brunch spot downtown.” He paused, then smiled. “Alright. Whatever the queen wants.” In my past life, I had fallen asleep in the car on the way home. When I woke up, my child was gone. This time, I absolutely refused to sleep. And I needed to be somewhere packed with people! The diner wasn’t far from the hospital. We got there in twenty minutes. But there was a massive crowd waiting outside. “Want to go somewhere else?” Mark asked. “No. I want this place.” I waddled over to the crowded waiting area and sat down. Mark offered a helpless smile and went to the host stand to put our name in. The waiting area was packed. A waitress carrying a tray walked over. “Ma’am, please have some crackers while you wait. We can’t have our expecting mothers going hungry.” She handed me a small bag of artisan crackers. I thanked her, feeling a wave of relief wash over me. With so many people watching, nothing could possibly happen to me here, right? I leaned back against the bench, watching the bustling crowd, but my eyelids started to feel incredibly heavy. I had barely slept the night before. Now, sitting in the warm, cozy waiting area, waves of unnatural exhaustion began crashing over me. I fought desperately to keep my eyes open, but my vision rapidly blurred into darkness. …… “Chloe?” Someone was shaking my shoulder. I jolted awake. My very first instinct was to grab my stomach. It was flat. I froze, and frantically felt it again. Flat. I violently yanked up my sweater. My stomach was completely smooth and flat. “What’s wrong?” Mark crouched in front of me, looking deeply confused. I opened my mouth, my voice trembling violently. “The baby is gone…” “What?” “The baby is gone!” I pointed at my stomach, screaming. “My seven-month-old baby is gone!” Mark froze for a second, then let out a soft chuckle. “Chloe, are you still half-asleep? Since when were you ever pregnant?” I stared at him, my eyes wide with terror, and shrieked: “What do you mean?! We literally just left the prenatal clinic!” Mark frowned slightly, looking genuinely concerned. “Honey, we did go to the hospital today, but it wasn’t for a prenatal exam. You had a routine physical.” Those exact words again. My entire body began to shake. I stumbled out of my chair and lunged at the waitress who had given me the crackers, grabbing her arm. “Earlier! You said I was an expecting mother and gave me crackers so I wouldn’t go hungry! Do you remember?!” The waitress looked terrified. “Ma’am, what are you talking about? We don’t even serve crackers here.” I stood there, paralyzed. Then I frantically dug into my purse, pulled out my phone, and opened my photo gallery. The selfies with Dr. Evans and Nurse Rachel… they were all gone. Refusing to give up, I opened Facebook. Yesterday, after the maternity shoot, I had posted the behind-the-scenes videos. Dozens of friends and coworkers had liked and commented on it. But that post had vanished completely from my timeline. “Impossible…” My trembling fingers kept scrolling. Mark walked over and gently squeezed my shoulders. “Chloe, you’ve been under so much stress trying to conceive. You’re having hallucinations.” I violently slapped his hands away and sprinted out of the diner. I had to go back to the hospital. I had to find that doctor, and that nurse. They had to remember me. When I burst through the clinic doors, Nurse Rachel was taking a pregnant woman’s blood pressure. I grabbed her arm. “Nurse Rachel! Do you remember me?!” Rachel jumped, looking at me in utter bewilderment. “Ma’am, do you have the wrong person?” “How could I have the wrong person?! You literally took photos with me this morning!” Rachel thought for a second, then shook her head, cutting me off. “I’ve been working the inpatient ward all morning. I wasn’t even in the outpatient clinic. Were you here for a prenatal exam?” I froze. “Then what about the female doctor who did my ultrasound?!” Rachel flipped through the clipboard on the desk. “All the attending ultrasound technicians on duty today are male. There are no female doctors on shift.” My brain exploded with a deafening ringing sound. A pregnant woman sitting nearby muttered to her husband, “Is she mentally ill?” “Probably drove herself crazy trying to get pregnant. My cousin did the same thing. Tried for three years, ended up having phantom pregnancies and hallucinating babies…” “Seriously, look at her stomach. It’s completely flat. Who is she trying to fool…” I ran into the hospital bathroom like a madwoman, lifted my shirt in front of the mirror, and stared at my stomach. Smooth. Flat. As if I had never been pregnant a day in my life. I slid down the wall of the bathroom stall, collapsing onto the tile floor. My mind was completely blank. No. This is wrong. I must have missed something. My phone rang. It was my mom. I scrambled to answer it. “Chloe, did you get the lasagna I dropped off?” I opened my mouth, a desperate spark of hope igniting in my chest. “Mom… do you remember that I’m pregnant?” The line was silent for two seconds. Her voice came back laced with pure confusion. “Pregnant? Haven’t you and Mark been trying for over a year with no luck?” My hand gripping the phone began to shake violently. “Mom, I literally sent you my maternity photoshoot videos yesterday. Did you forget?!” My mom sounded even more confused. “No you didn’t, sweetie. You just called me saying you were craving lasagna. That’s all.” I opened my text messages. The videos in our chat history were gone. My mom’s voice filled with deep concern. “Chloe, are you overworking yourself? Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, honey. A baby will come when the time is right…” Sitting on the cold bathroom floor, an icy chill seeped into my bones. Was I doomed to repeat this nightmare? Was I trapped in this impossible loop forever? No. I refuse to be a sitting duck! I splashed cold water on my face and marched out of the bathroom. I immediately heard a commotion down the hall. “That’s her. She’s the one harassing the staff…” “Call security. She’s clearly having a psychotic break…” I looked down the corridor. A crowd had formed outside the OB-GYN clinic. In the center, Mark was explaining something to a nurse. When he saw me, he rushed over. “Chloe, where did you go? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” I stared at him. This man. We had been married for five years, and he had always been loving and perfect. Right now, his eyes were filled with nothing but profound worry and heartbreak. I stared dead into his pupils. “Mark, do you really not remember taking me for my prenatal checkup today?” Mark sighed heavily, reaching out to hold my hand. “Honey, let’s go home first. You need to rest, okay?” “Answer the question!” He paused, his eyes darting away for a fraction of a second. “Chloe. You were never pregnant.” I closed my eyes. There it is. “Ma’am, please stop disrupting hospital operations.” Two security guards approached me. “We received a complaint that you are harassing medical staff. Please cooperate and leave the premises.” I took a step back. The hallway was full of people staring at me, whispering loudly. “What a shame. She’s so pretty, but completely out of her mind…” “I’ve seen cases like this. They all end up in a straightjacket…” “Her poor husband…” Mark stepped in front of me, speaking to the guards. “I am so sorry. My wife has been under extreme psychological stress lately. I’ll take her home right now.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the exit. I followed mechanically, my brain totally numb. But right at that moment, I caught a glimpse of the digital calendar hanging on the lobby wall. I stopped dead in my tracks, grabbed the arm of a passing nurse, and asked, my voice trembling violently: “Is… is the date on that clock correct?” The nurse was startled by my intensity but answered anyway. “Yeah, it’s correct. Why?” So that was it! I finally understood why my baby was gone, and why there was absolutely zero trace of my pregnancy! Chapter 2 “Ma’am, you need to leave,” the security guard said, his hand already clamping down on my shoulder. Mark chimed in with the perfect tone of a loving, exhausted husband. “Chloe, please, be good. Let’s just go home…” I stared dead at the digital calendar on the wall. March 15, 2024. The day of my prenatal checkup was March 15, 2023. An entire year. When I fell asleep in that diner and woke up, it wasn’t a few hours later. It was a whole year later! A horrifying realization suddenly crystallized in my mind. “Chloe?” Mark asked, his voice probing cautiously. “What are you thinking about?” I slowly turned my head, looking at his mask of gentle concern. In my past life, he had looked at me exactly like this right before having me committed to an asylum. In this life, if I kept causing a scene, the ending would be exactly the same. I forced down the tidal wave of horror and panic inside me, and squeezed out an exhausted, fragile smile. “Nothing. I’m just so tired. I think I really am having hallucinations.” Mark visibly exhaled a sigh of relief and supported my arm. “That’s okay. Let’s get you home.” I let him guide me out the hospital doors. Behind us, the crowd continued to whisper. “What a tragedy, going crazy so young.” “Her husband is a saint for putting up with that.” I kept my head down, burying the absolute storm of fury in my chest. Mark helped me into the passenger seat and leaned over to buckle my seatbelt with practiced care. “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we’re in the garage.” “Okay,” I closed my eyes, my voice soft and perfectly level. As the engine started, I pretended to sleep, squinting through my eyelashes to study his profile in the driver’s seat. Mark Davis. What the hell did you do to me? Back at the house, Mark tucked me into bed and brought me a mug of warm milk. “Drink this, then get some real sleep.” I took the mug, faked a sip, and the moment he left the room, I poured the entire thing into a potted plant. Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, my brain was spinning at lightspeed. If my theory was right, then how did no one notice I was missing for an entire year? Was someone actively impersonating me on my social media and messaging apps? The only person who could pull off an elaborate, sustained identity theft like that was the person closest to me. Mark. But I needed hard proof. When I was certain he was fast asleep next to me, I quietly slipped out of bed, grabbed my phone, and dialed a number. “Hello, Private Investigator? I need a deep background check on someone.” The voice on the other end was gruff. “Ma’am, this kind of work isn’t cheap, and it takes time.” “Money is not an issue. As for time…” I gritted my teeth. “How fast can you do it?” “A week.” “I’ll pay you double if you have it in three days.” “Deal.” I hung up, wiped the call log, hid my phone, and slipped back under the covers. Mark rolled over, his arm draping heavily over my waist. “Why are you still awake?” he mumbled. “Just going to sleep now,” I whispered softly. I didn’t let a single tremor of fear enter my voice. Those three days were like walking on a tightrope over a pit of vipers. Mark smothered me with care. He cooked me organic, nutrient-dense meals every day, walked with me in the evenings, and meticulously reminded me to take my pills. “These are your vitamins. The doctor said your body has been very weak lately. You need to build your strength back up,” he said, pressing the white pills into my palm. I smiled, took them, and the second he turned around, I spit them into a tissue and buried them in the trash. I refused to consume anything he gave me. God only knew what chemicals were in those pills. On the second day, I used the excuse of visiting my best friend to sneak out and meet the private investigator. “Got it,” the PI slid a manila folder across the cafe table. “Your husband, Mark Davis, has a hidden prior marriage.” My fingers trembled as I opened the folder. A photograph showed Mark in a tuxedo, his arm wrapped around a woman in a wedding dress. He looked blissfully happy. The woman looked terrifyingly familiar. “His ex-wife’s name is Rachel Brooks,” the PI said. “She used to be a registered nurse at the Women’s Clinic. Actually, she still works there.” My brain felt like it was short-circuiting. The nurse who had taken my blood pressure, the one who smiled and told me I was carrying a boy. That was Mark’s ex-wife? “There’s something much worse,” the PI slid a second folder toward me. “They had a son together. He was six years old, diagnosed with acute leukemia. He desperately needed a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.” “From my research, stem cells from a biological sibling have the highest success rate. And the absolute highest quality stem cells come from the umbilical cord blood of a newborn sibling.” The folder slipped from my hands and hit the floor. Every single disjointed puzzle piece violently slammed into place. Mark and his ex-wife’s son was dying. He needed a sibling to save his life. But they were divorced. They couldn’t just have another baby together. And I… happened to be pregnant. “How is their son doing now?” my voice was a raspy whisper. The PI shook his head. “He passed away last month.” I closed my eyes, the tears falling silently. “There’s one more thing,” the PI’s voice grew heavy. “Over the past year, your husband made three massive wire transfers to a shell account tied to the hospital. A total of $800,000. The ultimate beneficiary was the OB-GYN department at the Women’s Clinic.” “I also hacked into your sealed medical records. On March 15th of last year, you were there for a prenatal checkup. But on that exact same day, there is a surgical log under your name. An emergency, forced premature C-section.” My entire body shook violently. “Where is my baby?!” “The logs state that a premature infant girl survived the procedure, and was signed out and discharged to the biological father, Mark Davis.” Discharged? Discharged to where?! I shot up from my chair, the world spinning so violently I almost collapsed. “Ma’am, are you alright?” the PI asked, alarmed. I gripped the edge of the table, inhaling sharply. “I’m going to the police.” The next day, I marched straight into the local police precinct. “I need to report a crime! My baby was kidnapped!” The desk sergeant looked up. “Ma’am, take a deep breath. Start from the beginning. What happened?” “Last year, I was seven months pregnant. I went to the hospital for a checkup, and then…” I took a shaky breath. “Then I slipped into a coma. When I woke up, my baby was gone, my stomach was flat, and everyone told me I was never pregnant!” The officer’s expression shifted into something uncomfortable. “Ma’am, are you saying you were in a coma for an entire year?” “Yes!” “And where were you during this year?” “I…” I froze. I didn’t know. Where the hell had my physical body been kept? “Ma’am, do you have any proof of this?” I reached for my phone, but the PI was still compiling the hard copies of the financial records and medical logs. I didn’t have the smoking gun in my hand yet. I panicked, but my silence translated to guilt in the eyes of the police. The officer sighed, his tone shifting to that polite, patronizing voice reserved for the mentally unstable. “I suggest you go to a hospital for a psychological evaluation. If there was genuine medical malpractice, we can connect you with the medical board. But in all likelihood, you are experiencing a mental health crisis…” “No! I want to file a police report! This is human trafficking!” “Ma’am, please calm down…” “I am calm!” I slammed my hands on the desk. “Rachel Brooks, a nurse at the Women’s Clinic, stole my baby! Investigate her!” My shouting drew the attention of the other officers and the civilians in the lobby. “What’s going on?” “Oh, another crazy medical conspiracist…” “She looks so normal, but she’s completely unhinged…” Hearing those whispers made my chest tighten. It was happening again. Just like my past life. Everyone thought I was insane. “I am not a psychopath!” I spun around and screamed at the lobby. “My child was stolen! Go investigate the hospital! Investigate Rachel Brooks!” “Ma’am, you need to calm down!” Two officers stepped forward to restrain me. Right at that moment, the hospital delegation arrived. The Vice President of the Women’s Clinic walked in, flanked by two corporate lawyers. He looked gravely serious. “Officers, we were notified that someone is publicly and maliciously defaming our hospital. We demand legal intervention.” The VP looked at me, his eyes ice-cold. “Mrs. Davis, you caused a massive disturbance at our facility yesterday. We chose not to press charges because we sympathized with your mental distress. But we will not tolerate you escalating this to false police reports.” “False reports?” I sneered. “Your OB-GYN department took an $800,000 bribe from my husband to cut me open, force a premature delivery, and steal my child, and you have the audacity to call it a false report?!” The VP’s face twitched slightly, but he recovered instantly. “What $800,000? What forced delivery? Mrs. Davis, do you have a shred of evidence for these insane allegations?” “I…” I choked. The $800,000 was discovered by my PI. It was an illicit transfer and wouldn’t hold up as immediate hard evidence without a subpoena. And the hospital could easily delete or alter my surgical logs. “An accusation without evidence is defamation,” the VP turned back to the police. “We demand you open a case against Mrs. Davis for filing a false police report. Furthermore, our hospital retains the right to sue her for reputational damages.” “Exactly, we can’t let these crazy patients get away with this!” “She looks so put together, how can she be this insane?” “I heard her husband treats her like a queen. Poor guy.” The crowd in the lobby started pointing fingers. Someone even pulled out their phone and started live-streaming me. “Hey chat, look at this psycho at the police station claiming her baby was stolen, when she was never even pregnant!” My entire body was shaking. Not from fear, but from a volcanic, consuming rage. It was exactly the same. Exactly like my past life. They stood on their moral high ground, weaponizing the word “crazy” to turn my trauma into a public spectacle.

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After three years in wedding planning, I finally secured the perfect venue for my own upcoming nuptials: The Legacy Ballroom at the Grand Regency. It took months of exhausting negotiation, countless late-night pitch revisions, and draining my entire savings account just to make the non-refundable deposit. My fiancée, Chloe, had even taken a high-stress corporate job across the country just so we could save faster to build our life together. Then came Mr. Vance. He was a difficult client who had rejected five distinct wedding concepts I’d drafted for him. Suddenly, he laid eyes on my personal booking at the Legacy Ballroom and decided it was the only option. “How about you assign the venue booking to me?” he suggested nonchalantly. “I’ll pay you five times your deposit amount.” He gave me a smarmy smile. “My wife and I decided on a date that fits perfectly. I really want to surprise her.” I didn’t even have to think about it. I politely declined. The very next day, Mr. Vance showed up outside my apartment building, and he brought his wife. “That planner is utterly unreasonable, baby,” Vance grumbled, leaning against his luxury SUV. “You have to put him in his place for me!” The woman watched him dote on him with an indulgent smile. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll offer him a hundred times the deposit,” she said smoothly. “Whatever makes you happy. I’ll handle him.” She laughed softly as she stepped forward, looking up at me. Then, her smile instantly vanished. We both froze, staring at each other in total disbelief. This was Chloe. My Chloe. The woman I was supposed to marry, the one who claimed she was working 3,000 miles away because we were broke. … The panic in Chloe’s eyes lasted only a fraction of a second before she masked it perfectly. Instead of explaining, she shot me a warning look—a silent command to stay quiet. Vance, completely oblivious to the agonizing tension, pulled out a checkbook and tapped it against his palm. “Let’s be blunt,” Vance said, sliding a pen from his breast pocket. “Write down whatever number you want. I want the Legacy Ballroom.” He slipped his arm around Chloe’s waist. “My wife is picking up the tab.” I looked up, desperately searching Chloe’s eyes for a hint of guilt, remissness, anything. There was nothing. Just cold calculation. To get this booking, I had camped out outside the reservation office for three days in freezing rain. My face had actually developed mild frostbite. By some miracle, another couple had canceled, and I had grabbed the slot. I had been so ecstatic I couldn’t sleep. I spent the entire night on a video call with Chloe, dreaming together about our future wedding. Looking at her now, it was obvious she had never even opened the wedding planning shared document I sent her. She didn’t realize I chose the Legacy Ballroom because that was where we had our very first date five years ago. I didn’t take the checkbook. Chloe broke the silence, her voice devoid of emotion, framing her words with terrifying significance. “Are you in a rush to get married?” I didn’t know who was asking that question. Chloe Vance, the wealthy wife? Or Chloe, my fiancée? But she, of all people, should know the answer. My family had been pressuring me to get married for five years. Every single time, I had offered a strained smile and told them, “There’s no rush. We’ll get married when we save enough money.” But the anxiety kept me awake at night. I hid my desperation from her because I didn’t want to add stress to her high-powered job. And now… I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Actually, there’s no rush at all.” Chloe’s expression flickered, becoming complicated. Vance, however, beamed and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Good,” Vance said, scrawling a number on the check that I had never imagined seeing on a single piece of paper: One Million Dollars. “Take it,” he said, ripping the check out and shoving it toward me. “Don’t worry about it. I spend more than this on a business dinner.” “My wife and I spent millions on our reception, but after seeing the venue options, we decided the Legacy Ballroom is the only place suitable for us.” Vance looked me up and down, a sneer forming. “Listen, buddy, if you don’t have the cash, don’t pretend you do. Find a nice little diner for your wedding. That seems more your speed.” I was wearing a suit jacket from three years ago. It clashed violently with the luxury designer brands covering both of them. But Chloe had given me this jacket. It was the only “expensive” birthday gift she had ever bought me. Chloe lightly pulled Vance’s arm, and he snapped out of his arrogance. “Right. I’m pretty direct, don’t take it personally.” “Here,” he said, handing me a heavy, gold-embossed business card. “This is my wife’s card. We still need to discuss the details for the bride’s gown revisions.” The card read: [CEO, Sterling Group: Chloe Vance.] The Chloe I knew would wear the same T-shirt until it faded to white and cut her own hair to save twenty bucks. I realized now that every time I excitedly showed her the hundred-dollar gift cards clients gave me as bonuses, she must have been secretly laughing at me. I watched them walk away, their bodies close, their intimacy natural. I closed my eyes. Five years of long-distance. working night and day, sacrificing everything to save money… only to find out I was planning her wedding to someone else. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A message from Chloe: [Meet my assistant at the villa later. We need to talk.] The bitter resentment bottled in my chest exploded. I started typing furiously, sending message after message. [Why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you ever tell me you were married?] [What am I to you?] But my messages vanished into a void. They remained “Delivered,” but never “Read.” Chloe’s assistant ushered me into a luxury sedan, driving us to a remote, gated community on the outskirts of the city. “This is a property the Sterling family owns, Mr. Vance doesn’t know about it,” the assistant said coldly. “Wait for Ms. Sterling here.” Sterling. Her maiden name. The servants surrounding the estate shot me looks of open amusement and disdain. As if the word “Mistress” was tattooed across my forehead. Except, I was a man. I walked into the massive villa, feeling utterly lost. Everything here was alien. Chloe had told me she lived in a small, rented apartment. In reality, just one of her spare properties was a palace. Meanwhile, I had spent five years living in a leaky, drafty basement apartment just to save an extra $300 a month on rent for our future. Seeing Chloe Sterling’s marriage certificate to Mr. Vance displayed prominently on the nightstand crushed my final defensive line. The date they signed the license… was the day my father passed away. I had called her that day, helpless and broken, needing her support. She had told me, “Work is insane, I can’t leave right now.” That lie had stripped away my last source of strength. In reality, that day was her joyous wedding day. Chloe pushed the door open, linking her arm through mine just as she always used to. “Ethan, he’s my childhood friend. It was an arranged marriage. I had no choice.” “I know you’re understanding. Can you forgive me?” I couldn’t take it anymore. I violently pushed her away, my eyes burning with rage and betrayal. “Then what was our five years together? What am I to you?” “I’m a bitch,” Chloe answered instantly, her voice decisive. “That’s why I want to make it up to you. You can live here. Vance never comes here, as long as you keep a low profile.” I looked around the room, staring at everything that didn’t belong to me, and laughed. I had waited for her faithfully for five years. And the only position she had for me in her life now was “Side Piece.” Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door. “Sir…” Vance stood in the doorway, his face twisted in utter shock. He marched forward and, before I could react, planted a brutal punch squarely on my jaw. “I knew that perfume on her smelled familiar!” he roared. “I didn’t expect it to be the Side Piece trying to screw my wife!” Chloe panicked, stepping in front of me to shield me. “Let me explain…” Vance pushed her aside with brute force. He grabbed the collar of my jacket and started violently dragging me toward the hallway. “Get out! Get the hell out!” I struggled desperately, but my foot slipped on the polished marble floor. I tumbled headfirst down the massive spiral staircase. My blood-curdling screams echoed through the entire villa. As Chloe scrambled to run down the stairs after me, Vance suddenly clutched his head in apparent agony. “Chloe, my head… it hurts…” With just that one sentence, Chloe completely forgot about me. She linked her arm through Vance’s to support him and stepped directly over my broken body. I felt like every bone in my body was shattered. I lay in a pool of my own blood, consumed by utter despair. No matter how hard I yelled, how loud I screamed her name, Chloe never looked back. Not once. I begged the servants for help, but they twisted their heads away in disgust, muttering words like “homewrecker” and “Side Piece.” The fantasy I had cherished for five long years collapsed completely in that moment. My mouth was covered in blood. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to crawl up. I dialed a dusty, forgotten international number. “You said you’d always have a position for me. Does that still stand?” The second I hung up the phone, I received a notification from the hospital. Chapter 2 When I rushed to the hospital, my mother was lying in the intensive care unit, breathing her last breaths. “Ethan Miller, why would you become a homewrecker…?” I was paralyzed with shock. “Mom, listen to me…” But before I could even start to explain, my mother turned her head away in absolute disappointment, refusing to listen to another word. As she was wheeled into the operating room for emergency surgery, I finally realized what was happening. Her phone was in the basket of her belongings, publicly broadcasting a news alert. Vance had posted their marriage certificate online, publicly accusing me of being the Side Piece who destroyed his family. Countless hateful terms like “trash man” and “homewrecker” flashed across the screen. The violent rage and heartbreak overwhelmed my system, and I collapsed into a sea of pain. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed myself. Chloe was sitting by my bedside. She had massive dark circles under her eyes, looking utterly exhausted. But her eyes held no sympathy. They held threats. “Post an apology to Vance on social media.” “Vance said that if you’re willing to swallow your pride, he’ll turn a blind eye to us in the future.” I froze. Every drop of blood in my body felt like it was flowing backward. She had deceived me for five years, and now I was the one who had to take the responsibility for her mess? Tears exploded from my eyes. Rage ground out three words from between my gritted teeth: “In your dreams!” Before the words even finished leaving my lips, she silently pulled out a thick stack of my mother’s medical bills from over the years. “You’ve probably figured it out by now. I’m the one who has been paying for your mother’s treatments all this time.” “If you don’t agree, I can always choose to stop paying.” I looked up at her, utterly broken. Once, Chloe Sterling had sworn to me that no matter how hard life got, as long as she was around, I would never have to worry about money. She said she would do everything in her power to give me the best life possible. But that was before. Staring at the mountain of bills on the nightstand, I gave a numb nod. The moment I posted the statement online, a tidal wave of abuse flooded my phone. I didn’t dare open the notifications. I didn’t dare leave my apartment. People actually mailed razor blades and dead rats to my address. Until my wedding planning business app started blasting an emergency alert. When I rushed to the shop, a bucket of red paint hit me squarely in the face. “You shameless bitch! A Side Piece is all you’ll ever be!” “Mr. Vance had a severe depression episode and almost overdosed on sleeping pills because of you!” “You used your wedding planning job to seduce another woman’s wife!” In the blink of an eye, the business I had dedicated my life to building was completely annihilated. “Stop! Stop it!” Just as the crowd was about to get even more violent, Vance appeared. His hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot. “You knew our wedding was coming up, and you deliberately threw my custom tux into the sewer.” “You can punish me, but you can’t punish my wedding…” As he spoke, he carelessly rolled up his sleeve to reveal a few fresh, self-inflicted scars on his forearm. Under the crowd’s pitying gaze, he turned to Chloe to demand justice. “Chloe, if you want to protect him, then we should just cancel the wedding. I’ll give him my spot.” My heart clenched, and I waited for her answer. At the very least, I was her boyfriend of five years who had stuck with her through thick and thin. I was the lover she had promised the rest of her life to. But the next second, Chloe Sterling turned a terrifyingly dark gaze toward me: “So your apology was just a lie, and you were still retaliating against him behind my back!” “Since you refuse to listen, I guess I have no choice but to punish you.” A horrific feeling of dread flooded my chest. Before I could react, three massive bodyguards slammed me into the ground. I felt a violent, blinding pain as they brutally snapped my fingers back. The last image of her gentle smile that I held in my mind shattered along with my bones. My guttural screams did nothing to evoke a single ounce of sympathy from her. “You’re a monster! A monster!” The bodyguards stopped their assault, only for Chloe to turn around and order: “Snap three of his fingers every single day. Do not let him leave this shop until he sincerely begs for forgiveness.” Vance smiled triumphantly as he followed her out. Right before leaving, he turned back to shoot me a look full of gloating and pure hatred. Chloe Sterling locked me inside my ruined shop. Every single day, I lived in agonizing dread, waiting for the torture to begin again. Until finally, all my fingers were broken and twisted, and both my legs had been brutally snapped. They tossed me aside like a rag doll, covered in blood and scars. I don’t know when Vance walked in. He stood over me, sneering down at my pathetic state. “How does it feel to be the Side Piece? Do you finally accept that Chloe loves me?” My heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand sewing needles. It was exactly because Chloe loved him that she was willing to make me take the fall for being a “homewrecker” just to save him from crying. Even though I had faced reality, my heart still cracked open in sharp, exquisite pain. He mocked: “Do you honestly think that if Chloe removes your vas deferens, I’ll allow you to survive?” I whipped my head up, my expression filled with confusion. Vance’s eyes danced with immense satisfaction. He let out a condescending, arrogant laugh. “Oh, you didn’t know? While you were unconscious, Chloe Sterling had your vas deferens surgically removed.” “You’re never going to be a father, you worthless piece of trash.” The man got more and more energized as he spoke, unable to hide his gloating triumph. “The Sterling family will only have one heir.” “Because Chloe Sterling said you were just a toy she used to satisfy her sexual urges. Why on earth would you be worthy of having her children?” My mind went completely blank. I couldn’t process the words. The truth was a thousand times more brutal than anything I had imagined. Every beautiful memory of her love for me that I cherished instantly became ugly, twisted, and grotesque. Next, the man slapped a piece of paper directly onto my face: “Ethan Miller, look! You actually shocked your mother to death!” Catastrophic tinnitus exploded in my ears. Choked-off sobs began to leak from the corners of my mouth. My eyes burned with blood-red rage. I violently spat in his face. “Karma will come for you!” The man ground his teeth in fury. “You honestly think you still have a chance? I will never let that happen.” With that, a sickening, pungent scent of natural gas filled the room. By the time I realized the danger and tried to escape, Vance had already slipped out of the room and locked the heavy door from the outside. I clawed at the door until my fingernails ripped off, leaving ten horrifying streaks of blood on the wood. The next second, with a deafening BOOM, a violent tidal wave of intense heat engulfed me. My vision slowly began to blur. I felt like I was seeing that gentle memory of me wearing a suit, dropping to one knee to propose to Chloe Sterling. But that wedding… would never, ever happen. By the time Chloe Sterling received the call from the emergency responders and rushed to the scene, the horrific image before her eyes caused her to freeze in absolute terror…

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The night before my wedding, I was scrolling through a local Reddit forum and stumbled upon a trending post. [Tomorrow is my wedding day. I secretly swapped my fiancé’s daily vitamins with heavy sleeping pills so my adopted brother can take his place at the altar. How do I stop feeling guilty?] The comments section was an absolute bloodbath of people cursing out the original poster (OP), but she remained arrogantly unapologetic. [I’ve always loved my adopted brother anyway. If it wasn’t for the fact that my fiancé is the true heir, and marrying him is the only way I can secure the corporate funding I need, who would actually want to marry that naive idiot?] [He loves me to death anyway. Once the deed is done and the marriage is consummated, I’ll just sweet-talk him a little, and he’ll gladly hand over his entire family fortune to me.] Someone in the comments asked what she would do if her fiancé refused to let it go. The OP replied casually: [Then I’ll just let Liam suffer a little bit and take the idiot into my home as a second husband. Once I rebuild my empire, I’ll orchestrate a trap to bankrupt his family, then throw the idiot onto the streets to beg for scraps as an apology to Liam.] The internet was outraged, furiously condemning the OP for being a treacherous, ungrateful snake. Suddenly, I noticed a very familiar profile picture “like” the OP’s comment. [He stole everything that rightfully belonged to me anyway. Once I successfully take his place at the wedding, not only will his bride be mine, but his billion-dollar dowry will be mine too!] His profile picture was a matching set with the OP’s. It was a photo of the custom plush dolls sitting on the nightstand of the “fake heir” who lived in my house. I picked up the bottle of vitamins on my nightstand and swallowed a pill without a second of hesitation. What they didn’t know was… their grand master plan was celebrating a little too early. The next day, I slept until the sun was high in the sky before finally rubbing my temples and walking out of my bedroom. I ran right into my mother in the hallway. Tears were still glistening in the corners of her eyes. When she saw me, she froze for two full seconds before gasping aloud, “Arthur?! What are you doing here?!” My dad heard the commotion and hurried over. He looked at me, then looked out the window at the wedding motorcade that was already driving away in the distance. He looked thoroughly confused. “If you’re here, then who just got into the Sterling family’s wedding car?” I put on a flawless mask of utter confusion. “What do you mean? What happened?” “Yesterday, my brother gave me a new bottle of vitamins. After I took them, I felt incredibly dizzy and just slept until now.” Instantly, the festive, joyous atmosphere in the mansion evaporated. The servants and family members exchanged bewildered glances. My mom was the first to react. Her face turned to pure ice. She reached out and violently grabbed the arm of Maria, our head housekeeper, who was discreetly trying to back away. “I was wondering why a mere housekeeper was crying harder than the groom’s actual mother when the wedding car left! It turns out the person you just sent off to get married was your own fake son!” Maria instinctively recoiled, her eyes darting nervously around the room as she stammered. “M-Madam, whatever do you mean?” “The Young Master overslept on his own! How can you blame that on me?” My dad stood to the side, barking a furious order to the security detail. “What are you standing around for?! Go catch that ungrateful bastard Liam and drag him back here right now!” Just as the words left his mouth, our estate manager came rushing up the stairs, panting heavily. “S-Sir… The Sterling family… the wedding ceremony has already concluded.” My mom let out a cold, furious scoff. “So what if the ceremony is over?! Do you think a sparrow can magically turn into a phoenix just because it wears a suit?! A fake is a fake!” With that, she ordered the security team to follow her and marched straight toward the Sterling family’s wedding venue. I lowered my eyes and obediently followed behind my parents. But in my heart, I was laughing coldly. I knew it wasn’t just a simple matter of the ceremony being over. When our two families were planning the wedding, Victoria Sterling had fiercely insisted on a highly traditional, old-fashioned ceremony. She claimed that the Sterlings were a family with centuries of history, and it was a strict ancestral rule. Looking back on it now, she had premeditated this entire thing. In those traditional ceremonies, the groom’s face is heavily veiled throughout the procession, making it incredibly easy for Liam to pull a bait-and-switch. Calculating the time, by now, the deed was definitely done, and the marriage had been consummated. Standing nearby, Maria could barely suppress the triumphant, victorious smirk playing on her lips. Seeing that, I was absolutely certain. The trap had been sprung. When I was just a baby in the hospital nursery, Maria had intentionally swapped me with her own son, Liam. It wasn’t until we were ten years old that Liam suffered a severe fall. A routine blood test at the hospital revealed the horrifying truth: he was a fake. My parents spent an astronomical amount of money and resources to finally track me down and bring me home. But because they had raised Liam for a decade, my parents were kind-hearted. They allowed the fake son and his biological mother to remain living on the estate. They never imagined they were harboring a viper in their own home. Liam had always believed that because of me, he lost his title and glory as the eldest son of a billionaire dynasty. That twisted resentment was what drove him to concoct this disgusting, underhanded scheme. Even if I caught them in the act, my family was one of the most powerful, elite dynasties in Manhattan. They calculated that to protect my family’s reputation and avoid a massive public scandal, I would be forced to swallow this humiliating insult and stay quiet. While I was lost in thought, our group arrived at the doors of the lavish bridal suite that Victoria had supposedly prepared exclusively for me. The wedding guests, sensing the drama, had followed us upstairs and were crowding around the hallway to watch the show. The heavy oak doors were violently kicked open. Inside the room, a disheveled Victoria panicked, frantically grabbing a discarded tuxedo jacket to cover the naked man beneath her. Her face turned as black as storm clouds as she screamed at us, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Invading our privacy on our wedding night?! Have you lost your minds?!” My mom let out a sharp sneer. She took quick, purposeful strides forward and violently ripped away the tuxedo jacket that was covering half of Liam’s face. “Your wedding night? Open your damn eyes and look closely! Who exactly is the groom?!” My mom pointed a trembling finger at me, putting on an Oscar-worthy performance of absolute shock. “Liam?! Why are you in that bed?!” The moment the crowd saw Liam’s face, the hallway erupted into utter chaos. “Wait, isn’t the guy in the bed the fake son who got exposed years ago? Why is he in the Sterling heiress’s bed?!” My dad let out a cold, booming laugh. “I apologize for making you all witness this circus. The man in that bed is the son of our housekeeper. We raised him out of the goodness of our hearts for over two decades. And now, blinded by vanity and greed, he stole his brother’s wedding and is disgracing himself right here in front of everyone.” Victoria frantically pulled the duvet up, trying to cover Liam’s pale, naked body. Her brows knitted together in intense annoyance. “Arthur Sterling! When are you going to stop throwing this tantrum?!” “You overslept and missed the ceremony! Liam only took your place at the altar to protect your family’s reputation!” “I had too much to drink earlier, so I didn’t recognize him in the dark. But now that we’ve slept together, I have to take responsibility for Liam.” “Anyway, you’re both sons of your family. It doesn’t matter which one of you I marry; it won’t affect the corporate merger between our families.” “I know you’re desperately in love with me, and you brought all these people here to cause a scene because you want to switch back.” “Don’t worry. Even if I stay married to Liam, I can guarantee that the position of the Sterling family’s primary heir will forever belong to the child you and I have together.” “There. Are you satisfied now?” My dad was grinding his teeth so hard they looked ready to shatter. “Arthur is the sole, legitimate heir to my family! You were caught sleeping with another man on your wedding day, and now you have the audacity to humiliate him like this?!” I forced my eyes to turn red, letting a pool of unshed tears gather in my lower lashes. My mom pulled me into her arms, looking heartbroken, while my dad stood protectively in front of us. He turned to me and said, “Arthur, don’t worry. Dad will get justice for you!” The guests were whispering furiously, casting looks of absolute disgust at the people in the bed. “Did I hear that right? His family is one of the most respected, powerful dynasties in New York, and the Sterling heiress wants the legitimate heir to act as her secret sidepiece?” “The real heir is over six feet tall and built like an athlete. The fake son is short and scrawny. How drunk would the Sterling heiress have to be to mistake the two of them in bed?” Hearing the crowd’s mockery, Victoria frowned deeply in displeasure. She looked at me as if I were an irrational, hysterical child throwing a baseless tantrum. “Arthur, it’s just a minor hiccup. I already promised you that your child will be my primary heir. If you want to move into the Sterling mansion later, I won’t stop you.” “Why are you being so relentless? Dragging all these people here to make us a laughingstock… you are being completely unreasonable!” Looking at her arrogant, self-righteous face, I was so angry I actually laughed! She wanted to use my family’s wealth to throw a century-defining wedding for her and the fake son, and then expected me to willingly play the “other man,” ensuring my future child would be born as a dirty, illegitimate secret. What massive, delusional audacity! The Sterling family’s ancestors had been brilliant, but by her generation, the dynasty was nothing but a rotting, hollow shell hiding behind a gilded exterior. If it weren’t for the arranged marriage pact made by our grandfathers, and the massive financial backing my family provided, her name would have been wiped from the Manhattan elite registry a long time ago. And Victoria actually thought she could have her cake and eat it too, enjoying a harem of men. She was absolutely dreaming! My dad was so furious he started laughing. “The Sterling family has barely enjoyed a few days of luxury, and you’ve already forgotten how you used my family’s money to claw your way out of bankruptcy?” Victoria’s grandmother, the matriarch of the Sterling family, hurriedly pushed her way through the crowd to run damage control. “Now, now, what kind of talk is that?” “Planning a wedding is exhausting. Victoria has been working herself to the bone for a month. It’s totally understandable that she had a momentary lapse in judgment today.” “It’s just a simple misunderstanding. Once we talk it out, everything will be fine.” My family had always been cautious. A month before the wedding, my parents had hired a private investigator to look into Victoria. The night before the wedding, the PI handed me a thick stack of explicit photos of Victoria and Liam hooking up. I was shocked, furious, but mostly, in disbelief. Until I stumbled upon that viral Reddit post. I abruptly woke up to reality. Victoria wasn’t just cheating; she was plotting to use my family’s immense wealth as a stepping stone to rebuild her empire. And once my family outlived our usefulness, she was going to orchestrate our bankruptcy and destroy us. I was absolutely not going to let her vicious scheme succeed. Hearing the grandmother’s excuses, my mom let out a cold scoff. “Mrs. Sterling, do you think everyone in my family is a complete idiot?” “Arthur was brought back to our estate when he was ten. He and your granddaughter grew up in the same social circles. No matter how ‘exhausted’ she was, how could she possibly mistake the man she’s known for over a decade in her own bed?” Hearing this, Liam hurriedly threw on a silk bathrobe, dropped to his knees with a loud thud in front of the crowd, and began crying beautifully, like a tragic victim in a movie. “Mom, it’s all my fault! My brother overslept! I was so terrified our family would be humiliated, so I took it upon myself to put on the tuxedo!” He turned his head to look at me, tears streaming down his face, his voice breaking. “Brother, it’s all my fault! But no matter what happened, Victoria and I are already legally married! If you keep causing a scene like this, you’re the one throwing away our family’s reputation! Even if you don’t care about me, don’t you care about the family that gave you life?!” His eyes were bloodshot. He looked so pitiful and wronged, as if he were the victim of a massive injustice, completely erasing the fact that he was the one who conspired to sleep with the bride. Instead, I was the villain who was embarrassing the family by demanding justice. Right at that moment, the private investigator I had contacted earlier arrived, handing a thick envelope to my dad. “Sir, I’m afraid this situation is far darker than it seems.” My dad ripped the envelope open. Inside were the explicit photos I had obtained earlier. In photo after photo, Victoria and Liam were engaged in degrading, humiliating sexual acts, completely disregarding any basic sense of human decency or morality. My dad’s face turned beet red with rage. He violently hurled the stack of photos onto the bed. “What else does the Sterling family have to say for themselves?!” “Mrs. Sterling! If your granddaughter was in love with our housekeeper’s son, she could have just said so! There was absolutely no need to orchestrate this disgusting circus on her wedding day to humiliate my son!” “The corporate merger is terminated immediately! My family is pulling all our funding from the Sterling Corporation!” The moment my dad’s words hit the air, the Sterling matriarch’s face went ghastly white. Without my family’s massive capital injections, the Sterling Corporation’s supply chain would instantly collapse, leaving them drowning in astronomical debt. The matriarch swung her hand and delivered a brutal, resounding slap directly across Victoria’s face. “Look at what you’ve done! Look at the disaster you’ve caused!” With that, she pointed a trembling finger at Liam. “Guards! Grab this filthy stray dog and throw him out into the street!” Victoria covered her stinging cheek, shooting me a glare so venomous and hateful it felt like she wanted to skin me alive. In her twisted mind, I—the victim—had become the villain who ruined her wedding and destroyed her relationship with her grandmother. She shielded Liam behind her, stubbornly locking eyes with the matriarch. “Grandma! Liam and I grew up together. We’re truly in love! If Arthur hadn’t shamelessly begged and forced me to marry him, Liam and I would have been together years ago!” She shot me a look of absolute, unadulterated contempt. “Arthur is arrogant, spoiled, and completely unworthy of being the husband of the Sterling CEO. I already promised him that his child would inherit everything! What right does he have to drag all these people here to throw a tantrum, humiliating both our families?!” Looking at her shameless, delusional face, my stomach churned with disgust and profound regret. How could I have ever been blindly devoted to someone this vile? I stared coldly at the adulterous couple, mercilessly ripping away their last shred of dignity. “So what you’re saying is… you two conspired to swap my daily vitamins with heavy sedatives, causing me to oversleep and miss the ceremony, and you genuinely believe you did both our families a massive favor?” “I simply accompanied my parents here to cancel this pathetic circus, and suddenly I’m the criminal ruining both families’ reputations?” I leaned forward, locking eyes with both of them, and spoke in a voice loud enough for every single person in the room to hear clearly: “If you two were so madly in love, why didn’t you just announce it from the beginning?” “Was it because you specifically wanted to trample my family’s dignity into the dirt? Or was it because you didn’t just want a wedding… you wanted to steal every single penny of my family’s entire fortune?!” The faces of the two people in front of me instantly drained of all color, turning as white as paper. Victoria’s eyes darted around nervously as she stammered, “What… what nonsense are you talking about?!” Tears streamed down Liam’s face as his voice trembled. “Brother, just because you couldn’t win the heart of the woman you love, why must you falsely accuse me out of jealousy? I genuinely love Victoria!” I tapped my phone screen once. Instantly, the link to the viral Reddit post from last night was Airdropped and texted to every single person in the room. The guests clicked the link. The entire horrific plot was laid bare for everyone to see. “What a disgusting pair of sociopaths! Using such filthy, underhanded methods to climb the social ladder, and then plotting to destroy their benefactors! Absolute scum!” “Doing something this vile and then bragging about it on the internet? If that was my kid, I’d strangle him myself to save the family from ruin!” Some people directed their crosshairs entirely at Victoria. “The Sterling heiress really has absolutely zero shame. If she wanted the housekeeper’s son, she should have just married him.” “Orchestrating this entire trap… it was obviously for the dowry, right? Plotting to steal their family fortune, while simultaneously forcing the legitimate heir to act as her secret sidepiece… Does she think our elite social circles are entirely populated by idiots?!” The Sterling matriarch trembled with apocalyptic rage. She swung her hand and delivered another brutal slap to Victoria’s face. Victoria’s head snapped to the side, but she still instinctively wrapped her arms around Liam to protect him. Seeing this, the matriarch was consumed by fury and despair, clutching her chest. “You ungrateful, rebellious child! When are you going to wake up?! You still refuse to repent?!” “Crawl over to your father-in-law and mother-in-law right now! Beg for their forgiveness! Throw that filthy stray out of this room immediately, and finish the wedding ceremony with Arthur properly!” With that, she turned to me, her face plastered with a desperate, fawning smile, and reached out to grab my hand. I didn’t change my expression. I simply took a half-step backward, smoothly dodging her grasp. The matriarch’s smile froze for a second before she doubled down on her groveling. “Arthur, my dear boy, this is entirely our fault. I failed to discipline my granddaughter properly.” “As her grandmother, I am personally apologizing to you. Whatever you want, the Sterling family will give it to you.” “I promise you, nothing like this will ever, ever happen again.” At that exact moment, Victoria straightened her back, her face a mask of absolute, stubborn defiance. “Grandma! The man I love is Liam! In this lifetime, the only man who will ever sit in the seat of the CEO’s husband is him!” “We aren’t even married yet, and Arthur is already acting this arrogant and disrespectful! He has zero respect for our family!” “If you force me to marry a man like him, it will literally kill me!” “If it weren’t for the sake of our family’s alliance, even touching that naive idiot would make me sick! Me being willing to give him a child was already an act of supreme charity!” “If he doesn’t know what’s good for him, then he can enjoy being the laughingstock of all of Manhattan! A man whose engagement was canceled in public… he’s lower than a pool boy! Who would ever dare to marry him now?!” I looked coldly at the woman I had deemed the love of my life since I was ten years old. Fourteen years of history. I had given her almost everything a person could possibly give. Two years ago, when the old Mr. Sterling passed away, the stunningly mediocre Victoria took over as CEO of the Sterling Corporation. Within three short months, she managed to offend more than half of their primary investors. Not only did she completely botch the corporation’s flagship project, but despite the fierce opposition of her entire board of directors, she aggressively poured money into over a dozen ventures that were guaranteed to fail. In just six months, the Sterling dynasty—which had taken a century to build—had its supply chains completely ruptured and was drowning in billions of dollars of debt. The Sterling family liquidated their assets, but they still couldn’t cover the deficit. Seeing a century-old legacy about to burn to the ground, I begged my father to step in and save the Sterling Corporation from declaring bankruptcy. At the time, Victoria had knelt in front of my father, weeping hysterically, swearing that she would never betray me in this lifetime. She swore that between us, there would only ever be death, never separation. Relying entirely on my family’s immense resources and connections across multiple industries, Victoria was able to bring the Sterling family back from the brink of death in just two years. Now, before the Sterling family had even stabilized their footing in the elite circles of Manhattan, she was already impatient to force me into being her illegitimate sidepiece. The guests in the room looked at her like she was completely clinically insane. Everyone in the room knew that while the corporation technically bore the name “Sterling,” aside from Victoria holding the empty title of CEO, the company essentially belonged entirely to my family. A woman who relied completely on her fiancé’s money to maintain her billionaire lifestyle… where did she find the audacity to provoke her literal financial lifeline like this? But Victoria was completely oblivious. She genuinely believed that I was still desperately, unconditionally obsessed with her, just like before. Seeing my silence, she tightened her grip around Liam’s waist. “Arthur, if you get down on your knees and bash your head against the floor three times right now, I might be generous enough to forgive your childish tantrum.” “Otherwise, you will never even get the chance to give me a child, let alone move into the Sterling estate!” Looking at her arrogant, delusional, nauseating face, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. An idiot like this… whoever wants her can have her. A man destined for greatness doesn’t walk into a cursed house. My dad let out a freezing, booming scoff. “The absolute treasure of our family… do you really think you are worthy of even speaking his name?” “This wedding is canceled.” “In the future, if Arthur ever wants a wife, there are countless brilliant, elite women in New York who would line up around the block for him. If he never wants to marry, I will gladly support him for the rest of his life.” With that, he clapped his hands three times. His voice dropped to a dark, commanding baritone as he ordered his security detail: “Men! Pack up every single piece of my son’s dowry and load it back into the trucks!” “The two hundred briefcases of cash, the equity shares in twenty different tech firms, the ten custom Rolls-Royces, the thirty luxury properties across eight different countries… and the three billion dollars in liquid cash wired into the Sterling corporate accounts. Claw every single penny of it back! Do not leave a single cent behind!” The sheer, astronomical magnitude of my dowry made the entire room gasp in collective shock. “The Sterling family is completely finished. Without his family’s money, the Sterlings aren’t even a hollow shell!” “Throwing away a billion-dollar empire for the son of a housekeeper… she is literally as stupid as a pig!” Liam screamed in pure, unadulterated panic. “No! That dowry belongs to me!” My mom stepped forward and delivered a brutal, resounding slap directly across his face. “Our family only has one legitimate son! You think you are worthy of dreaming about that dowry?! If you want a dowry, go ask your housekeeper mother for it!” My family’s private security team flooded into the room, preparing to confiscate the assets. “Hold it right there!” Victoria stood up, using her body to block the security team. “Father-in-law, have you conveniently forgotten the prenuptial agreement our families signed during the engagement?” “Only if I betray a son of your family do you have the right to withdraw your funding. Otherwise, not only does this entire dowry belong to the Sterling family, but your family is also legally obligated to surrender all your corporate equity to us!” “Liam’s name is legally registered under your family’s household. At the end of the day, he is technically a son of your family. Everyone in this room is a witness! The Sterling family kept our promise! It is your family that is breaching the contract!” Legally, her words were flawless. My dad was so furious the blood rushed to his head; he clutched his chest, gasping heavily for air. My mom’s eyes were blood-red. She wanted to fight for justice, but Victoria’s airtight legal defense left her completely speechless. Liam twisted his waist, leaning seductively against Victoria’s chest, smiling with absolute, victorious arrogance. “Brother, it doesn’t matter if Mom and Dad refuse to acknowledge me. What matters is that I am now the legally recognized husband of the Sterling CEO.” “If you’re willing to drop to your knees right now, bark like a dog, crawl through my legs, and entertain me… for the sake of the family that raised me, I might be generous enough to get Dad a job as a security guard.” “Consider your dowry a tribute to me, the legitimate husband. It will all be transferred directly into my personal accounts.” The Sterling family’s private security violently shoved me aside. It looked as though my entire dowry was about to be swallowed whole by the Sterling family. My mom, enraged, tried to physically block them, but the Sterling guards, emboldened by their sudden power, shoved her hard, sending her crashing to the floor.

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To toughen me up, my older brother forced me to hike the Appalachian Trail, completely ignoring the fact that I had severe asthma. It wasn’t long before I suffered an attack. My face turned blue, and I collapsed onto a boulder. Gasping for air, I desperately reached for my backpack to get my inhaler. But Chloe kicked my bag away, her voice dripping with annoyance. “Didn’t you just use a whole can of oxygen? Just because Liam is the expedition leader, you think you can put on a show for us?” She picked up my bag and whined toward my brother, who was walking ahead. “Liam! Maya is throwing another tantrum! I’ll just carry her bag for her, so she doesn’t waste all the effort you put into bringing her out here.” My brother stopped in the distance, looking deeply irritated. “This is embarrassing. You can’t even handle half of what Chloe does!” “You are going to crawl to camp if you have to! From now on, no one gives her any more oxygen!” My breathing grew more and more restricted, until my vision finally went black and I face-planted onto the rock. When I opened my eyes again, I realized I was floating in mid-air. I looked down and saw my own small, frail body, lying face down on the boulder. I’m sorry, Liam. I really can’t walk anymore. “Maya, get your ass up! Stop playing dead and holding everyone up!” One of the hikers, a big guy named Dave, cursed loudly and started jabbing my back hard with his trekking pole. “You are so damn stubborn, you know that? You think if you just lie there, we’re going to carry your useless weight down the mountain?!” “Your brother already gave the order! Don’t push your luck. Get up right now!” With that, he delivered another heavy jab. My corpse shifted slightly under the force of the trekking pole. Losing its balance on the uneven rock, my body tilted to the side, revealing half of my face—bloodless, cyanotic, and turning a dark, bruised purple. The other hikers stood around watching like it was a circus act, their faces full of contempt. “Maya, are you trying to win an Oscar? Because you’re putting on a hell of a performance!” “You really should go to Hollywood. This acting is top-notch!” “Look, even if the leader is your own brother, you can’t play games with everyone’s lives! The weather up here changes by the minute. If you delay the schedule, can you take responsibility for that?!” In the distance, my brother was standing with Chloe. Hearing the commotion, his brows knitted together in a deep frown, the disgust in his eyes practically overflowing. Chloe clung to his arm, her sickly-sweet voice raising in volume. “Liam, why is Maya acting like this?” “All you did was cut off her oxygen for a minute, and now she’s holding a grudge and throwing a fit against the whole team?” “She’s just too spoiled at home. She can’t handle a tiny bit of hardship.” Liam clicked his tongue in annoyance and took long, angry strides toward me. Floating in the air, I saw the rage contorting my brother’s face, and my heart still instinctively clenched in fear. Ever since our parents died in a car crash when we were kids, I had been terrified of seeing that exact expression on his face. Whenever he frowned, I wanted to rip my heart out and prove to him that I wasn’t useless, that I wasn’t inferior to the girl next door, Chloe. But right now, I was already dead. Why do dead people still feel fear? Liam marched up to my corpse, looming over me. He shot me that familiar look—the one reserved for absolute garbage. “Maya, I’m going to count to three. You will stand up immediately!” His tone was ice-cold, leaving absolutely no room for argument. “One!” The mountain wind howled, whipping the hem of my windbreaker. “Two!” Chloe chimed in. “Maya, just stop making Liam angry and get up. We all need to keep moving.” I continued to lie perfectly still on the rock, my eyes tightly shut. “Three!” The word hung in the air. When I still didn’t move a muscle, the hikers exchanged glances, clearly enjoying the drama. Liam’s fury ignited like gasoline. “Fine! Excellent! Maya, you think you’re tough now, huh?!” He grabbed the back collar of my windbreaker and yanked violently. Smack! A sharp, resounding slap landed squarely on my face. My head jerked violently to the side like a broken ragdoll, but my body remained entirely limp. Liam clearly hadn’t expected me to be completely unresponsive. His grip on my collar loosened, and I crashed heavily onto the jagged, rocky ground. The sharp stones instantly sliced my cheek open. “You…!” Liam looked at his own trembling hand, then back at me, lying there like a dead pig. The fire in his eyes burned even hotter. “Maya, you really are something else!” “You’re willing to play dead through gritted teeth just to force my hand, aren’t you?!” He was shaking with rage. “You think this little stunt is going to manipulate me? You think this is going to get you oxygen?!” “Let me tell you right now: Not a chance in hell!” Floating above, watching all of this unfold in silence, I suddenly felt the urge to cry. Liam, I’m really not faking it. And I really can’t feel the pain anymore. Ever since our parents died in that crash, Liam had been my only pillar of support. He never let anyone bully me. But everything changed the day Chloe moved in next door. The brother who used to dote on me suddenly vanished, as if Chloe was his real sister. “Liam, don’t get so worked up over Maya. It’s not good for your health.” Chloe gently blew on his palm, looking at him with exaggerated concern. “Maya, there has to be a limit to your tantrums.” She sighed, looking down at my motionless body with fake exasperation. “Everyone is out here toughing it out in sub-zero temperatures. You can’t make everyone else freeze just because you want to throw a pity party.” The other hikers started chiming in. “Jeez, kids these days really have an attitude!” “Boss, she’s your sister, but you can’t just enable her! She’s an adult, and she’s using cheap tricks to manipulate her own family?!” Liam’s face had turned a furious shade of purple. He pulled his hand away from Chloe, glaring down at me with a cold, terrifying sneer. “Maya, I’m giving you one last warning. Are you getting up or not?!” The wind shrieked. I remained as still as the rocks beneath me, not even an eyelash twitching. “Fine! Have it your way!” Blinded by rage, Liam lunged forward, reared his foot back, and delivered a vicious, brutal kick directly to my shoulder! As luck would have it, I was lying right on the edge of a steep, fifty-foot scree slope. “You want to play dead?! You want to lie down?! Then go roll down there and lie down for as long as you want! Let’s see how long you can keep this act up!” Following his furious roar, my corpse tumbled like a severed marionette, violently bouncing and rolling down the jagged slope. Crack… snap… I watched helplessly as my own body plummeted down the scree. My windbreaker was shredded by the razor-sharp rocks, and I could clearly hear the sickening sound of my ribs snapping as they slammed against the boulders. I couldn’t bear to watch anymore and turned away in the air. It must hurt so much. In the past, if I even slightly bumped my knee, Liam would nervously inspect the scrape. He would carefully blow on it, softly coaxing me: “Don’t be scared, Maya. Liam will blow on it, and the pain will go away.” But now, he just watched with cold, dead eyes as I tumbled down the slope, until my body finally wedged itself into the crevice of two massive boulders. After a brief, stunned silence, Dave leaned over the edge, looked down, and scoffed. “Wow, Maya, you really commit to the bit. I’ll give you that.” The others looked incredibly annoyed. “This is unbelievable! I’m done! We’re all carrying fifty-pound packs out here humoring your little drama. Do you have any conscience at all?” “Seriously, what does she expect? Does she want us to climb down there and formally invite her back up?!” My leg was caught in the crevice, snapped completely in half. The stark white bone had pierced straight through the fabric of my pants. If any of them had bothered to take a slightly closer look, they would have seen that I wasn’t acting. Unfortunately, they didn’t. And neither did Liam. Just then, a violent gust of wind ripped across the mountain. The sky, which had been relatively clear moments ago, rapidly darkened with the threat of an impending blizzard. The temperature plummeted instantly. “Boss, looks like a blizzard is rolling in fast!” Dave pulled the collar of his jacket tight against his neck. “Blizzards up here are no joke. We can’t afford to waste any more time!” The knot between Liam’s eyebrows deepened into a permanent fixture. He stood at the top of the slope, glaring down at my motionless body at the bottom. “Maya!” The temperature of his voice was barely warmer than the approaching storm. “I’m asking you one last time. Are you getting up?!” The only response he received was the shredded, torn fabric of my jacket fluttering in the howling wind. Liam spun around abruptly and barked an order to the team. “Everyone, gear up immediately! We are pushing for camp!” Chloe grabbed his sleeve, looking worried. “Liam, will Maya be in danger down there? It’s getting so cold…” “Danger?! She threw herself down there on purpose, what danger could she possibly be in?!” He waved his hand, cutting her off aggressively. “She’s just banking on the fact that I won’t have the guts to leave her behind! That’s why she thinks she can hold the entire team hostage!” Liam grabbed his trekking poles and marched forward without a single backward glance. “Leave her! Let’s see how long she can keep the act up! Once she realizes we’re actually gone, she’ll come crawling back up on her own!” “She’s been exactly like this since we were kids. If I don’t teach her a lesson now, she’ll never learn how the real world works!” “Move out!” The few hikers who had been hesitating quickly fell into line behind Liam, matching his brisk pace. Floating in the air, I hurried to follow them. Behind me, the snow fell like a white shroud, slowly burying my broken body. The atmosphere at the campsite, however, was a completely different story. Inside the large communal tent, the windproof stoves were roaring. Everyone was zipped into their sleeping bags, laughing, joking, and passing around rations. Liam sat near the tent entrance, his face terrifyingly dark. It had been three hours. The blizzard outside was a total whiteout; visibility was less than six feet. “Liam, eat something first.” Chloe tore open a self-heating MRE and thoughtfully handed it to him. “Maya really is something else. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and she insists on throwing a tantrum over a single can of oxygen. What if she gets frostbite?” The tiny sliver of unease in Liam’s eyes was instantly crushed. He let out a vicious, sarcastic sneer. “Frostbite? How could she possibly get frostbite?” “She has the thickest, zero-degree sleeping bag and a specialized solo tent in her pack. Right now, she’s probably hiding in a snow cave, fully fed and warm, just waiting for me to go back and beg her to join us!” His eyes hardened with absolute resolve. “I’m making this clear right now! When she comes crying back here, absolutely no one is allowed to open the tent for her!” “Only when she knows true fear and learns to behave will she finally drop this toxic, entitled attitude!” Dave swallowed a mouthful of rice and wiped his mouth. “Maya really crossed the line this time! She absolutely deserves a harsh lesson to put her in her place!” Floating near the ceiling of the tent, I didn’t even have the energy to laugh at the irony anymore. Liam. Did you completely forget? My backpack—the one with all my food, my tent, my sleeping bag, and my asthma medication… Chloe took it. Just as Liam finished his speech, and the cheerful mood in the tent was about to resume… Thump. Thump. Thump. A heavy, muffled knocking suddenly struck the outside of the tent. All conversation stopped dead. Every single person instinctively stared at the zippered entrance. Dave was the first to react, letting out a mocking laugh. “Boss, looks like you called it. Look who came crawling back.” Liam visibly relaxed. He leaned back against his pack, raised an eyebrow, and let out a cold smirk. “I told you. She doesn’t have the spine to hold out.” Chloe forced a smile and reached out toward the zipper. “Liam, the wind is so strong out there. I really think we should let Maya in now, otherwise she really will get sick…” “Leave her! Do not open that door!” Liam grabbed Chloe’s hand, pulling it back sharply. His voice suddenly spiked in volume, directed coldly at the other side of the canvas. “Maya, do you finally realize how cold it is? Do you realize you were wrong?!” “Weren’t you acting so tough earlier? Didn’t you prefer rolling down a cliff to walking with us? Why are you suddenly running back now?!” The knocking on the outside of the tent paused. The ice in Liam’s eyes thickened. “You want to come inside? Fine! Get on your knees right now, scream ‘I was wrong’ three times, and apologize to every single member of this team!” “After you scream, you will stay on your knees for another thirty minutes to clear your head! If you haven’t frozen to death after thirty minutes, then I will consider letting you inside!” “Boss, that is brilliant!” The other hikers erupted into laughter. Liam stared at the tent flap with deep satisfaction, waiting for me to drop to my knees and beg for mercy. One second. Two seconds. The outside fell into a dead, horrifying silence, broken only by the shrieking of the blizzard. When no response came, Liam’s brows knitted together again. He opened his mouth, ready to unleash another furious tirade. Riiiiiiip! The heavy-duty, windproof zipper was violently torn open from the outside. A blast of freezing, snow-filled wind roared into the tent, causing everyone inside to shudder violently. “Maya, have you lost your damn mind?! Tearing the tent…” Liam exploded in a blind rage, shooting up to his feet. But when he finally saw who was standing outside the flap, the words died in his throat. It was four or five men wearing bright orange search-and-rescue uniforms. The leader of the team had a face carved from stone. He scanned the people inside the tent, his voice heavy and somber. “Who is the expedition leader?” Liam froze. He instinctively glanced behind the rescue team, swallowed hard, and stammered. “I am… is there a problem?” The rescue leader took a deep breath, his eyes filled with profound tragedy. He spoke slowly, emphasizing every single word. “In the valley directly below the section of the trail you traversed earlier today, we recovered the body of a young woman.”

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I’ve been at this company for three years, and I’ve never worked a single minute of overtime. The first time I stayed late, old man Miller in the cubicle next to me died of a massive heart attack. The second time I worked overtime, Sarah, the senior associate who trained me, “accidentally” fell down the emergency stairwell. The third time, Maria, our sweet cleaning lady, was electrocuted in the breakroom. After that, the whole office knew the unwritten rule: whenever I worked overtime, someone died. No one dared to work on my floor. Management moved my desk into a private, isolated glass office. During a company-wide meeting, the higher-ups explicitly announced: “Under no circumstances is anyone to disturb Chloe during her working hours. When she leaves at 5 PM, she leaves.” And just like that, I coasted through three years of stress-free employment, collecting my paycheck while doing the bare minimum. Until the new corporate VP was parachuted in. “Chloe Vance!” When he barked my name, the entire conference room went dead silent. “Stand up!” I stood up. He picked up the top sheet of paper from his folder and snapped it loudly. “Employed for three years. Overtime hours logged: Zero.” He waved the paper for everyone to see. “Three years. Over a thousand working days! Zero overtime! Can anyone in this room tell me why?!” No one breathed. He stepped down from the podium, marched over to me, and stared me down. “Why is it that out of over a hundred employees in this branch, you are the only one who doesn’t have to put in extra hours? Do you have an extra pair of hands? Or are you just doing half the work of everyone else?” “Mr. Sterling,” I said calmly. “It’s company policy. I am exempt from overtime.” “Policy?” He let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Let me make something crystal clear. As of right now, there is only one policy in this branch: What I say, goes.” He raised his hand, pointing a finger an inch from my nose. “You are working overtime tonight. If you don’t, don’t bother coming in tomorrow.” “Mr. Sterling,” I replied softly. “If I work overtime, someone is going to die.” The conference room froze for a full second. Then, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he actually bent over. When he finally straightened up, he pointed at me, looking at the rest of the staff. “Did you all hear that? She says someone is going to die! Chloe, who hasn’t worked late in three years, claims that if she stays past 5 PM, the Grim Reaper shows up.” He turned back to me, leaning in close. “Chloe, let me tell you something. I’ve been climbing the corporate ladder for twenty years. I’ve seen every scam, every lazy excuse, and every ghost story employees invent to get out of doing their jobs. You can preach doom and gloom until your face turns blue, but you are working overtime tonight!” He took a step back and raised his voice. “And you’re not doing it alone!” He pointed to the Head of Security, who was shrinking into a corner. “You. You’re staying with her tonight. If anything happens, it’s on your head!” The Security Chief’s face instantly drained of all color. “Mr. Sterling,” I said. “Don’t make him stay. I don’t want to be responsible for getting him hurt.” He paused for a second, then his laughter grew even louder and crueler. “Hurt? Chloe, who the hell do you think you are? The Angel of Death?” He grabbed the Security Chief by the arm and dragged him forward. “You two, tonight. Together. I want to see just how cursed you really are. If someone actually drops dead, I’ll take full responsibility.” The conference room was as silent as a tomb. He clapped his hands sharply. “Meeting adjourned. Tonight, 7:00 PM. Chloe, Security Chief. Be at your desks. Anyone who doesn’t show, you’re fired.” He was absolutely certain I wouldn’t quit. He knew I needed this job to survive. As the crowd filed out, Linda from Accounting brushed past me and discreetly grabbed my hand. Her fingers were freezing. “Chloe, please be careful.” I gave her a small nod. At 6:50 PM, I swiped my badge at the front desk. The Security Chief, Dave, was already sitting there. He was in his late forties, huddled in his chair. When he saw me walk in, he practically jumped out of his skin. “C-Chloe…” his voice trembled. “Um… is something really going to happen tonight?” “It’s fine,” I said. “Just stay in your seat. No matter what you see or hear, do not move.” At 7:00 PM on the dot, the elevator pinged. Tristan Sterling stepped out. When he saw me, a smug smile spread across his face. “Well, well. You actually showed up. I figured you’d call in sick with some mysterious illness.” I didn’t respond. He walked up to me, looking me up and down. “I looked into your file, Chloe. Three years ago, right after you were hired, someone died on your floor. Since then, there have been two more ‘accidents.’ And every single time, you were the only one working late.” He took a sip from his iced coffee. “Do you honestly expect me to buy that? That because you stay late, someone else magically drops dead? You Gen-Z kids trying to ‘disrupt workplace culture’ with ghost stories are pathetic.” “Mr. Sterling,” I said evenly. “Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter.” “Oh? Then what does matter?” “What matters,” I said, locking eyes with him, “is that you are also here tonight.” He froze for a second, then scoffed. “Fine. I’ll be right here watching. Let’s see what kind of cheap parlor tricks you try to pull.” He turned and walked toward the executive offices, but paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Chloe, you sit at your desk and revise that Q3 marketing proposal. I’m leaving my office door open. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” I sat down and logged into my computer. Dave, the Security Chief, remained glued to his chair at the reception desk, stiff as a board. The minutes ticked by. At 7:30 PM, the overhead lights flickered. Dave looked up at the ceiling, swallowing hard. At 8:00 PM, the entire floor went pitch black. In the darkness, I heard Tristan curse loudly from his office. Five seconds later, the emergency backup lights kicked on. Tristan was standing in his doorway, looking irritated. “Faulty wiring,” he announced to the empty floor. “Building maintenance says they’re looking into it.” I didn’t say a word. At 8:30 PM, the elevator chimed. The doors slid open. It was completely empty. Tristan marched over, stuck his head inside, and then walked back. “Someone probably pressed the wrong button,” he muttered, but his voice lacked its previous arrogant edge. At 10:00 PM, I finished the proposal. I packed up my bag, ready to leave. Just as I reached the main glass doors of our suite, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the office. It came from Tristan’s office. I sprinted back. Tristan was slumped in his executive chair, his face as white as a sheet. His eyes were bulging in terror, and his shaking finger was pointing at the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk. “The window… outside the window…” Dave was standing in the doorway, his knees visibly shaking. I walked over and looked at the window. It was the 12th floor. There was absolutely nothing outside but the dark city skyline. I turned to look at him. He was convulsing, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, unable to form a single word. “Mr. Sterling, what did you see?” I asked. He stared at me, his eyes widening further in sheer horror. “Someone…” his voice sounded like it was being choked out of his throat. “Someone was looking at me…” “Who?” Tristan didn’t answer. Even as the paramedics loaded him onto the stretcher, he was still blindly repeating: “The window… someone was outside the window…” Dave stood nearby, his legs trembling so violently he had to lean against the wall to keep from collapsing. I stood by the office entrance, watching the ambulance speed away into the night. As I turned to leave, I cast one final glance at Tristan’s window. Pressed against the glass, faintly illuminated by the city lights, were three distinct, foggy handprints. I stared at them for three seconds. Then, I turned and walked away. The next morning, the moment I walked into the office breakroom, it was absolute chaos. Linda from Accounting rushed over, grabbing my hand. Her palms were slick with sweat. “Chloe! I heard something happened last night! Mr. Sterling was taken away in an ambulance?!” “Yeah.” “Did… did someone die again?” “No one died. He was just taken to the ER.” She let out a massive sigh of relief, but immediately dropped her voice to a frantic whisper. “I knew it! I told everyone, whenever you work overtime, the Reaper comes knocking! It’s been exactly the same since three years ago!” Mary, our HR manager, leaned in, her eyes wide. “Do you guys think… do you think they came back?” The breakroom instantly fell dead silent. Every single pair of eyes locked onto me. I didn’t say a word. I just took a slow sip of my coffee. Jake, a developer from IT, pushed his way into the circle. “I don’t think it’s anything supernatural. There has to be a logical pattern. Like… maybe Chloe has some weird electromagnetic field around her? Like she attracts bad energy when she’s stressed from overtime?” Linda’s eyes lit up. “Yes! My grandmother used to say some people have ‘heavy souls’—they clash with the spirits around them and cause…” “No,” Mary shook her head. “I was working late the night old man Miller died. Why didn’t anything happen to me?” Jake chimed in again. “Maybe it’s the floor? The 12th floor has always felt off.” “Sarah fell down the stairs from the 13th floor,” someone else pointed out. The breakroom devolved into a frenzy of overlapping voices and wild theories. Some said I had a dark aura that attracted malicious entities. Others claimed my desk was situated on some cursed architectural lay line. One guy suggested the building was constructed over a mob graveyard. Someone even pulled me aside and whispered, “Chloe… can you… see dead people?” I looked at him and said nothing. The theories were getting increasingly ridiculous, but none of them could explain why the victims were always different people, dying at different times, in different places. Except for the one unifying factor. Every time I worked overtime, someone died. They debated it all morning, coming to zero conclusions. The next day, Tristan was discharged from the hospital. The very first thing he did upon entering the office was storm into the security control room. “Pull up the surveillance footage from that night! All of it!” Dave, still looking pale, sat with him as they reviewed the footage, frame by frame. The elevator doors opening. Empty. Me sitting at my desk, drinking coffee, typing on my keyboard. Nothing out of the ordinary. Tristan rewatched that specific timeframe dozens of times. “Is this it?” he demanded. “That’s everything,” Dave confirmed. Tristan sat in silence for a long time. Then he stood up and marched out of the security room. From my desk, I watched him approach. “Chloe. My office. Now.” I stood up and followed him in. He slammed the door shut and locked it. Then he spun around, glaring at me with predatory intensity. “Who the hell are you really?” I met his gaze calmly. “I’m just Chloe, Mr. Sterling.” “Bullshit!” He took a step toward me. “You know something. That night… I know what I saw that night!” “And what did you see?” He opened his mouth, but the words died in his throat. I let out a small, quiet laugh. “What did you see, Mr. Sterling?” He still couldn’t say it. I smiled, turned around, and walked toward the door. “Chloe, stop right there!” his voice barked behind me. I didn’t stop. Immediately after, he called an impromptu all-hands meeting. He stood at the front of the room. “Listen up. I know there are some ridiculous rumors circulating the office these past few days,” he said, scanning the crowd. “Regarding my brief hospital visit, it was a simple medical anomaly. I was overworked, severely dehydrated, and experienced a minor panic attack resulting in hallucinations. I psyched myself out.” A few people muttered skeptically, but he pretended not to hear. “The office is returning to normal operations. Mandatory overtime is reinstated for all active projects.” He locked eyes with me. “Chloe, you’re working overtime again tonight.” I stood up. “Mr. Sterling, I refuse.” The conference room went dead silent. He smirked. “Refuse? What gives you the right to refuse a direct managerial order?” “Mr. Sterling,” I said, enunciating every syllable. “I do not want anyone else to get hurt. Or die.” “Hurt?” He laughed loudly. “Did anyone die during our last overtime session? I had a mild panic attack, nothing more. Your little ‘overtime curse’ myth is officially busted.” I stared at him, saying nothing. Whispers broke out across the room. “He’s right, nobody actually died this time…” “Mr. Sterling is fine, Dave is fine…” “Maybe the curse really is just a coincidence?” Right at that moment, a blood-curdling shriek pierced the air. It was Mary from HR. She was standing near the back of the room, her face drained of all blood, pointing a shaking finger toward the dark, cluttered corner near the breakroom entrance. “T-There…” Every head in the room whipped around to follow her trembling finger. The corner was stacked with old cardboard boxes and a broken water cooler. Poking out from behind the bottom box was a hand. A pale, lifeless, grayish-blue hand. The conference room erupted into sheer chaos. People were screaming, scrambling toward the exit, tripping over chairs. A few people’s legs completely gave out, leaving them sobbing on the carpet. Tristan’s face turned the color of ash, but he forced himself to take a step forward. “Don’t panic! Nobody panic! Call 911! Get the police here!” The police arrived within minutes. The area was cordoned off with yellow tape, and the entire floor was evacuated to the lobby downstairs. I stood in the crowd, watching the red and blue police lights flash against the glass facade of the building. Two hours later, the news broke. The victim was a senior developer from the IT department. His last name was Wang. He was a quiet, unassuming guy who mostly kept to himself. The medical examiner’s preliminary ruling was sudden cardiac arrest, pending a full autopsy. But the time of death had already been established. It was the exact night of my overtime shift. The lobby exploded with terrified murmurs. “He died yesterday?! But… that was the night Chloe stayed late!” “Oh my god, he was still in the building that night!” “That corner is a blind spot, no one ever goes back there…” I stood perfectly still in the center of the chaotic lobby. The crowd instinctively backed away from me, leaving me standing alone in an empty circle. I heard someone whisper, “Chloe’s overtime… it really is a death sentence…” “And this time, it was someone from her own department…” I lifted my head and looked for Tristan. He was standing near the revolving doors. I walked straight through the parted crowd until I stood directly in front of him. Everyone was watching me. I stopped, looking dead into his eyes. “Mr. Sterling.” He instinctively took a step backward. “Do you still want me to work overtime?” He didn’t say a single word. I looked at him, waited for three agonizingly long seconds. Then I turned and walked out the door. A suffocating silence trailed behind me. But I knew this wasn’t over. Sure enough, three days later, Tristan called another meeting. He stood at the podium, his face looking haggard and gray. “Everyone,” he began, his voice gravelly. “I am aware of the rumors surrounding the recent tragedy. I have personally reviewed the police reports.” He paused, swallowing hard. “It was a tragic medical anomaly. An accident.” The conference room was silent. No one believed him, but no one had the courage to say it. He looked directly at me. “Chloe. You are working overtime again tonight.” I stood up slowly. “Mr. Sterling, did you completely ignore what I said last time?” He offered a tight, forced smile. It looked more like a grimace. “I heard you. But the company has urgent deadlines, and we need you to deliver.” Hearing that, I couldn’t help but laugh. “The company needs me to die? Or do you just need more collateral damage?” Several people in the room audibly gasped. He took a step toward me, his voice hardening. “Chloe, you haven’t worked a single hour of overtime in three years, yet you’ve collected your full salary every month. This company has accommodated you long enough. Now, when we need you to put in some extra hours, you drag your feet and hide behind ghost stories. Do you really think this ‘curse’ is real?” “Mr. Sterling,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous calm. “My overtime kills people. Did you already forget about Wang?” A muscle in his jaw twitched violently. “That was a medical tragedy. The coroner confirmed it was a fatal heart defect. It had absolutely nothing to do with you. Stop inflating your own ego.” “Is that so?” I stared at him. He stared back. “Tonight. 8:00 PM,” he ordered. “You are working overtime. I will be the only other person on the floor. If anything happens, it’s on me.” “You’ll take responsibility?” “I’ll take full responsibility.” I smiled. “Fine.”

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