Chapter 1

When my best friend Victoria discovered her student was the secret heir to a billionaire empire, she saw her golden ticket. She wanted him, envisioned a twisted game of grooming—a forbidden "younger man" play.

I warned her, "The rich don't play fair, Victoria. These waters are too deep for you. Don't do it."

Victoria listened. She stayed in her lane and tutored the boy until he secured a seat at the country's most elite law school.

Because of her, he was finally reclaimed by his powerful family. At his homecoming gala, his mother handed Victoria a $300,000 check as a "thank you" for her service.

But Victoria didn't feel rewarded; she felt robbed. she became convinced my advice was a calculated lie—a scheme to make her miss her only chance to marry into the 1%.

In a frenzied rage, she stabbed me ninety-nine times. But killing me wasn't enough. She packed my mangled, shattered remains into a box and mailed them to my grieving parents.

My aging adoptive mother fought for justice, but the student—the very boy Victoria had helped—bought her a clean slate. He secured a fake psychiatric report, letting my murderer walk scot-free.

My soul drifted away in a fog of agony and hate. Then, I opened my eyes. I'm back to the night it all began. The night she first decided to hunt her student.

*****

"Rachel, what do you think? Doesn't my body look smoking hot?" Victoria said, striking a pose in front of the mirror.

At the mall, Victoria was twisting and turning in front of the fitting mirror in a low-cut, high-slit, skin-tight bodycon dress, admiring every curve.

"Looks good," I took a deep breath and nodded like nothing was wrong.

"It's just way too revealing," I said. "Plus, can you even afford it?"

Normally Victoria would waste forever picking out three-for-ten-dollar deals on discount apps, but now she was eyeing a dress that cost three hundred thirty dollars.

"No problem," she shot me a smug glance in the mirror. "You've got my back, right?"

Hearing those exact same words from my previous life, I finally knew for sure—I had really been reborn.

Back then, Victoria had planned to use this sexy bodycon dress to seduce her tutoring student and enjoy some fun with a younger guy.

"A curvy, hot lady straight out of porn videos suddenly showing up in front of a horny teenage boy—who the hell could resist?"

Then she looked me up and down, noticed my plain white T-shirt and baggy pants, clicked her tongue twice, and said with pure disgust.

"Fuck, look at that nasty shit you're wearing. Even if you stood on the corner selling ass, nobody would touch you," Victoria sneered.

The sharp pain of knives stabbing into my body still hadn't faded.

This time I didn't waste my breath lecturing her like in my last life—I just shut my mouth.

Sure enough, when it was time to pay, Victoria's card didn't have enough.

Seeing I wasn't stepping up to cover the rest like before, she got impatient and pushed me.

"Rachel, are you just gonna stand there staring? Can't you see I'm short on cash?"

I spread my hands. "I'm also broke."

With the cashier watching, Victoria panicked. She walked over, fighting back her anger, and whispered urgently.

"I know you just got your tutoring pay yesterday! Treat it as a loan. I'll pay you back when we get home!

"Where's your phone? Hurry up and hand it over! Everyone's looking—this is so fucking embarrassing!"

I sneered in my heart. "Loan? Yeah right. That's money gone forever."

She had borrowed from me so many times before, and I never saw a single cent returned.

Seeing her about to start rummaging through my pockets, I pressed her hand down. Her eyes lit up with hope, but I stayed calm and said slowly.

"If you don't have enough, why don't you just take out a real loan?" I said.

After we left the mall, Victoria glanced at her phone and her face suddenly lit up.

I stared at her phone case, taped together with layers of clear tape, and didn't need to guess—she must have just received the financial aid notice from her advisor.

From the look on her face, she was sure she'd get it again this time.

Back in the dorm, Victoria rushed straight to my bed and started tearing through my stuff, yanking drawers open with loud bangs.

"Where's your makeup bag? Hand it over quick. I need it—I'm heading to that boy's place for class!" she called out.

Looking at my desk that now looked like a war zone, my temples started pounding.

Victoria had gotten used to mooching off my things to save money.

Especially my makeup—after the first try, she would use it all up so fast that I had to buy new ones every three months.

Seeing me hesitate, Victoria immediately got mad and pointed her finger right at my nose.

"What's your problem, Rachel? Fine, forget about the dress, but now you're haggling over a few cheap makeup items?

"You're jealous of my figure, aren't you? Giving me attitude on purpose? I never thought you'd be this kind of person!"

I paused for a second, then smiled.

"No way. I barely use this stuff anyway. I was just trying to remember where I put it," I said.

I'd Just let her use it. It was all expired anyway.

Once she got my makeup bag, Victoria's face finally relaxed. She snorted from her nose.

She turned around and started working on her face, applying lipstick while talking.

"Rachel, you're actually pretty good-looking. Why do you always dress so plain and boring?" she said.

"Just doll yourself up a bit and sleep with a few guys. Wouldn't that be way easier than killing yourself tutoring for that tiny bit of living expenses?"

Crazy. Who else had their head full of dirty thoughts like her?