Chapter 2

In my last life, I was fooled by that innocent look.

My heart softened, and I nodded.

In the end, my whole family paid the price with their lives.

This time, watching her put on that phony act, nausea churned in my gut.

I looked at her, a slow smile spreading across my face as I gave a firm nod.

"Of course, Gracie. I'll go with you."

I would be right there, watching you crash from paradise to the depths of hell.

Seeing me agree, Gracie's smile grew even sweeter as she went off to brag to the others.

I retreated to my bed, pulled the bed curtain shut, shutting out everything outside.

In the darkness, I called my father, my hands trembling.

When I heard his familiar, steady voice on the other end, my tears flooded out.

"Dad..." My voice choked up.

"Sweetie? What's wrong? Is someone picking on you at school?" My father's voice immediately turned anxious.

I took a deep breath, forcing all my emotions down, trying to sound normal again.

"No, Dad, I just missed you."

"Dad, I called because I need to talk to you about that medicine we're giving Gracie."

Step one of my payback began now, quietly and unnoticed.

Gracie wasn't naturally beautiful.

She only moved into our dorm in junior year, right after she got diagnosed with some rare autoimmune disease. The treatment meant she had to take heavy doses of steroids for a long time, and the side effects made her balloon up in no time, like someone pumped her full of air.

Her family was barely scraping by, let alone affording the pricey meds.

I felt bad for her and begged my father to cover her medical bills.

Our family's Star Capital owned a pharmaceutical company. My father used his connections, not only did he cover all her medical expenses, but he also arranged for her to start using a cutting-edge, experimental drug our company had developed, way before it was officially released.

The side effects were minimal, and most importantly, it completely prevented the steroid-induced weight gain.

That's what preserved her precious beauty and slim figure, giving her the leverage to steal my name and flirt with Tyson online.

Everything she owned was granted by the Thomas family.

Now, I was going to reclaim everything myself.

On the phone, I kept my cool and said, "Dad, I heard that new drug is about to enter the final approval process before it hits the market, right?"

My father answered, "Yeah, we're at the most crucial stage, sorting out all the clinical data. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"Dad, since we're at this point, shouldn't we pause all the 'compassionate use' channels outside the clinical trials? If they find any irregularities during the review, it could mess up the whole project."

I kept my tone all business, laying out the reasons I'd rehearsed in my head a hundred times.

That was the truth. The approval process for any new drug was extremely strict. One mistake, and everything could be ruined.

There was a brief silence on the other end.

I could picture my father's confusion. He knew I was "close" with Gracie, so he was probably wondering why I'd bring this up out of nowhere.

"Angela, are you and Gracie having issues or something?"

"No, Dad," I replied, keeping my tone calm. "I just think our family's project matters more. It's not worth risking the company's main business for an outsider. And rules are rules."

I made sure he heard how serious I was about "rules."

My father was a businessman, always weighing the pros and cons, and he never compromised on his principles.

After another pause, my father finally spoke, his voice tinged with pride. "My sweetie's all grown up now, thinking about the family."

He agreed.

"Alright, I'll have the project team handle it tomorrow and stop Gracie's medication. We'll go with what you said. It's all about keeping things legit for the approval process."

"Thanks, Dad."

After hanging up, I felt a huge weight lift off my chest.

The bait had been pulled back. Now, it was just a matter of time before the fish realized it was stranded.

But that wasn't enough.

I picked up my phone again and called my father's secretary.

"Mr. Porter, I need your help. Find me the best physical therapist and fitness coach in the city. Money's no object, but he has to transform me completely in three months."

In my last life, after I was kidnapped in high school, the trauma messed me up so badly that I started binge eating. That's how I ended up like this.

I hated how fat I looked in the mirror, but I just couldn't stop shoving food into my mouth.

But this time, the burning hatred inside me became the fuel that drove me forward.

I wanted to lose weight.