Chapter 2

The 30 million investment was soon credited to the account, and the stock price of my company rose immediately.

Everyone figured James and I, the two sworn enemies, had finally made peace. People started gossiping about a business marriage.

However, only I knew that this 30 million was James' hush money.

But my life was obviously worth more than that amount.

At that moment, the cold voice of the system in my head announced, "Life countdown: 85 days, 4 hours, and 12 minutes. Please actively complete the task, host."

There were various ways to instigate. Mental attack was just the first step.

Since James wouldn't let me get close to his home, I decided to target his wife, Emily.

I found out that Emily went to a yoga studio called "Serenity" every Wednesday afternoon.

Without hesitation, I got an annual membership, put on a full set of professional yoga gear, and entered the studio right on time.

Sure enough, Emily was there. She was dressed in a white yoga outfit, her long hair loosely tied up, looking calm and peaceful, like time had stopped just for her.

I set up my yoga mat right beside hers. "Hey, what a coincidence," I said, giving her my most harmless smile.

Emily's eyes flickered with surprise when she saw me, but she still nodded politely and said, "Ms. Carter."

It seemed she recognized me. After all, as James' arch-enemy, my photos had often appeared in financial news.

Throughout the class, we hardly exchanged a word, except for when we needed to assist each other with some difficult yoga poses.

After the class, I "accidentally" followed her into the same changing room.

"Ms. Lane, your skin looks incredible. How do you take care of it?" I asked, just grasping for something to say.

She gave me a faint smile. "Nothing much, really. I just go to bed early."

I jumped in right away. "Getting good sleep is the foundation for staying healthy. You know, your body's your biggest asset—especially..." I paused on purpose, leaned in close so only she could hear me, and whispered, "If you're thinking about having a baby, you really need to take care of yourself."

Emily's body went rigid for a moment. She turned to me, her gaze sharpened with curiosity and caution. "Are you always this curious about my private life, Ms. Carter?"

I kept my smile steady. "Oh, nothing like that. I just think Mr. Sterling's not getting any younger—he really ought to start thinking about having another kid. Look at him, always buried in work. When does he ever make time for you? Guys like that, it's up to us women to look out for them."

Honestly, I was talking like we were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

Without saying anything, Emily just quietly changed, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.

I stepped forward and said, "Ms. Lane, I recently opened a baby products store. How about I send you some VVIP cards another day?"

She finally stopped, turned back to look at me, and her eyes turned cold. "Ms. Carter, I don't understand what you're up to. But I hope you'll stop disturbing my life."

With that, she turned and walked away, her back resolute as she left.

I stood there, feeling rebuffed.

The system chimed in, "Mission progress dropped by 10%. Warning: Target's negative mood is speeding up your life countdown."

My head buzzed as the world spun—I had to steady myself against the wall just to stay upright.

Right then, my phone rang. It was James.

As soon as I picked up, his voice exploded over the line. "Rebecca! I warned you to stay away from my family! Are you deaf or something?"

Before I could say a word, I heard Emily's muffled sobs on the other end of the line.

My heart sank. I had really messed things up.