Chapter 1

A suffocating tightness around my neck jolted me awake.

The first thing I saw was a coldly handsome man with his bony fingers wrapping tight around my neck.

A crowd ringed us, all staring at me with disgust and blame.

The work I'd been rushing for three days straight before I dropped dead was still lingering in my mind, and the next second, memories that weren't mine poured into my head, flooding my mind.

I'd transmigrated into a novel.

I'd woken up inside that cheesy old CEO novel I'd been reading on the job before I dropped dead. Now, I was the villainess, the Lane Family Heiress, Sophie Lane, who shared my name.

And at this very moment, I was at the first fatal turning point in the original Sophie's life.

The original Sophie had slipped something into the Lane Family's fake heiress Rose's drink, only to be caught in the act and busted with the evidence right there in her hands.

According to the original plot, Sophie would break down in tears, kneel and beg Rose for forgiveness, cement her reputation as the villainess. Her whole family would disown me, and the guy choking me right now, the male lead, Leonard Reed, would utterly detest her. After that, she'd spiral out of control, get thrown in jail, and end up beaten to death behind bars, dying like a stray dog.

Just the thought sent chills down my spine.

Screw the plot!

I worked myself into the ground for three years and died for a promotion. Now I'm supposed to follow the script to a miserable end?

Over my dead body!

Leonard stared at me for a long moment, his gaze growing even colder. His grip on my neck tightened. "Sophie, are you done with your drama? Go apologize to Rose now."

As soon as he finished, the girl in white on the sofa teared up at once. She nervously tugged at Leonard's sleeve with her voice so soft it could melt butter. "Leonard, it's okay. Please don't be mad at her. I know Sophie didn't mean it..."

That girl was Rose.

The original story's fake innocent heroine, the Lane Family's fake heiress, Rose, who played the whole Lane Family and Leonard like puppets, climbing to the top over Sophie, the ultimate double-faced girl.

Her fake crying almost made me laugh out loud.

She acts harder than I did when flattering my boss. Honestly, the Oscars owe her a statue.

Suddenly, I raised my hand and forcefully knocked Leonard's grip off my neck, so hard that he was caught off guard and just stared at me.

Everyone around us was dumbfounded.

After all, the old Sophie used to worship Leonard with her soul and heart. She wouldn't even dare raise her voice to him, let alone shake off his hand.

Leonard frowned darkly, his face thunderous. "Sophie, what's that supposed to mean?"

"What do I mean?" I rolled my eyes dramatically and rubbed my neck. "Are you nuts? You just walked up and choked me. So? You think you can do whatever you want just because you're loaded? You think you're some kind of outlaw?"

The room went deathly quiet.

My oldest brother, James Lane, was the first to react. He pointed right at me and shouted, "Sophie! Are you crazy? Is that how you talk to Leonard? Hurry up and apologize to Leonard and Rose!"

"Apologize?" I arched my brow. "James, have you completely lost your mind? He just tried to strangle me, and you want me to say sorry? So I'm not your real sister, but this Rose who came out of nowhere is?"

James's face went red, then pale, left totally speechless.

My second brother, Michael Lane cut in, sounding totally fed up. "Sophie, quit messing around! If you hadn't drugged Rose, would Leonard have grabbed you? The evidence is right here.Are you seriously still going to pretend you're innocent?"

As he said that, he shoved a glass of water and an empty pill bottle right in my face.

One glance and I knew exactly what was going on.

This was all Rose's setup. She drugged her own drink and slipped the bottle into my bag. I just jumped into her trick.

Rose saw me staring at the glass, and her tears started streaming down even harder, her shoulders trembling like she'd just suffered the world's biggest injustice. "Sophie, I really don't blame you. Please don't be mad. If you don't want me here, I'll just go..."

She was about to get up and leave, but Leonard stopped her, pulling her back down.

Leonard shot me a look full of disgust, like I was nothing but garbage. "Sophie, listen. Rose is so kind. And look at you, so cruel and never show any remorse. If you don't kneel and beg Rose for forgiveness right now, you'll be finished in Riverdale, mark my words."

Kneel and apologize? Please.

I wouldn't kneel to my boss for overtime. Why would I kneel to a fake-innocent schemer?

I ignored him and, right in front of everyone, casually pulled out Sophie's phone from my pocket.

Everyone assumed I was about to apologize to Leonard or try to explain myself.

Even Rose stopped fake-crying, a smirk in her eyes, waiting to watch me humiliate myself.

But the next second, right in front of everyone, I hit the dial button and punched in three numbers—911.

I put it on speaker. The dial tone blared through the room.

Chaos broke out instantly.

Rose's face drained of all color in a flash. The tears that had been clinging to her cheeks disappeared instantly, and her eyes were filled with panic.

Leonard was left completely speechless.

He never expected that the same Sophie who used to panic for hours if he so much as frowned at her would now have the nerve to dial 911 right in front of everyone.

My dad, Richard Lane, slammed his hand on the table, stood, snapping sharply., "Sophie! Are you out of your mind? Hang up that phone right now! Don't you dare let outsiders know our business!"

"Family business?" I scoffed, then rattled off to the police officer who'd just picked up, "Excuse me, officer, I need to report a crime. Someone here is illegally detaining me, assaulting me, and even trying to poison me. The address is Lane Family Villa, Hillside District, Riverdale. Please send someone over ASAP."

With that, I hung up and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

When I looked up, everyone in the living room was staring at me like they'd just seen a ghost.

James pointed at me, his hand actually shaking. "You... you really called the cops? Sophie, are you out of your mind?"

"I'm perfectly sane, thanks." I plopped down on the sofa, crossed my legs, and couldn't care less about their outrage. "Since you're all so sure I'm the one who did it, let the police investigate. Fingerprints, security cameras, where that pill bottle came from.They'll get to the bottom of it. That way, certain people can stop putting on their innocent act, and I won't have to take the blame for something I didn't do."