Chapter 3

3.

"Fine. No more games."

Willa pulled off her ski mask and ditched the voice modulator, revealing her face.

She was stunning, with sharp, delicate features.

If it weren't for her mother's medical bills, she would never have stepped onto this dark path.

She wouldn't have spent years hiding in shadows.

"I'm Willa," she said, pulling out a notepad and a pen.

"People are ruthless, so I have to protect myself. I hope you understand."

She quickly scribbled down a simple agreement.

"I only need fifty thousand dollars for my mom's surgery. As soon as I earn it, I'll pay you back every cent."

Without even reading it, I signed my name.

I never intended to cheat her anyway.

Seeing my signature, she promptly untied my ropes.

I glanced down at my watch. Twenty minutes had already passed since Audrey left.

She still hadn't returned to save me.

How pathetic.

In my past life, when she rushed back to rescue Preston, she sprinted like her life depended on it.

Now that I was left behind, she moved slower than a turtle.

Still, I didn't give a damn whether she came back or not.

My heart had turned to ice for her long before this day.

"Keep fifty thousand out of the two million," I told Willa. "Transfer the rest back to my private account. And don't let Preston know you let me go. Just tell him I managed to slip out on my own. I won't call the cops on you."

"How do you know about me and Preston?" she asked, her eyes wide with shock.

I flashed an easy grin.

"Let's just say I have my ways."

With that, I turned on my heel and walked out.

Breathing in the fresh air after being reborn felt intoxicating.

My body felt surprisingly light and energized.

It made sense. In this life, I hadn't been drinking those poisoned soups every single day.

Right before she killed me in my past life, Audrey sneered that she had been lacing my meals with slow-acting toxins for months.

All so I wouldn't have the strength to fight back on our wedding night.

She truly loved Preston so much that she spent months plotting my agonizing downfall.