This time, no matter what their reason for trying to kill me was, I would make them pay in blood.

Kevin Johnson handed me the hard drive with the surveillance footage but didn’t leave. Instead, he raised his hand hesitantly in the air.

I thought he was reaching to take my coffee cup, but instead, he lightly patted my shoulder.

“Ms. Evans… if you need to cry, just cry.”

I locked the hard drive into the safe and let out a slow breath.

“Crying is the most useless thing I could do. It’s better to use my own strength to strike back.”

“Announce to the entire company: I’m promoting Emily Brooks to Director of the Project Department.”

During the executive meeting, I made the announcement publicly once again.

Seeing her expression — a mix of surprise and disbelief — I sneered inwardly.

Sure enough, the number above Jason’s head changed from 364 to 500.

Oh, so his killing intent had weakened.

I didn’t expect Emily to matter this much to him.

Unbelievable — our five-year marriage meant less than a woman he’d known for barely a month.

Something still didn’t add up…

“Babe, let’s have lunch together. You’ve just gotten out of the hospital; your body hasn’t fully recovered yet,” Jason said softly after the meeting.

“I asked my mom to make some chicken soup for you.”

I subtly avoided his touch. “No, I still have a client meeting.”

Feigning concern as I adjusted his shirt collar, I widened my eyes in mock surprise.

“Oh my, honey, why is your skin so red?”

Pretending to worry over the large red patches on his skin, I rubbed them hard twice more.

Watching him wince yet not dare to pull away gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction.

I knew they were frostbite, but he forced a laugh, claiming they were sunburn.

“Did I hurt you, honey?”

“No, no, not at all!”

Jason insisted he felt no pain, but I watched the number above his head drop to 200.

Hah. Lying bastard.

I sat in my CEO’s chair and flipped through the travel schedule, casually clicking a few times.

“Honey, there’s a meeting invitation from David Lee in New York City, but I’m still recovering and can’t go.

Emily’s just been promoted to Project Director — why don’t you go with her? Consider it training the new hire. What do you think?”

Jason beamed, the number above his head jumping back up to 364 as he agreed eagerly.

“Sure! Uh… I mean, yes, for the sake of the company’s development.”

A few days later, Emily and Jason boarded a flight to New York City.

Kevin stood by my desk, hesitating.

“Speak your mind.”

“Ms. Evans, I just don’t understand… Since you already know about their relationship, why would you send them on a business trip together and… only book one room?”

I couldn’t help but smile, tossing him a stack of documents.

“Don’t worry about it. Go check the purchase records for that van. Time is short — I still have a lot to do.”

The New York City meeting would last just one day, but I booked their return tickets for a week later and put them in a presidential suite.

What they did there was none of my concern.

Over the next few days, I contacted my most trusted lawyer to transfer all my assets out of my name.

I also moved my hospitalized grandfather to a safer facility.

On the fifth day, while I was at home organizing the dashcam footage and freezer surveillance hard drives, Kevin called.

“Ms. Evans, I found the registered owner of the used van — it’s Margaret Miller.”

Margaret Miller? That was… Jason’s mother. My mother-in-law.

Could it be that she also knew about — or even participated in — the plan to kill me?

A chill crept up from the soles of my feet.

So the people I had considered my closest, dearest family had been planning to kill me all along.

I searched my conscience — I had never wronged Jason Miller.

Back then, he was just a lowly caregiver for my father. I’d admired his diligence and steadiness, and despite everyone’s dissuasion, I had insisted on marrying him.

Five years of devotion, and what I got in return was a death sentence.

That meant his connection with Emily Brooks couldn’t possibly have been only a month old…

In the sweltering summer heat, the brightly lit house felt ice-cold to me.

I was about to stand when suddenly the power went out, plunging everything into darkness.

The next second, I completely lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was tied to a chair in my own home — and standing before me were Jason and Emily.

Feigning composure, I said, “Honey? You’re back early. Why am I tied up like this?”

I tried to struggle, but the bindings were too tight; there was no escape.

Jason doused me with a bucket of ice-cold water.

His expression was as vicious as the moment in my last life when he cut my throat.

My eyes widened in shock as I saw the enormous number above his head change to 0.

That couldn’t be — in my previous life, he hadn’t killed me until at least a month later.

Why was it happening earlier this time?

Panic laced my voice as I pleaded, “Honey, what’s going on? Please, untie me first, okay?”

Emily’s eyes gleamed with malice as she slapped me hard across the face.

“Shut up, Rachel Evans! Keeping you alive this long has already been more mercy than you deserve!”

“That’s impossible, honey. We’ve been married five years, we love each other — you wouldn’t really want to kill me, would you?”

I tried to awaken whatever shred of conscience Jason might have left, but deep down, I knew he had none.

Still, every minute I could buy mattered.

As Jason raised the knife again, tears streamed down my face.

“Please, honey, don’t kill me — just calm down!”

The blade was already pressed against my neck.

“Jason! If you kill me, you’ll leave evidence behind! This is murder!”

I shouted with my eyes squeezed shut, and sure enough, he hesitated and lowered the knife.

I exhaled slowly in relief.

Steeling my voice, I tried to negotiate.

“Honey, you still love me, don’t you? I’ll give you all my shares in the company, okay?”

“This house and the beach house — I’ll sign them over to you. We’re married; what’s mine is yours.”

As I spoke, my eyes kept flicking to my phone lying nearby, but I couldn’t reach it.

When Jason didn’t respond, I turned to Emily.

“Emily, you’re still young. Committing murder will ruin your entire life. Is it because you weren’t satisfied with the promotion I gave you?”

“How about I make you vice president instead? Jason can be president — the whole company will be yours…”

“Or… we can get divorced, Jason. You’ll get half my assets — that’s enough to live in luxury for several lifetimes. Please, I’m begging you.”

I kept my gaze locked on the countdown above Jason’s head.

Sure enough, it flickered — from 0 up to 3,052… but then Emily glanced at him, and it dropped back to 0.

Jason yanked my hair hard.

“Rachel, I’m not afraid to tell you — the only reason I married you was for your family’s fortune.

What, you thought your dad’s death was an accident?”

A jolt went through me. Could my father’s death have been Jason’s doing?

“I don’t care about half your shares. I want everything from the Evans family!”

“I was going to keep you alive a bit longer, but too bad — today, you die.”