I let the corner of my mouth lift, holding Leah's challenging stare, and spoke in a flat, even tone.

"Fine. He was never worth much anyway. He's all yours."

The look in Leah's eyes faltered. Clearly she hadn't expected those words from me.

But I had no patience left to spar with her.

Reborn into this exact moment, I'd been given no choice. All I wanted was out, and fast.

So I turned on my heel and quickened my steps toward the door.

I hadn't even reached it when a figure in a bright red gown rushed past me.

"Hildegarde, I knew it. I knew you blamed me. If you won't forgive me, I can't go on living either. Just let me die right here!"

A chill shot down my spine. I spun around to stop her.

Too late. Leah had already bolted out the door, Hudson right on her heels.

A speeding truck came barreling straight at them.

"Bang! "

Exactly like last time.

Hudson's parents shoved me hard out of the way and ran toward the scene, wailing like their hearts had been torn out.

I gripped my phone and hurried forward too, heading toward the wreck.

But the second I reached the edge of the crowd,

Kitty stepped directly into my path. She pointed at the dark red smear of blood on the pavement, glaring at me, and screamed.

"You actually have the nerve to come look?!"

She dropped straight to the ground, jabbing a finger at me, sobbing and shrieking.

"You jinx! If you hadn't come here to interrogate them, my Hudson and dear Leah would still be alive! You're a murderer!"

In my last life, this was the exact moment I lost my nerve.

They penned me in, fingers in my face, hurling accusations, and I had no way to fight back.

Everything after that was a long fall, all the way down to my own miserable death.

But this Hildegarde wouldn't crumble.

I glanced at the crowd closing in around me, then wrenched my arm free of Kitty's grip.

I turned, slid into my car, and slammed my foot down on the gas, leaving her wailing in the dust behind me.

In the rearview mirror, I watched Kitty's tears dry up in an instant,

confusion flooding her face.

I let out a cold laugh somewhere deep inside.

Just wait. This time, it's your turn to walk step by step toward the edge.

After leaving the scene of the "accident,"

I drove straight to the company and called every board member in for a meeting.

"There's only one item on today's agenda. We're removing Hudson as chairman."

The words dropped into instant, deathly silence.

I'd built this company from nothing, with my own two hands,

yet the chairman's seat had always belonged to Hudson.

The veterans here had warned me more than once: even between husband and wife, keep your hands on the power, because the human heart is impossible to read.

But I'd always brushed it off with a smile.

Because back then, I loved him.

Now, with this sudden decision, most of the old guard who'd followed me looked thrilled.

Hudson's loyalists, though, were furious.

"On what grounds?! We don't agree!"

"If he's stepping down, Mr. Delgado comes here and says so himself!"

"He won't be coming."

I held those angry stares and switched on the TV in the conference room.

In an instant, the screen filled with Hudson's parents sobbing over how horribly their son had died.

I watched the shareholders' mouths fall open, their eyes wide with shock, and spoke quietly.

"Now. Can we agree?"

Three minutes later, I walked back into my office with the appointment notice signed by every shareholder.

Then I picked up the phone and dialed the number I'd long since memorized by heart.

"Send two teams of bodyguards. One to the hospital to protect Gwen. The other, take my parents out of the country on vacation, immediately."

"And one more thing……"

I sent over Hudson's number.

"Track the movements of whoever this phone belongs to."

When I heard the man on the other end answer with a low, steady "Understood," I finally let out a breath and sank into the chair.

Watching the traffic flow past beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, I exhaled slowly.

Hudson, you being dead is honestly a good thing...

Once everything was settled, I went straight back to the hospital.

An hour later, Gwen came out of the operating room.

The moment the anesthesia wore off, the first thing my little girl did was grab my hand.

"Mommy, why are you the only one here? Where's Daddy?"

"We all promised yesterday. While Gwen was in the operating room, Daddy was supposed to wait outside and protect Mommy for me. Why didn't he come?"

Tears welled up in Gwen's eyes in an instant.

My own nose stung.

The scene of Gwen dying in this hospital in my past life played through my mind again and again, like a film on a loop.

I gripped her hand tightly, swallowing down the ache inside, and soothed her gently.

"Mommy doesn't need anyone to protect her. Mommy's the strong, powerful woman you always talk about, remember? Mommy doesn't just not need protecting, she can protect Gwen too."

"Mommy bought you your favorite Princess Elsa. She's right here in the room. No more crying, okay?"

"Okay!"

A child's world is just that simple.

Watching the corners of Gwen's mouth lift, the knot in my chest loosened.

Gwen, don't worry. This time, Mommy will keep you safe. I'll keep this family safe.

Once she was settled enough to play on her own in the room, I stepped out to buy food.

But the moment I reached the hospital lobby, a swarm of reporters came charging straight at me.

Countless cameras and microphones thrust into my face all at once.

Under the relentless flashing of bulbs, Kitty pointed at me and shrieked, her voice shrill.

"It's this shameless witch!"

"It's her! She got my son killed!"

"My son is dead, and she still found time to send her parents abroad on vacation! How can there be a daughter-in-law this brazen in the whole world? Somebody give an old woman some justice!"

So they'd already gone after my parents and come up empty.

I laughed quietly to myself.

"Ms. Swanson, regarding what your mother-in-law has said, we'd like you to give us an explanation!"

"You've stated publicly on numerous occasions that you loved your husband deeply, so why drive him to his death? Can you be honest with us?"

"What's there to explain!"

Kitty shoved aside the reporter standing in front of me.

She jabbed a finger at my face and snarled through gritted teeth.

"This is nothing but a venomous, cold-blooded woman! She killed someone, so she should pay with her life! She should cover the retirement of me and Hudson's father! She should cover the retirement of Leah's parents too! Every asset under her name should be transferred into mine!"

In my past life, panicked and overwhelmed, I'd faced all of Kitty's demands without daring to say a word, only nodding again and again.

But this time, I shoved Kitty away.

I looked into the lenses aimed at me and spoke slowly.

"Hudson isn't dead."

The words were barely out before the whole scene erupted.

"What?! Not dead?!"

"Ms. Swanson, what is going on here?!"

"That's a load of garbage!"

Kitty lunged forward, seizing me by the collar, howling like a rabid dog.

"A truck sent my Hudson flying hundreds of feet, blood all over the ground, and you're telling me he's not dead?! Are you even human?!"

The instant Kitty finished, Leah's parents came rushing in from behind.

They pointed at me, eyes bloodshot, and ground out through their teeth.

"You filthy slut! Saying something like that, you've got no conscience at all! Our Leah was hit because of you, smashed to a bloody pulp, and you stand here saying she isn't dead. You really are an animal!"

‘Our daughter is dead because of you. How are two old people like us supposed to go on living now……’

Beneath the rising wails of Hudson and Leah's parents,

anger began to flicker in the reporters' eyes too.

They pressed forward, their tone no longer as polite as before, sharpened now into interrogation.

‘Ms. Swanson, you owe us an explanation for this, right now!’

‘You say Hudson and Leah aren't dead. Do you have proof?!’

‘Of course I do.’

I looked at the chaos in front of me and spoke in a flat, even voice.

The moment the words left my mouth, Kitty's head snapped up toward me, a flash of bewildered panic crossing her eyes.

She wanted to rush over and say something,

but the frenzied reporters had already walled her out.

‘Proof?! Where's the proof?!’

‘Show us!’

‘Bring out the proof!’

I looked at the countless cameras trained on me, arched an eyebrow, let one corner of my mouth lift, and took out my phone……