The day Adrian Knight clinched a contract with our biggest client, I "accidentally" tipped a bottle of ink across the paperwork, voiding it on the spot.

Because of that single blot, the project landed in Alex Lewis’s lap, and he won Chairman Henry Carter’s favor almost overnight, moving into the Carter mansion as their future son-in-law and watching his net worth rocket into eight figures.

Adrian never blamed me. He just laughed that he’d never been executive material anyway and happily brought me home as his bride.

Everyone whispered that, if not for my meddling, Adrian would already be sitting in the Carter family’s executive suite instead of scraping by in an ordinary life with me. Only I knew the truth: stopping him from signing that contract had saved his life.

When Adrian learned I was pregnant, he locked me in the basement, fingers digging into my throat.

"If it hadn’t been for you," he snarled, "I’d be Henry Carter’s son-in-law by now. You’re the reason I lost Rachel, the princess of the Carter family."

That’s when I realized he’d been nursing this grudge for years.

After he killed me, I woke up, reborn on the very day Adrian first reached for that fatal contract.

This time, I’ll make sure Adrian Knight gets exactly what he wants.

In my past life, I tried to stop Adrian Knight from becoming the Carter family’s son-in-law, and he tortured me to death for it.

Now that I’ve been reborn, I no longer wanted to interfere. This time, I’d make sure Adrian paid the price he truly deserved.

…

In a lavish private suite, Adrian proudly scrawled his signature across the contract.

"Here’s to a successful partnership." He beamed, shaking hands with the client as his face glowed with flattery.

The client smiled faintly with an expression that was hard to read. "Mr. Knight, you’re quite the polished young man. I’m sure this collaboration will win you a promotion from the chairman."

Sure enough, the very next day, Chairman Henry Carter held a company-wide awards ceremony to celebrate the project.

Adrian stood proudly on the stage, grinning from ear to ear.

From her front-row seat, Rachel Carter locked eyes with Adrian, and in that moment, her gaze sparkled. It wasn’t affection in her eyes. It was the cold gleam of a hunter who had just marked her prey.

She leaned her head toward me and whispered softly, "Summer Lane, what do you think of that man?"

I pretended to ponder. "He’s handsome enough. And to have achieved this much at such a young age, he clearly has a bright future ahead of him."

Rachel giggled and gave me a playful tap on the arm. "Do you have anyone you like? If not, I could introduce you to someone. I know plenty of tall, dark, and handsome men."

I glanced back at the crowded room. Amid the noise and chatter, only Alex Lewis sat silently.

However, only I knew the truth.

The contract Adrian had just signed wasn’t some high-profile corporate partnership; it was an organ donation agreement. He had been so blinded by dreams of promotions and raises that he never even read the fine print. He signed it carelessly, thinking he’d just sealed the biggest deal of his career.

The Carters didn’t just have Rachel. They had a comatose eldest son, Benjamin Carter, who needed a heart transplant.

In our previous life, it had been Alex who unknowingly signed that contract, and the Carters had set their sights on him.

To secure a healthy heart, the Carters had manipulated everything. They lured Alex into becoming Rachel’s husband and kept him tethered to them. Every day, they fed him a formula that funneled nutrients straight to his heart while the rest of his organs withered away.

When the time was right, they staged a fake car accident to cover their tracks, making the world believe Alex died in the crash, when in fact, he had been strapped to an operating table and had his heart cut out.

It was a transaction of life and death, completely unbeknownst to its victim.

Now, Adrian clutched that same contract like it was a golden ticket.

This "partnership" was the result of a secret arrangement between the Carters and a pharmaceutical company, designed specifically to find a disposable substitute.

In the last life, Alex had worked day and night to land the deal without realizing it would cost him his life.

However, this time, everything was different.

The night before the client meeting, Alex had handed his project proposal over to Adrian, giving him the spotlight. No one suspected a thing. He must have understood the anonymous message I sent him. He wasn’t going to sign anything, not after what I told him.

Back onstage, Chairman Carter looked at Adrian with satisfaction and nodded. "Very impressive. Young and capable. Tell me, Adrian, do you have a girlfriend?"

Adrian flicked a glance toward me, then turned away and smiled politely at the chairman. "I’ve been focused on work. I haven’t had time to think about relationships."

The chairman took his hand in a firm shake, his voice suddenly serious. "Then, let me entrust you with my one and only daughter. What do you say?"

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

No one had expected that landing this deal would make Adrian the Carter family’s future son-in-law. Competitors clenched their teeth in envy.

Only Adrian stood there, beaming with joy, gripping the chairman’s hand tightly, eyes shining like gold.

"I promise I’ll treat Rachel well and never let her suffer."

He glanced out at the audience, his gaze locking straight onto me. Rachel lowered her head with a bashful smile, playing the part of the blushing bride-to-be.

I smiled faintly.

In this life, Adrian had finally gotten his wish. He had become the chairman’s son-in-law. The only question now was: how long could he keep smiling?

Adrian came from a poor family. His mother worked as a housekeeper, scraping together enough money to send him to a respectable university. After entering the workforce, he started at the very bottom and clawed his way up, step by step, to earn his current position.

He believed that marrying the chairman’s daughter would launch him to success, but he didn’t realize that the title of "son-in-law" was just a convenient label. To the heiress, he was nothing more than a plaything to kill time with, and to her brother, a mobile organ donor.

Because his mother had once worked as a maid for my family, she was allowed to bring him along when she cleaned, so we practically grew up together. You could say we were childhood sweethearts.

After the ceremony, Adrian rushed to find me, excitement written all over his face.

"Summer! I’m about to become the chairman’s son-in-law! You must be thrilled for me, right?"

I smiled warmly and nodded. "Congratulations. Being favored by the heiress is no small thing. You’ve got a bright future ahead."

Adrian hesitated, pressing his lips together like he had more to say.

"Summer, I know you fancy me. But I had no choice. My career was going nowhere. Becoming the chairman’s son-in-law means I’ll practically own the company. When that day comes, I’ll take the money and run away with you."

Internally, I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt.

My family might not be as rich as the Carters, but we were still a publicly listed company. And on top of that, Rachel and I were close friends.

What kind of ridiculous fantasy was he living in, suggesting something so outrageous as running away with him?

I couldn’t help myself. "Where do you get the nerve to talk about cheating after your wedding like it’s perfectly reasonable? And now you want me to be your mistress? Dream on."

Adrian’s face flushed a deep red from embarrassment, his intentions completely exposed.

"So what if she’s the Carter family heiress?" he snapped. "She marries me, so she still has to do what I say. Even if I see someone else, she’ll just have to suck it up."

At this point, he was completely lost in his delusions—promotion, power, billions in inheritance after the chairman’s death—it was all he could think about.

Ever since the day the chairman publicly announced Adrian as his future son-in-law, more and more people in the company had started kissing up to him. After all, flattering him meant flattering Rachel, the Carters’ only daughter.

While he basked in the attention and praise, he had no idea that danger was quietly closing in.

Rachel brought him a glass of milk every day, claiming it was for his health. The clueless Adrian drank it eagerly, never suspecting it was laced with drugs.

Meanwhile, one quiet evening, I received a surprising friend request.

It all began on payday. Alex had been assigned to organize the employee information files. When he reached the section to enter my phone number, his expression shifted. He pulled out his phone to double-check it.

Sure enough, it matched perfectly.

Following the trail of that phone number, Alex found my Instagram account and sent me a friend request.

I stared at the words "I’m Alex Lewis" on my phone screen for a long time, hesitating. Finally, I tapped "Accept".

The moment I added him as a friend, a message popped up instantly.

"You're the one who messaged me that day and told me not to sign the contract, right?"

My heart skipped a beat. But I quickly steadied myself and replied:

"I just thought someone as young as you, who’s already made something of yourself on your own, would be wasting your potential as Rachel’s boy toy. I just wanted to say my piece, but in the end, the choice was yours. So, when faced with an offer too good to be true, what did you end up choosing?"

It took a while, but eventually, he replied with just one word: "Thanks."

Then, another message followed right after that. "If you ever need anything, just say the word."

Meanwhile, preparations were underway for Adrian and Rachel's engagement party.

Adrian was spending less and less time at the office. Most days, he was out shopping with the heiress, getting her nails done, and dutifully trailing behind her giggling entourage while playing the role of human handbag.

He doted on her so much that Rachel was over the moon, thrilled with her new pet.

However, Adrian’s health was deteriorating. He broke into cold sweats out of nowhere, got winded after just a few steps, and his mind was slowing down. His memory was slipping more and more each day.

"Sick again?" Rachel asked with feigned concern, handing him a glass of milk. "What are we supposed to do about our wedding if you’re this weak?"

Adrian forced a weak smile. "I’m fine. It's probably just the flu going around. It won’t affect our wedding."

He raised the glass of milk and downed it in one gulp, completely missing the venomous green glint that flickered in Rachel’s eyes as she watched him.

Satisfied, she pounced on him playfully, her voice syrupy-sweet. "I’ve been in such a good mood lately. Whatever you want, I’ll pay for it."

Adrian sat up, his eyes lighting up with surprise. "Well, I want to be the company’s general manager. Could you talk to your dad about it?"

Rachel froze, then burst out laughing. "With the way your body is now, you want to go back to work? You should rest at home."

"Then, once I’m better—"

Before he could finish, she cut him off sharply, "Forget the company. You’ve already been let go."

The words hit Adrian like a bolt from the blue. He jerked upright, nearly falling off the couch.

"What?"

"You’re the Carter family’s son-in-law now," Rachel said casually, inspecting her freshly done nails as if he were invisible. "Your job is to go shopping with me and make me happy when I’m upset. Everything else? Not your concern."

Adrian sat there, stunned. He had thought marrying the chairman’s daughter would be his golden ticket. Instead, he’d become nothing more than a pampered lapdog.

Honestly, what was the difference between what he was doing now and being some male escort at a nightclub?

Seeing the look on his face, Rachel feigned a little anger.

"What? Don’t you realize how many people would kill for the position you’re in? No job, no effort, and all you have to do is be my obedient little pup to get a fortune. What more could you possibly want?"

Adrian’s face turned ghostly pale, but he didn’t dare go against her.

All he could do was nod.