On the day of the company's annual gala, I quit my job and went back to the countryside, using up all my savings to help my best friend raise her daughter. She had died tragically, swept away by the river while trying to retrieve my hundred-million-dollar gala prize ticket that had fallen into the water.

Wracked with guilt, I honored her dying wish and married her husband. After the wedding, I sold my blood and even a kidney just to make ends meet, raising my stepdaughter with everything I had. Eventually, she fulfilled her dream of winning the Best Actress Award and was about to marry the richest man in the country.

But just as I was preparing to give a speech at her wedding, I saw my best friend, who had been dead for over a decade. She clutched my stepdaughter's hand and accused me of being a homewrecker who seduced her husband, and even claimed I had been the one who pushed her into the river all those years ago.

Only then did I learn the truth—she had faked her death all those years ago, just to steal my prize ticket and travel the world, leaving me behind to raise her family.

The shock sent me into a cerebral hemorrhage. When I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day she drowned.

The Day She "Died"

"Isla isn't breathing anymore! It's your fault that our daughter has lost her mother at such a young age!" Felix Zane's roar ripped through the winter air as he knelt by my best friend, Isla Kingsley's drenched, ice-cold body lying motionless on the riverbank.

The onlookers watched his grief-stricken display with pity in their eyes. If I hadn't been reborn, I might have believed his performance too.

…

In my previous life, at the company's year-end gala, I'd won a prize ticket worth a hundred million. Overjoyed, I shared the news with Isla. Who could have known that as she was looking at the ticket, she'd slip, fall into the river, and be swept away to her death?

Guilt had consumed me. To make up for what happened, I had raised her little daughter with all my heart. To avoid gossip and also to honor Isla's will, I married her husband, Felix.

To give my best friend's only child a better future, I juggled three part-time jobs a day until my body gave out. The only consolation was that my stepdaughter proved herself, receiving an acceptance letter from a prestigious arts college overseas. In order not to ruin her bright future, I sold blood and even a kidney to scrape together her tuition. She graduated smoothly and, just as she had dreamed, married into a wealthy family.

At her wedding, tears filled my eyes as I delivered my speech, believing my hardships had finally paid off—only to see Isla, dead for over a decade, walk gracefully into the hall dressed to the nines. The moment she spotted me, she ripped at my clothes like a woman possessed, calling me a murderer and a home-wrecking vixen.

Felix wrapped his arms around her with a trembling voice. "Honey, you've finally come back. I've missed you so much." Their daughter also threw herself into Isla's embrace, snuggling close as she accused me of years of mistreatment.

Looking at this ungrateful trio, I felt the sky cave in. Everything I had given for so many years had been for nothing. In a surge of rage, I suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. Only after death did I learn that both father and daughter had known Isla was alive all along—they had simply conspired to get a free, tireless housekeeper.

Now I stared at Isla's unmoving body on the ground, itching to cut open her chest just to see if her heart was black or white.

"Oh, what a cruel fate! Poor Joy's going to grow up with no one to hold her, no one to love her." I wailed louder than Felix as I threw myself over her. Faced with the sudden turn of events, he was at a loss. This was what people meant by fighting fire with fire.

While crying, my hands roamed over her clothes. To outsiders, I looked like a grieving friend who couldn't bear her fate.

'Strange… where's my prize ticket?'

Just as confusion struck me, Felix grabbed my hand and barked, "Faye Garland, did you push my wife into the river?"

I quickly yanked my hand away from the scumbag. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm feeling how thin her clothes are. It's freezing, Felix. Even if Isla's gone, she should leave with dignity. Let me change her into something clean." As I spoke, I started undoing the buttons on her clothes, thinking the ticket had to be hidden somewhere in her pockets.

Felix's face went pale as he rushed to pull me back. "So many people are watching. My wife's dead, and you're disturbing her peace, trying to change her clothes in public?! You're insulting her. You're truly vicious."

Was I vicious? But no matter how vicious I was, it couldn't compare to how they had ruined my life—keeping me chained by guilt, draining me until I died without even a decent ending.

I gave a cold laugh and, with a loud rip, tore open her coat.

A Mother's Grief

"Stop right there!" Isla's mother, Elowen York, came storming over. The moment she saw her daughter lying motionless on the ground, her eyes reddened, and she quickly knelt down, pulling Isla's coat closed over her.

She patted Isla's body and gripped her hand, tears spilling down uncontrollably. "My girl, what a cruel death you've met! It's almost New Year's, how are we supposed to celebrate now? You've left us all behind—how are your father and I supposed to live on?"

Her cries struck a chord with the crowd. A few older onlookers began wiping their tears, joining in her grief.

Felix, seeing his mother-in-law on the verge of collapsing, supported her to her feet and pointed at me. "Mom, Faye was the only one at the scene when Isla died—she did it."

"Mrs. Kingsley, I—"

I had barely spoken when Elowen whipped her head around and, without hesitation, slapped me hard. "My daughter always treated you like a sister, Faye, and this is how you repay her?"

I pressed a hand against my burning cheek, forcing down my anger. "I respect you as an elder, so I'll take that slap. But your daughter's death has nothing to do with me."

"Bullshit!" Elowen snapped, trembling with fury. "She was perfectly fine when she left home this morning—happy, loved, with a good family. Who goes walking by the river for no reason? You must've pushed her! You're thirty and still single—you were jealous! Jealous that she had a husband and a child, that she was living a better life than you. You're wicked—no better than an animal!"

Her tirade drew murmurs of disgust from the onlookers. One woman shook her head and said, "People these days are so twisted inside. They take it out on anyone, even people they know. It's terrifying."

"Poor family." Another sighed. "What kind of heartless woman does that? She's pure evil."

"Exactly—a happy New Year's Eve has turned into a day of mourning. The old forced to see their young one buried... It's tragic."

The crowd's pity only fueled Elowen's grief. She lunged at me, but I dodged, and she fell hard onto the ground. Wailing, she beat her fists against the pavement. "You heartless witch! Give me back my daughter! You might as well kill me too, while you're at it!"

Seeing her throw herself into hysterics, I'd had enough. Without thinking, I darted to Isla's side and yanked off her coat. Felix, startled, rushed over to grab it back. When I refused to let go, he suddenly dropped to his knees.

"Please, Faye," he begged, voice trembling. "Isla's gone. Just let her leave with some dignity. Give me her coat so she can go in peace, please? If you're angry, yell at me. Don't take it out on her. I'm the one who turned you down. It's my fault."

'What?!' I stared at him, wide-eyed, stunned that he would dare pull something like that.

The Trap Unfolds

When Elowen heard there was more to the story, she scrambled to her feet and began shrieking that she would claw me to pieces. "You shameless witch! You not only killed my daughter, but you've also been seducing my son-in-law?! I'll see you dead for this!"

I frowned and shoved her away. "Mrs. Kingsley, this is my last warning. Push your luck again, and I won't hold back!"

My tone shut her up for a few seconds, but the crowd had already started pointing and whispering. A few older women were swearing at me outright.

Seeing that the onlookers had sided with her, Elowen's rage surged again. "You filthy tramp—I'll rip that smug face of yours off and teach you some decency!"

This time, I didn't hold back. She barreled at me, I kicked out, and she went flying and landed hard on her face, losing a front tooth in the fall. Her gray hair flew in disarray, and the hate on her face grew uglier.

"I never seduced your son-in-law," I snapped. "Believe it or not, he made this up!"

She wiped blood from her mouth and snorted. "A thief never admits stealing. Who's going to believe you?"

"Why do you believe him when he says I seduced him? You can't just smear my name with nothing to back it up."

"What's proof if not this?" Felix held up his phone and displayed a string of messages.

Elowen snatched the phone, smirking as she read aloud, "Felix, are you free today? Let's catch a movie and grab dinner—being alone for the holidays is so lonely."

"Felix, do you think my pajamas look nice tonight? My door's unlocked—you can come over anytime."

"Isla really has such a nasty temper, doesn't she? She's anything but gentle. I'd never throw a tantrum like that—I'd probably just feel sorry for you instead."

The crowd gasped. Their looks at me were no longer just disdainful; they were full of contempt. Fruit peels, snack wrappers, and empty bottles started flying toward me, staining my hair and clothes.

"You wretched bitch—anything to say for yourself?"

I hadn't expected Isla to have set up so much behind my back—she'd even used my phone to message Felix secretly.

Felix's smile turned venomous. "Faye, what goes around comes around. She's dead now—you either pay with your life or your money."

At last, the cat was out of the bag. It was about money through and through. I thought for a moment and nodded. "I'll say it one more time: I didn't push her. Isla did drop into the river while holding the ticket and drowned. As her friend, I'm willing to cover part of the funeral expenses, but you must cremate her first."

"Cremate her?" Elowen screamed, then turned to Felix, panic plain in her eyes.