I was crouched outside my parents' hotpot place, feeding the stray cat, when a few lines of text suddenly floated up above its head:

【Human, I don't eat your food for free. Tonight at eight, your best friend Freya Harding will come find you and say she wants your family's ultra-spicy hotpot.】

【She's pregnant. There's something wrong with the baby in her belly. After she eats the hotpot she'll miscarry, and she'll insist you were jealous she was carrying a son, that you used the spicy broth to hurt her on purpose. The truth is she swallowed abortion pills ahead of time and is pinning it on you!】

【Your family's hotpot place gets forced to close, your parents end up buried under a massive payout, and your job and your engagement both fall through. Human, I don't want to watch you end up like you did last life, breaking down, finally getting killed by a car. So I'm warning you out of kindness!】

I rubbed my eyes, sure I was so exhausted I'd started seeing things.

But the next second, my phone rang.

Freya's sugary voice came through the speaker: "Cora Perry, I'm craving your family's ultra-spicy hotpot. Will you keep me company tonight?"

A chill ran down my back. I looked at the stray cat again, and another line had appeared above its head:

【Human, Freya's terrified her husband will find out something's wrong with the baby, so she's deliberately lined up a scapegoat. Her husband looks decent enough, but he's actually drowning in online gambling debt and beats her. In the end he gets your parents killed and lands himself in jail. This whole thing, start to finish, is a trap Freya set. Cut her off, now!】

I gripped the phone, my fingertips going white, and decided to rattle her: "Freya, haven't you been trying to get pregnant this whole time? What if you've already conceived? If you eat ultra-spicy hotpot and miscarry, then what?"

……

The other end went quiet for two seconds.

Then Freya let out a little snort of laughter. "Cora, what are you talking about? My period just ended. How could I possibly be pregnant?"

She paused, and her voice suddenly took on a wounded edge. "Is it because you're getting married soon, and now you think a best friend like me is just in the way? You won't even sit down for one meal with me…"

Before I could answer, my mom heard Freya's voice and immediately poked her head out of the shop, calling out warmly:

"Is that Freya? Come have some hotpot! It's on me! You and Cora grew up together. She's just been swamped lately, don't read into it."

My dad chimed in with a grin. "That's right. Cora even wants you as a bridesmaid at her wedding. We'll have a big envelope waiting for you!"

Watching my parents pour their hearts out for Freya, something turned sour and tight in my chest.

Freya's parents had spent years working away from home, so she'd grown up mooching meals at our place.

My mom and dad doted on her like their own daughter.

Toys, clothes, whatever I had, she had too.

I'd always assumed she was grateful. But those few lines above the stray cat's head were how I finally learned the truth.

Last life, she hadn't been grateful at all. She'd come to hate every bit of it.

She hated that I did well in school, that my career went smoothly, that my parents adored me, that I'd found myself a rich heir for a boyfriend.

While she had married a man who beat her.

So she'd used the deformed baby in her belly to set a trap, destroyed everything I had, and used it to escape her abusive husband.

A muffled retch came over the line.

My professional instincts kicked in, and my ears pricked up.

"Freya, what's wrong?"

Her voice came out a little shaky. "Nothing. I just ate some bad fruit, already threw it up."

I sneered to myself.

Three years as a nurse, and there was no sound I knew better than morning sickness.

That was textbook early pregnancy nausea.

So she really was pregnant. But I didn't call her out.

If a stray cat could warn me about something like this, it meant even heaven was on my side.

I couldn't waste the blessing my parents had earned, all those years of feeding strays.

Now that I knew her scheme, I'd play along, and let everyone see her true face!

"Freya, just the two of us for hotpot is no fun. Bring your husband along, and I'll call Dean Farley too. Four people is much livelier."

On the other end of the line, Freya clearly hesitated. "Oh, come on, why drag the guys into a girls' get-together? There's so much we can't gossip about with them around. Besides, my husband's away on business, he can't make it, so don't bring your fiancé either..."

I rolled my eyes.

Not long ago, the moment Freya found out my fiancé was a wealthy, good-looking heir, she'd practically glued herself to my side every day, even quietly adding him on social media.

Now she was doing the opposite. My guess was she didn't want too many people around, in case it got in the way of her plan.

"Fine, just the two of us, then." I agreed with a smile.

"Perfect! I'll come find you right now!" Freya's voice was bright with excitement.

I glanced out the window. "Don't. It's raining out there. I'll drive over and pick you up."

Freya didn't think twice and agreed happily.

I hung up, crouched down, and stroked the stray cat's head.

Softly, I said, "Thank you."

Then I stood, changed my clothes, and headed out.

Half an hour later, my car pulled up outside Freya's building.

She came hurrying over under an umbrella in a loose hoodie, her belly hidden completely, and slid into the passenger seat.

Her makeup was flawless, but the shadows under her eyes were too dark to cover.

No surprise there. Early pregnancy made you drowsy and worn out to begin with, and with a scheme weighing on her conscience, there was no way she'd been sleeping well.

"Let's get going, I'm starving." Freya buckled her seatbelt. "Just thinking about the tripe and duck intestines at your place makes my mouth water."

I didn't answer, just started the car.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a newly opened hotpot restaurant.

Freya froze. "Cora, this isn't your family's place."

I cut the engine, smiling. "It's the weekend. Our restaurant's swamped today. I was worried slow service would spoil your appetite. This place just opened, and a friend told me it's really authentic."

Freya's expression stiffened for a split second. "But I'm used to the taste of your family's hotpot..."

I pulled open the passenger door and looked at her with a smile. "My treat tonight. I went out of my way to take you somewhere nicer. What, you're being picky now?"

She had no comeback, so she had no choice but to get out.

I thought to myself: not eating at my family's hotpot place this time. Let's see how you manage to frame anyone now.

Still, I kept my guard up. Before going in, I detoured to the back kitchen first.

The owner was a heavyset man in his forties, busy slicing beef. Seeing me peek in, he gave a good-natured laugh. "Something I can help you with, miss?"

"Sir, is your hotpot safe for a pregnant woman?"

The owner thumped his chest in assurance. "Don't you worry! All our ingredients are bought fresh the same day, guaranteed. We keep a sample of every table's broth, the cameras run twenty-four hours a day. Pregnant women, kids, the elderly, anyone can eat here. If anything goes wrong, it's on me!"

That put me a little more at ease. When I got back to the table, Freya was looking at the menu.

Seeing me return, she set down her phone, her gaze suddenly landing on the drink in front of me. "Cora, what's in your cup? It looks really good."

Guessing she was setting a trap for me, I immediately picked up the cup and took a sip. "Lemon passionfruit."

Then I called the server over and ordered her an identical one.

Freya's expression caught for a beat, then she smiled. "No need to stand on ceremony with me. Let's just swap and share."

"I've got a cold. Don't want to give it to you."

Freya drank a few sips of the new drink. Everything was normal.

I quietly checked my phone. Seven fifty.

Ten minutes left until the miscarriage time the stray cat had warned about.

The broth arrived, red oil rolling, the spicy aroma hitting my nose.

Freya picked up a slice of tripe and swished it in the pot, quick and practiced, not a trace of the way a pregnant woman is supposed to watch what she eats.

But I noticed that before she picked up anything for herself, she used the serving chopsticks to put a piece into my bowl first.

It all came out of the same pot. Nothing about it looked wrong.

I played along and ate a few bites.

A few minutes later, my stomach twisted with a sudden, wrenching cramp.

My brow knotted tight, and cold sweat broke out all at once.

"Cora, what's wrong?" Freya leaned in, her face all concern. "You went pale so fast."

"My stomach hurts. I need to use the restroom." I pushed back my chair and stood, my legs a little unsteady.

"Want me to come with you?" She made as if to rise, but something gleeful flickered deep in her eyes.

"No need." I waved her off and rushed for the restroom.

The second I crouched down, it hit me like a tidal wave.

Clutching my stomach, I suddenly realized something. My lemon passion fruit drink, the one Freya had hinted she wanted to trade with me, the one I'd turned down. Before she ever said a word, her fingers had already brushed the rim of my glass.

Had she slipped a laxative into my drink ahead of time, timing it so I'd be away from the table?

This was bad.

I straightened my clothes as fast as I could and pushed the door open.

At the end of the hallway, the dining room had already dissolved into chaos.

Freya was slumped in her chair, bright red blood running down between her legs, sliding along the seat and dripping onto the white floor tiles. The sight turned my stomach.

Her face was bloodless, both hands pressed to her belly, broken moans escaping her lips.

"Oh my God! Someone's having a miscarriage!" A woman at the next table shrieked.

"Call 911! Is there something wrong with this restaurant's food?"

Gus came barreling out of the kitchen, his face gone gray. "Impossible! There is nothing wrong with my ingredients! I'm calling the police right now!"

I hurried over, and just as I opened my mouth, Freya lifted her head.

Her face was streaked with tears, and one trembling hand rose to point at me.

"Cora... we've been like sisters for over ten years... why would you hurt my baby..."

The whole room went silent in an instant.

Every pair of eyes swung to me at once.

A chill crawled up my spine. "Freya, what are you talking about?"

Through her tears, Freya pointed at an open box of braised duck on the corner of the table. "You brought this duck, said it was a new item from your family's restaurant... to celebrate that I was pregnant... I ate two bites and my stomach started hurting..."

"I did not!" The words burst out of me. "I never brought any duck! You told me yourself you weren't pregnant. How could I possibly..."

"I told you the moment I found out I was pregnant!" Freya's sobbing shot up an octave. "I trusted you that much! Why would you do this to me? Just because I married a husband who adores me, and I'm carrying a son... you're jealous enough to do this?"

"Jealous of you?" I was shaking with rage. "In what way is my fiancé any less than your husband? Why would I need to be jealous of you?"

"Then how do you explain this box of duck?" An older woman nearby had had enough, pointing at the braised meat on the table. "Young lady, did you bring it or not? The cameras will show it, won't they? Have the owner pull the footage!"

Gus had already run back to the kitchen, dripping with sweat, and was out again in under a minute, holding up a tablet.

He turned the screen around to face the whole room. "The duck really did come out of this girl's bag!"

On the screen, I was sitting at the table, pulling a brown paper bag out of my purse and setting it down in front of Freya.

My mind went blank with a roar, like something detonating inside it.

That was me on the screen. But I had never done this.

"And there's this." Gus swiped the screen again. "Riley up front tried to stop her, said we don't allow outside food, but this girl said her best friend was pregnant and had a craving for it, so Riley let it go."