Chapter 16
Finally, someone said it–what kind of kid in a small town studies piano for over a decade? None of it even adds up, but everyone just buys the story.”
“Damn, she’s badass.”
“The sponsor? Wasn’t Julie’s sponsor Daniel, Corinna’s brother? Who knows if he’s trying to smear his own sister just to snatch the inheritance?”
Then came the video from my eighteenth birthday.
There was footage of Julie–back when she was desperate for the sponsorship–throwing herself from the rooftop, then accusing another girl at the orphanage of pushing her. The surveillance footage told the real story.
Evidence of Daniel hiring a hitman–not just the failed attempt on Minna. He and my father had secretly done countless shady deals to expand The Gardner family’s empire, stealing projects and crossing every possible line.
If I managed to get my hands on all this, it was thanks to my mother.
And the last one–Trevor.
He spent seven years manipulating his own mother, tearing her down until she finally took her own life, right in front of his father.
Trading his mother’s death for a ticket into the Everett family.
I spent a fortune piecing all of this together, using threads from both my past and present lives, and sent every shred of evidence straight into the spotlight online. Thanks to their previous moves, there were already thousands watching and waiting for the next twist in this family feud.
Once criminal activity came to light, chaos erupted.
People rushed to call the police, eager to see justice served.
There was no way for the guilty parties to bury the truth this time.”
Those who tried to control the narrative–ended up destroyed by it.
Is this ending satisfying enough for you?
The day my father and Daniel were taken away by the police, my mother handed over the divorce papers.”
Daniel was stunned, screaming at her, “Mom, am I not your son? Why are you taking Corinna’s side? I’m your child, too!”
She sighed softly, sitting down in front of him with her cup of tea. “Your father favored you. I favored your sister.”
She took a sip of her tea, her voice gentle but resolute.
“In this world, things have a way of balancing out, don’t they?“%
The projects The Gardner family had stolen from me in their joint venture with The Everett Group began to implode, one after another.
Now, on top of everything else, they faced additional charges for financial crimes.
I took over the battered remains of The Gardner family and merged it into M&C.
Then I went to meet with Karla Everett, who had reclaimed control of The Everett Group.
She was Trevor’s half–sister, born from a business marriage.%
“When I was little, I hated that woman,” she told me, swirling her coffee. “I blamed her for ruining my family. But later, I realized, if my father hadn’t cheated, Trevor wouldn’t even exist.“2
She lifted her mug.
To die at your own son’s hands–maybe that was karma.”2
I had reached out to her a year ago to propose our partnership.
I would help her drive Trevor out of The Everett Group, leaving her in sole control.
In return, she’d help me with crucial resource exchanges back home.
She was the force behind much of the media frenzy this time around.
“But I’m curious,” she asked, “how did you know Trevor had something to do with his mother’s suicide?”
I just smiled, silent.
Because in my last life, he did the exact same thing to me.
Before the sentencing, I made a point of visiting my old acquaintances in prison.
The first was my brother.
He stared at me with burning eyes.
+ smiled. “Don’t look at me like that, brother.
“I know what you want to ask.”
“Being cast out like a stray dog–I’ve already lived through that once. Did you really think I spent the last few years partying away overseas, living in luxury?” Back in the hardest days, I barely got more than a few minutes of sleep at a time.!!
Between classes and work, I was constantly building connections, chasing down every lead from my previous life to gather evidence against these three. Their methods were so practiced, so ruthless. I knew–this wasn’t their first time.
