Lillian stepped out of the gates of Chen Family without glancing back.
Her steps made its way over to the flashy, sleek cherry-red sports car parked in front of the mansion. Bending down, she lightly knocked on the windows at the driver's side. The tinted glass rolled down, revealing a young woman.
The girl's dyed purple hair was pulled into a ponytail beneath a baseball cap. Silver earrings glinted along the curve of her ear, matching the layered jewelry stacked on her fingers and neck. She wore a leather jacket, and a laptop rested open across her lap. Its screen glowed with lines of code.
Lillian asked, "Did you delete the CCTV footage?"
Sophie formed an 'okay' sign with her finger, assuring her how everything has been taken care of.
Then, she shifted to the shotgun seat as Lillian opened the door and got behind the wheels, starting the engine.
"What about Alex Chen's computer?" Her voice was calm and sharp.
"Baby, as you have ordered, I deleted his game account, hacked his socials, and posted his pixelated nudes online," Sophie informed with a smirk. "They should be going viral as we speak."
Alex Chen was the one in the family who could be considered half a celebrity. He had a career as a professional gamer- a fairly popular and skilled one- and participated in few brand deals. He had around a couple million followers on weibo, and even the pixelated nudes would cause his reputation a great deal of damage.
Lillian nodded in approval. "They can't trace it back to you?"
Although the Chen Family can't touch her, if they managed to find a thread of evidence on Sophie, they entirely throw her under the bus.
Sophie leaned back with a stretch. Winking at Lillian, she wore a confident and lazy smile. "You are underestimating your genius bestie too much. Unless it is the legendary Blue, no one is skilled enough to catch me."
She shut her laptop down with a click, then her eyes shone with curiosity as she proceeded to ask, "What did you do with that haughty Mrs. Chen?"
"Her?"
Lillian recalled how she destroyed Mary Wu's beloved treasure.
Mary Wu was deeply superstitious and placed an almost religious trust in a fortune-telling priest she visited monthly. Every word that left his mouth was sacred to her.
From that priest, she received a beaded bracelet. The bracelet was supposed to be a divine charm for her that wards off all the negativity and misfortunes for her, keeping her protected. The priest sternly warned her if any damage was done to the bracelet, she would face great calamity.
Lillian took the bracelet and yanked it apart without hesitation, snapping the string. Then, she tossed each of the wooden beads randomly out the window, scattering them around the perimeter. Only great luck can help Mary assemble the bracelet together again.
As she stared at the broken string in her hand, a vivid memory from her past life flashed before her.
The bracelet tore apart back then too, and as always, Eva smoothly pushed twisted the truth, placing all the blame on her shoulder. That evening, Lillian was punished cruelly, made to kneel under the heavy downpour for the entire night, and the next day, the servants found her half-dead, barely breathing self laying on the ground- soaked to the bones.
Most likely afraid of the scandals that will taint their reputation, she was taken to the hospital. Her condition needed emergency treatment from the hospital after the doctors diagnosed she had pneumonia.
The heartless Chen Family never visited under the guise of how she deserved it for her vicious heart.
Although she later recovered from the disease, it left her with weakened lungs.
"Also, as an added bonus," Lillian said casually, her eyes fixed on the road in front of her. "I made paper roses out of the antique scriptures she collected, seeing you were late to arrive."
Sophie raised her thumb in approval. "That's on being vicious by keeping it simple."
"Are you going to leave Jason Chen alone? After all, he is your favourite brother."
Lillian swerved her car, her hand tightening around the steering wheel. Hearing Jason's name brought another surge of anger in her veins. As she controlled the wheels with one of her hand, she reached for a USB drive resting near the gearshift and held it up with two fingers.
"He has been eyeing a land at north of the city. I have gotten a copy of the bidding documents." Lillian arched her brows. "What do you think will happen if they are leaked?"
Sophie stared at her in amazement.
"I truly have to give it to you, Baby. Remind me to never offend you or you will send my head directly to the guillotine," Sophie remarked.
Lillian didn't laugh.
There was only so much of kindness Lillian received in her previous life that savoured each of them, and Sophie happened to be one of the givers.
She supported her even when Lillian was at her lowest.
But how can the friend of a villain be spared?
Lillian closed her eyes when she recalled Sophie's corpse. It was found in the forest, gnawed on by wild dogs beyond recognition.
"There is no chance for that," Lillian reassured quietly and sincerely.
Then, after a few seconds of silence that followed, Lillian slowly asked, "Do you think I am being too evil, repaying kindness with ingratitude and harm?"
Sophie waved her hand dismissively and scoffed. "Baby, you know I support both your rights and wrongs. I will even help you plot a coup."
"What a fool," Lillian mumbled.
"I am a little disappointed you didn't touch that little bitch. Boy, do I want to badly rip all the hair off her head? How dare she accuse you of cheating? You, the genius of the department, to be cheating? Insane." Sophie truly was flabbergasted.
"She has a lot coming in the future."
Sophie then grabbed the cup of mixed fruit smoothie from the backseat. She poked the lid through with the straw and brought it closer to Lillian's lips. Lillian lowered her head to take a sip.
"What do you plan to do now? There is no way Chen Family wouldn't seek revenge on you after that. And I am as abandoned as you are," pointed out Sophie helplessly.
"Recognize my real family," Lillian announced, "I want to see how strong the blood bond is."