Her Final Mission

I was flat broke.

Desperate for cash, when the system offered me 15 million bucks for completing just one strategy mission, I jumped at the chance and snagged three.

Back in my old world, I was the kind of person who could juggle three jobs in a single day.

I figured I would be playing Cupid for some tough-as-nails CEOs, maybe even fall in a whirlwind romance.

As it turned out, each of those high-and-mighty execs had a long-lost love they could not forget.

For five long years, I was put through the wringer by those three unattainable crushes. Not once did I make their hearts skip a beat.

My body and mind were at their breaking point.

The system said I would be free if I died, and right then, I was in the middle of a punishment from CEO number one, Eric.

His childhood sweetheart had just come back to town, lost her charm bracelet, and was dead set on blaming me.

I swore I was innocent.

Nonetheless, Eric was livid. He slapped me hard across the face. "You're the only one who touched Janet's bag. If it wasn't you, then who?" he demanded.

Janet Charlton stood by, sobbing her heart out, "Eric, that charm bracelet was the last thing my grandma left me. It's all I have left of her. If it's gone, I'll fall apart."

Her tears only fueled his rage, and he kicked me right in the knee.

The pain sent me tumbling to the ground as he bellowed, "Yara, I'm asking you one last time. Did you take the charm bracelet? Where did you hide it? If you won't talk, you'll stand here till nightfall."

It was the dead of winter. Daytime, sure, but the thermometer's mercury had plunged well below zero.

Standing till nightfall could mean not freezing to death, but it could cripple me for life. Knowing Eric, whether I confessed or not, I was in for a day of punishment.

I had held on for five years, but I could not take it anymore.

I straightened up and screamed at Eric with all the force I could muster.

"I'm the thief! I did it!

"I should be condemned for snatching her charm bracelet. I'll pay with my life right now. Happy now?"

Without waiting for any reaction, I spun on my heel and dashed for the artificial lake by the villa.

It might have been man-made, but it was deep enough to hold a thousand secrets, and one more would not make a difference. If I jumped, it was game over.

I reached the edge and leaped without a second thought.

To my shock, Eric plunged in after me.

"Yara, have you lost your mind?!"