Chapter 2

Only Adrian stood there, beaming with joy, gripping the chairman’s hand tightly, eyes shining like gold.

"I promise I’ll treat Rachel well and never let her suffer."

He glanced out at the audience, his gaze locking straight onto me. Rachel lowered her head with a bashful smile, playing the part of the blushing bride-to-be.

I smiled faintly.

In this life, Adrian had finally gotten his wish. He had become the chairman’s son-in-law. The only question now was: how long could he keep smiling?

Adrian came from a poor family. His mother worked as a housekeeper, scraping together enough money to send him to a respectable university. After entering the workforce, he started at the very bottom and clawed his way up, step by step, to earn his current position.

He believed that marrying the chairman’s daughter would launch him to success, but he didn’t realize that the title of "son-in-law" was just a convenient label. To the heiress, he was nothing more than a plaything to kill time with, and to her brother, a mobile organ donor.

Because his mother had once worked as a maid for my family, she was allowed to bring him along when she cleaned, so we practically grew up together. You could say we were childhood sweethearts.

After the ceremony, Adrian rushed to find me, excitement written all over his face.

"Summer! I’m about to become the chairman’s son-in-law! You must be thrilled for me, right?"

I smiled warmly and nodded. "Congratulations. Being favored by the heiress is no small thing. You’ve got a bright future ahead."

Adrian hesitated, pressing his lips together like he had more to say.

"Summer, I know you fancy me. But I had no choice. My career was going nowhere. Becoming the chairman’s son-in-law means I’ll practically own the company. When that day comes, I’ll take the money and run away with you."

Internally, I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt.

My family might not be as rich as the Carters, but we were still a publicly listed company. And on top of that, Rachel and I were close friends.

What kind of ridiculous fantasy was he living in, suggesting something so outrageous as running away with him?

I couldn’t help myself. "Where do you get the nerve to talk about cheating after your wedding like it’s perfectly reasonable? And now you want me to be your mistress? Dream on."

Adrian’s face flushed a deep red from embarrassment, his intentions completely exposed.

"So what if she’s the Carter family heiress?" he snapped. "She marries me, so she still has to do what I say. Even if I see someone else, she’ll just have to suck it up."

At this point, he was completely lost in his delusions—promotion, power, billions in inheritance after the chairman’s death—it was all he could think about.

Ever since the day the chairman publicly announced Adrian as his future son-in-law, more and more people in the company had started kissing up to him. After all, flattering him meant flattering Rachel, the Carters’ only daughter.

While he basked in the attention and praise, he had no idea that danger was quietly closing in.

Rachel brought him a glass of milk every day, claiming it was for his health. The clueless Adrian drank it eagerly, never suspecting it was laced with drugs.

Meanwhile, one quiet evening, I received a surprising friend request.

It all began on payday. Alex had been assigned to organize the employee information files. When he reached the section to enter my phone number, his expression shifted. He pulled out his phone to double-check it.

Sure enough, it matched perfectly.

Following the trail of that phone number, Alex found my Instagram account and sent me a friend request.