Chapter 2

Not only had Tiffany unleashed online harassment at me, but she had also driven my parents to their deaths.

Frank, the very driver asking me to testify for him, had turned on me just as ruthlessly in the previous timeline, all for attention and to escape blame.

In the previous timeline, he had surprisingly contacted Tiffany a week after the incident. They connected during a livestream and put on a touching performance about a victim and the person who had supposedly been coerced.

Frank broke down in tears in front of the camera, slapping himself as he swore to the millions of viewers that I had forced him into everything that happened that night.

His twisted version of events completely cemented my supposed "crime."

As outrage exploded online, Tiffany and Frank quickly realized how much they could gain from the attention. To keep the momentum going, they even formed a "Victims' Alliance."

They showed up at my home with a professional livestreaming crew and dozens of fanatical followers they had riled up.

My parents were simple, hardworking retirees who had never faced anything like that.

The crowd stormed into our home like a pack of rabid animals, shoving cameras into my parents' faces and demanding that they apologize on my behalf. They shoved my elderly mom around and hurled the cruelest insults at Dad.

"You raised a son accused of assault, and you still have the nerve to stay alive? Like father, like son. Your whole family is trash!"

Dad had already suffered from severe high blood pressure. After they berated him relentlessly, he suddenly convulsed and collapsed to the floor.

Mom screamed for help in tears as she called emergency services, but the influencers and their followers, desperate to keep their livestream numbers up, linked arms and blocked the building entrance, refusing to let the ambulance through.

They said Dad was getting what he deserved and accused him of faking it for sympathy.

By the time the police arrived and forced the crowd to disperse, it was too late.

Dad suffered a brain hemorrhage and missed the critical window for treatment, passing away while on the way to the hospital.

Mom could not cope with the shock and suffered a sudden heart attack. She spent three days in intensive care, but she did not make it either.

In a single week, my family had been torn apart.

As for me, several of Tiffany's fanatical followers ran me over while I was on my way to the hospital to see my parents one last time. They were still cursing and calling me a monster even when I took my final breath.

Meanwhile, Tiffany and Frank made a fortune by exploiting the tragedy that had destroyed my family. They bought luxury cars, moved into mansions, and smiled brightly for their livestream audiences.

One was a vicious, ungrateful opportunist, while the other was a greedy hypocrite. At their core, both of them were driven by nothing but selfishness and malice.

Tiffany's scoff pulled me back to the present.

I shifted closer to the car door, putting as much distance between us as I could.

"I fell asleep just now. I didn't see or hear anything."

I met Frank's eyes in the rearview mirror, my voice perfectly calm.

"Whatever happens between you two, deal with it yourselves. I'm not getting involved."

Tiffany lifted her chin smugly when she heard my reply, convinced her threat had worked.

"See? At least he knows better!"

She rolled her eyes at Frank, her tone growing even more arrogant.

"You're just a broke nobody driving a junker. What makes you think you can challenge me? Just take me downtown already. I don't have all day!"

The corner of Frank's eye twitched violently twice. He looked at me. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing more.

As the car accelerated again, I lowered my eyes and glanced at the map I had secretly opened on my phone.

'We're going off course. There's no downtown intersection ahead, only a dead-end road leading toward an abandoned reservoir deep in the mountains. Frank is definitely up to no good,' I thought.

I tightened my grip around my phone and, without hesitation, pressed the release on my seat belt.