Read Between the Lies

As I took the bank card from Andy Goor, a flash of venomous resentment flickered through Chelsea Beatriz's eyes.

She quickly pressed down on my hand and leaned in close, her voice a soft murmur against my ear.

"Melissa, maybe you should think this through. If you really take this money, it won't be easy to pay back."

She had said the exact same thing in my previous life. And yet, later on, that very bank card ended up in her hands.

With that money, she expanded her company step by step, growing it larger and stronger.

In the end, she openly undercut McKinnon Group, snatching projects at cutthroat prices. Every time, she seemed to know our bottom line with uncanny precision, then bid just ten percent lower. Piece by piece, she severed my family's company's only remaining lifeline.

[Melissa, how can you be so foolish? How dare you accept that bank card! Don't you know that money is poisoned—you can't use it!]

[Exactly! If the McKinnon family refuses Andy's help, there might still be a sliver of hope. But once they accept it, it's certain death!]

As I moved to put the card away, the comments flooded in again, dense and relentless.

I acted as if I hadn't heard a thing. Casting a brief glance at Chelsea, I spoke calmly, "Whether it's a good idea or not is my business, Chelsea. No need for you to worry. Besides, this is my fiancé's money—why shouldn't I take it?

"You should be more concerned about your own company. This financial crisis isn't just hitting McKinnon Group."

I pulled my hand free from her grip without hesitation.

Then I handed the bank card to the company's finance director, instructing him to use the funds to settle our debts with suppliers first.

Seeing this, Chelsea could only force an awkward smile.

"Melissa, I'm just looking out for you. I know Andy better than you do."

The moment her words fell, the barrage of comments surged again before my eyes.

[Poor Chelsea—she's only thinking of her best friend, yet she's being misunderstood!]

[Exactly. Melissa should treat Chelsea better and give her more projects. If she loses such a good friend, she'll regret it too late!]

[If you ask me, Andy is just too scheming—one face in public, another behind the scenes. That's why Melissa can't see his true nature!]

I glanced at the newly appeared comments, then at Chelsea. Her face was full of grievance, her expression pitiful, as though she'd been wronged.

If I hadn't already lived through the nightmare she orchestrated—my body destroyed, my family annihilated—I might have fallen for her act all over again.

Who would have thought that the childhood friend who grew up beside me like family… would be the mastermind behind my family's destruction?

"Chelsea, you're biased against Andy. He's my fiancé—he would never harm me."

But the moment I finished speaking, the finance director, who had only just left, rushed back in, panic written all over his face.

"Something's wrong, Ms. McKinnon! Our corporate accounts have been frozen. The police just called—they say we're under investigation for suspected money laundering!"